Philly2Hoboken.com

I have the week off from work. I get to relax, with nothing really planed except bumming around Hoboken. Going to meet up with some friends during the week. Exercise a bit.

This weekend was interesting. Corporation X had their summer party on Randall's Island. It was an extremely large affair, with tents for food, entertainment, and displays. It was the largest party I have attended in my 15 years working there, and simply wonderful. I put my diet on hold, so I could sample some of the great food there.

Also got to listen to a great entertainers called The Moth. They are live storytelllers (think of them like the original bloggers, heh) and basically each performer just had an interesting tale to tell about their life. I was really fascinated by them, because not only were they telling a story, but at the end, the instructor went on to explain about what makes a good story. I spoke to one after the performance, Peter - and he asked if I knew Adam Wade. I don't know Adam personally, but I certainly know of him and his website. The guy gave Adam a lot of praise...so Adam if you read this...The Moth storytellers think you are very talented.

Oh, also picked up the iPhone 3G S. Originally I planned to buy a Blackberry, but after seeing it in action (thanks to Chet), last week, I really liked what I saw. Up until this point I had a basic phone, with no bells or whistles. I can only say...WOW. If you don't own a smartphone yet, I would take a serious look at what you (and I) have been missing out for all these years. I remember one passive aggressive "friend" of mine chided me last year for not owning a phone that could download pictures. In my mind, I didn't see the reason to pay for that...now I really like what they can do.

I'll give you an example. I was in the city for the party on Randall's Island. I got in the cab, told the cabbie I needed to get to 35th street ferry...but he didn't know where it was (sure, we had the idea it was at 35th street and the water, but not sure exactly). I got out my iPhone, hit Google Maps, and showed the cabbie a map of the area in about 30 seconds.

Funny segue...in the cab. The guy is driving me over by 1st avenue and there's just horrific traffic there because of the traffic headed to Long Island. He decides to drive in REVERSE down a one way street (basically backing up along the edge of the street, maybe going 15 miles an hour), and then turns down another road to avoid traffic.

Part of me was thinking "Only in New York do you experience this insanity" - but he saved me some time and I left him $6 tip on a $12 bill.

Anyhow. Other random thoughts...

Soooo....what happened to RealHoboken.com? Just askin'? Kind of just disappears one day.

Anyone notice that Philly is getting a soccer team? I'm a casual fan of soccer, now that I have been hanging out at Mulligan's a lot...and really like the logo & design for the Philadelphia Union. Going to have to start paying more attention to them now.

Been doing my diet fairly good at the office - cheating a bit on the weekend, because my schedule is a bit more haphazard and far too many meetings with friends at the bars. Turns out that a friend of mine might be able to help me out with re-upping my membership at Club H. But, as it turns out, my condo gym has been fairly solid after a week of working out. I can do most of my lifts with the dumbbells, treadmills and weight machines. So far I can feel myself getting stronger and my jeans are falling off my hips.

I'm going to Atlantic City on Thursday, and staying overnight - just for fun. I figure there's no Bradley Beach shore house this year, and need to do something fun for my week off. Going with a buddy of mine and we hope for some luck on the tables!

July 4th should be back in town for a party on Saturday. Plan to take out my digital SLR and I bought a new tripod especially for this day...so I can take good pictures of fireworks along the Hudson. If the weather plays along, I will post them later.

I was talking to a friend of mine about my interest in getting a dog. He mentioned that dogs are great, but to remember that they are like an anchor - you have to change your life to revolve around them. He's a single guy like me, and says it does take away from a lot of freedom that we take for granted. He has no regret over his dog...just was cautioning me about thinking it through. So I will.

Well, back to a long day of doing nothing. Just the way I like my vacations.

In case you didn't know already...

We have two Google Groups: The Philadelphia Eagles Club of Hoboken (http://groups.google.com/group/philadelphia-eagles-club-of-hoboken) and The Philadelphia Phillies Club of Hoboken (http://groups.google.com/group/PPCH).

We also have the same groups on Facebook (Phillies: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=64980222086) or (Eagles: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46532706779).

The Phillies Club meets every FRIDAY night at Mulligan's Bar (159 1st Street) during this season. We have $2 Yuenglings and $2 Bud Light pints, along with $10 buckets of Bud light bottles, for all Phillies fans EVERY Friday. Nice way to start off the weekend for those that don't have houses down the shore.

The Eagles Club meets for each game day. Last season, for the Cardinals game we had 175 Eagles fans in the bar, for example. It's loud and fun, kind of like being at the game. We have $2 Yuenglings and $2 Bud Light bottles, along with $10 Buckets of Bud Light.

If you know anyone living in or around Hoboken, feel free to send them this information!

Been kicking around the idea of car...hardwood floors...a dog...for now i'm not planning to move ahead for any of those at the moment.

With the economy the way it is and the fact that my bonus from Corporation X is going to be the lowest in my 15 years of working there kind of means I need to be careful about how I spend NOW. Without going into details, since I avoid writing anything work-related on here - i'm just happy to have a job.

Been dieting for the last few weeks. Lost about nine pounds so far and then plateaued. Need to decide what i'm going to do about joining Club H again.

I'm a fan of the gym. I think it's a great place to workout...just not such a fan of the cost now that I have a condo gym.

My condo gym I can do about 80% of what I can do from Club H, if I am creative. I have lost a lot of muscle mass in my 8 month layoff from working out. To a point where I saw a friend Saturday who said, "Wow, you lost a lot of weight!" (At first I was happy to hear this) and then he said, "Yea, you were jacked when I saw you last." (Big frown)

It's not fun starting out again at a gym. But I did go to my condo gym on Friday & Saturday. Did my normal gym routine w/lifting and cardio. Skipped Sunday. Would like to go 5 days this week and skip Saturday & Sunday (this was what I used to do).

Problem is my motivation dies when I walk in the door at my home. It was 10x easier to hit the gym once I got off the PATH and then go home after I worked out.

Other problem is that saving nearly $100 a month (yes, Club H is expensive), that money adds up. I haven't been to Club H since December...so that's ~$700 more in my pocket. Also at least Club H was semi-social. I knew people there, and made a few casual friends. I kind of miss that aspect, too.

But then again, that's also part of the reason why i'm at where i'm at now with working out. Need to figure out a better way to motivate. Not sure how i'm going to decide with this, but I am leaning towards restarting my Club H membership. I keep writing about how i'm going to use my condo gym ... and then something comes up to throw the routine off for a week...which turns into a month...and then i'm back to square one.

I think i'm going to make July 1 my first day back. I have off for the week of July 4th from work. Good week where I can stop in, restart everything and get back into my routine.

I think Hoboken is a bit worn out on the election, but here are my closing thoughts on the election now that Dawn Zimmer has conceded the race:

1. Congratulations to Peter Cammarano, Carol Marsh, Ravi Bhalla and Dave Mello. As someone who supported Dawn, I would rather see her as mayor, but remain content that her slate won. I hope that Dawn will be elected as the president of the city council by her peers.

2. Glad to see that there was a strong interest by new voters. I hope that momentum surges for the next election. Remember it's only 2 years until we vote for our city council wards represenatives.

3. I hope the first order of business is getting our house in order. Need to take a strong look at our revenue (taxes) and finances (payroll) and make fair, appropriate changes that are fiscally responsible.

4. I also hope we take a strong look at our election procedures. It seems that it is greatly flawed, with many holes for voter fraud. For example, people who move outside of Hoboken receiving election ballots. Shouldn't someone look into a better way to make sure registered citizens of Hoboken vote?

5. I think this was a bigger victory for reformists than many realize. When the HDCO does everything in its power to get Cammarano and his slate their victory and squeaks out a 161 vote margin...says a lot to the grass roots campaign and the efforts of the people. I think it bodes well for future candidates who want to stand up to the Hudson County Machine.