May 6, 2017- The Mets and McCartney

It was raining so much yesterday that it didn’t seem as if there would even be a Mets game but luckily it stopped by around 4:15. There was only a spot of drizzle during it later on. They beat the Marlins 8-7. It hadn’t seemed like they were even going to win.

   I wish that I could be more descriptive about this but my mind is all jumbled. I mainly recall the rude people, particularly one guy, in front of us who often blocked our view. And the fact that neither my brother nor I were smart enough to realize that we could have moved over to avoid this until like the bottom of the 7^th inning.

   Mike was the one who said that we should do so. There wasn’t anyone else in our row so we went over to the end of it. I wish that we had done this much sooner.

    Syndergaard was supposed to be the pitcher but he is injured. This was disappointing. The free Thor t-shirt is kind of cheesy but I am glad that we got it.

   Don Mattingly, my 1980s crush, is the Marlins’ manager. It’s been nearly 30 years since I last saw him in person. I have been to more Mets games over the past 3 years than I was to Yankees games in the 1980s; 6- 2.

   Mike ate a chicken sandwich and fries from Blue Smoke. It was another chilly night, not as bad as the last time though. I was dressed warmer so this helped.

   The subway was extremely packed this time. I felt so anxious. Some music was playing in my head then, 2 songs apiece by McCartney and Spandau Ballet. This helped to calm me a bit as did some by Depeche Mode during the game.

   He wants to go to another game in 6 or 7 weeks. I sort of want to but mostly I am just feeling like this will be too tiring in every way as it has been these past 2 times.

   I ordered Paul McCartney tickets for Mike and me yesterday morning. Our seats could have been closer and also together if I had done the preorder on Thursday. The Prudential Center had sent me a code only part of me wasn’t so sure that I should make this purchase.

   It isn’t as if I am into his music that much anymore as I was in the late 80s and early 90s. At first, that internal voice won over the one that said that I shouldn’t pass up on this opportunity. I am just glad that I was able to reverse this in time to get these tickets. I probably will always be a bit mad at myself for not doing the presale.

   I was surprised that my brother actually wanted to go with me. He is always saying how over-rated that the Beatles (and each member) are. Yet he has their greatest hits. It is disappointing that we couldn’t get seats together but at least we will be in the same section (far from the stage), just 3 rows and one seat apart.

   That isn’t until September. We have the Lionel Richie concert before that in August. Both are at the same venue. Mike will be seeing Janet Jackson there in November; she finally rescheduled her tour dates. His Roger Waters show is also in September.

   He still is hoping that Bon Jovi will be at Met Life stadium this summer. I guess that I will go too. He had about 7 of their videos on yesterday before we left for the game. I am the one that got him into this group in the first place. He likes them more than I do now. I only listen to them when he does.

 

Later-

I read an article and watched some highlight clips of yesterday’s game. I did remember some of this, like how Granderson got a 2 run homerun, that Montero was the pitcher, and that they had 6 relievers. TJ Rivera did well but I only remember the homerun part of this. Their winning run was from a walk in the 8^th.

    There were a bunch of runs for each team in an inning- 6 for the Marlins in the 4th and 4 for the Mets in the 7^th. I think that this is right. Even after writing down these details, I am still doubting my memory. We were happy that Flores was in the line-up.

Regis and Kathie Lee – 1980s

The first time that we went to this show Ann Abernathy was the co-host. It was called The “Morning Show “and was 90 minutes long then.  Regis was not there that day though; Ira Joe Fisher was filling in for him. There was a cooking segment, some sort of chocolate dessert. I really hadn’t remembered who the guests were; Mike told me that Gary Coleman was one of them. Dad was with the 3 of us as he was for the next time that we went.

   I don’t even remember any of the guests from the 2nd time, one might have been a girl from the US Olympic luge team or perhaps that was the first. Mike might know for sure so maybe I’ll ask him sometime soon.

   We stood outside the “All My Children” studios which were across the street for a little while afterwards. We saw some of its stars – the 2 who played Myra and Sloane, Julia Barr, Michael E. Knight who I had a little crush on and Peter Bergman who jogged right past us. Mike saw the actor who played Travis getting into his limo and actually went up to him and got his autograph.

   We both got Regis and Kathie Lee’s autographs. Dad talked me into doing so and he also took a picture of Regis and I together which was embarrassing. We did get Ira Joe’s and Ann’s autographs previously too.

   The third time Kathy and Helen came with the 3 of us. Mike told me that Dom DeLouise was the guest and that Kathy had said that she wished that it had been his son Peter that was there instead. She was a 21 Jump Street fan and might’ve had a crush on him.

   I have this vivid memory of the producer Gelman making us move over 1 seat. Before that I had been in the one that had the number of the winner of the contest prize winner on it. I was pretty mad about this. I think that the prize was dinner for 2 at a nice restaurant.

   We walked all the way back to Penn Station – that’s like 32 blocks. It was kind of cold out that day. I’m pretty sure that I had set up the videotape for this show. I never did watch it though; I wonder if we still have it and if we are shown when the camera was on the audience.

   My brother did not want to take the day off from school so the fourth time just mom and I went. We found out while waiting on the line that Phil Collins was going to be a guest. I hadn’t read the TV Guide or watched the show the day before to find out who would be there

 A couple of girls had driven all the way from Ohio just to see him and they didn’t even have tickets. They were asking people if they had any extras; we gave them our 2 which they were extremely grateful about.

   Mom had no idea who Phil Collins was. He didn’t even perform a song; all he did was a bit of the drum part from “In The Air Tonight”. Mom did take pictures of him and the other guests. I think that one of them was a sports commentator – Curt Gowdy?  Two celebrity impersonators were there – Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.

   Mom was in the hospital so she couldn’t go the next time with Mike and I. Petula Clark was the guest. The audience had to sing part of her hit,” Downtown”. There would have been a 6^th time too but Mom was in the hospital yet again and Mike didn’t want to take the day off from school. I was too afraid to go into the city alone. I wish that I hadn’t been; mom’s favourite girl singer, Rosemary Clooney, was the guest. It’s a shame that she had to miss out on her.

   One day when Mike and I were talking about our experiences regarding this show he mentioned that the actor who played Freddie Kruger in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies was taping a segment either before or afterwards which I hadn’t remembered until we were talking about this.  We always did have such a good time and kind of wish that we had gotten tickets to see it more.

Regis and Me-1986

Kathie Lee 1988

Phil Collins

 

September 29, 2015- Duran Duran and NYC

I had set my alarm for 4 a.m. yesterday but I shut it off and went back to bed. I pretty much gave up on my plan to go into the city to find out about the DD wristband situation. It more than likely would have been a wasted trip anyhow. That ship has sailed already. I wish that I could have been on it to meet Captain Le Bon and his crew.

   I am trying to tell myself that meeting the DD guys was just not meant to be but it is very hard to do that because it is my big dummy’s side who prevented me from going to that store a couple of times when there would have been a chance for me to get a wristband.

   I can’t believe that I had actually thought about going to see Duran Duran at that FOLD festival on Long Island. I had researched the public transportation for it but then my rational side said that I better not dig into my auto repair fund to pay for this adventure. My bad side is wishing that I had done so.

   They had shown a bit of this event during that “CBS Sunday Morning’ show. I think that I saw one girl going bonkers because she got to hug one of the band members but I forget which one. Maybe I am even wrong about this; could be a false memory.

 

After NYC

I told Amy about the Duran Duran autograph signing. She called the store for me to find out about the wristband situation. They still had some left. I was too afraid and ashamed to make this call myself. It seems ridiculous that we were doing this during a therapy session.

   The John Taylor autograph signing topic was brought up by her. She said that I seemed to do okay with that. I said that I must have been braver a few years ago.

   I went to Linden station right after this. I got a little lost when trying to find the store. I saw a lady with a Century 21 bag so I got up enough courage to ask her where this place was. I wasn’t that far from it.

  The inside of the store was so confusing to me; it felt like my head was spinning trying to find the way to get to the lower level.  The elevators seemed to be for employees only. I finally asked an employee who directed me to the right one then I had to take an escalator.

   I made up a story about how I was getting this CD for a friend from P.A. so she could go to the signing. I was still feeling embarrassed to be doing such a thing. I said that I am mostly into country music and asked him if they had any. He said that there is a small selection of it.

   They had the new Luke Bryan one and it was only $9.99 but I really want the Target edition with the 3 extra songs on it.

   I was too exhausted to even look around the store. I did check out a small display of jewelry quickly but didn’t really see anything that I liked.

   I was just glad to get back to Penn Station. I wound up getting on the wrong train though so I had to get off at Newark station and wait for the right one.

   I hadn’t been in that city since 2007 for the Bon Jovi concert. It was sort of cool but odd when I heard one of their songs, “Make a Memory” playing in that station.

   I had to drive home in the pouring rain for a few minutes. This was very scary. I was praying that I would not get into an accident.

   I wasn’t going to tell my brother where I had been. I had told him that I was going to the library after my appointment. I decided to reveal the truth after all. He definitely must think that I am totally obsessed with Duran Duran now.

   I won’t believe that I am truly meeting them until they are actually in front of me though. I just hope that nothing goes wrong that will spoil this awesome occasion for me.

   I should have asked where in this store that the event is taking place. That J&R Express area seems pretty small. They must have another spot for the signing. I guess that I will have to wait until next Wednesday to find out.

   I hope that I don’t get lost again trying to find this store. How early should I get there? It starts at 6:00 so maybe 4:00 would be good. I am sure that some girls will arrive even earlier than that.

  I had thought about getting the DD CD and wristband for my brother but I was not certain that he would be interested. He has been listening to them a lot more than I have lately.

   I do sort of wish that he was coming with me. Well, part of me would be worried that he might say something that would embarrass me around the DD guys.

   I am sure that we will be herded through this process swiftly. I can’t imagine that they will want to be there for any more than a couple of hours. There are 400 people to get through, so maybe like 30-40 seconds for each of us.

    I am already nervous about meeting all of them. I probably won’t even say more than “Hello” and “Thank you”.

  I watched a video clip of a Simon and John interview about their pets. They both have Chihuahuas. Someone posted this on Tumblr. I wasn’t going to do another DD post there because I really didn’t want to see my photos of them but did one with 3 group shots.

   I didn’t get the chance to check a B&N in the city for that Classic Pop magazine with DD on the cover. Maybe I will just see if ours has it first. It is a British publication, I think, so they might not have it. An NYC store might be more likely to carry it.

   

August 4, 2015- Duran Duran in Port Chester- Part 2

 

   I was so tired when I got home but couldn’t sleep. I was writing a lot in my journal. I had the TV on too. I did fall into a half sleep for about 45 minutes; the country music station was on then. We still did our usual early Sunday morning grocery shopping.

   I noticed that John and Roger were doing a chat on Tumblr. I don’t normally try to communicate with the DD guys or any other stars this way but did so this time. I said that I had enjoyed the Port Chester show. I was going to mention my disappointment about not seeing the encore but didn’t.

   Naturally, my comment was not picked for either of them to reply to. I am embarrassed that I had even done this.

   I had been chatting with a guy at the station and on the train after the show. He seemed interested in me. He gave me his email address and even asked me if I wanted to go out for a drink. I told him that I was too tired.

   I really am not interested in having a relationship with a guy now and probably ever. I just don’t need a man in my life in this way.

   It was kind of odd that he gave me a hug before we parted ways at Grand Central Station. This was the first time that I had ever been there and taken a Metro North train.

   Train guy seemed amazed that I had traveled all the way out there to see DD. I told him that people have gone even further than that to see them. I didn’t mention my trip to CT to see them at Foxwoods; that is about as far as I could ever go for them because of my tight budget.

   If I had a TARDIS, I would go back in time and tell myself to stick around for the encore. And I would say not to order the Mediterranean chicken sandwich at Panera; that was too spicy. I couldn’t eat it anymore after 3 bites.

   My smart side must have been on vacation then too. I wanted to order the plain grilled chicken as I had at this eatery at Foxwoods. I hate having such a defective brain.

   The cashier there liked my retro Scooby t-shirt and a customer complimented my cross necklace. It was the one that grandma-next-door had given to me at my First Holy Communion in 1977.

   Of course, I was feeling anxious when talking to them and a few fans before the show. The one girl looked familiar. Another was putting numbers on people’s hands with a Sharpie; this was supposedly to keep order for the line.

   Well, it turns out that some people were very rude when it came time to be let in the lobby. They cut in front of others and ran to the door leading to the concert are.

   It was even worse when those doors opened. I was so scared that I would be knocked over and stepped on. I was walking at a normal pace- well, maybe a little faster- and still managed to get a great spot near the stage.

   This was the first show that I had ever ordered a ticket for through the fan club. I was a little worried that it wouldn’t even be at the box office but luckily everything worked out.

   I can’t help thinking that if cute guy hadn’t been next to me, would I have stayed longer and not missed the encore. Yikes, that sounds like I am blaming him for this. It was both of our faults. I sort of feel like it is mostly mine though; I should have known better. He seemed to be looking to me for guidance regarding this.

   I am looking at this event as the concert that I only saw about 90% of which would still count but part of me feels that because I wasn’t there for the whole thing that it doesn’t. It sucks that I couldn’t be there for the total experience.

   I am wondering why the hell DD waited so long to return to the stage. I read that they didn’t do so until 20 minutes later. I guess that only the truly devoted fans got the privilege of seeing those 2 cool songs. I must not be one of them then. Sharon and Amy would disagree with this.

   I really need to make the attempt not to dwell on the negatives and hold onto the positives of this concert. It is not only Duran Duran that I am guilty of doing this with though. That is how my messed up brain works. The bad things seem to stick in my memory more than the good.

                                                                    

June 27, 2015- Duran Duran Tickets

I had to drive my brother to the train station because of the rain. This and lots of traffic made the ride very scary. He is seeing Rush at the Prudential Center tonight. I wish that my Chris Young concert was next week and not in 19 days. That seems so far away even though it isn’t really.

   Well, I successfully ordered a ticket to the Duran Duran show in Bethlehem, PA. There was only a presale for the ArtsQuest members and the staff of the venue. I was having trouble getting through because the site was busy. When I finally did, I just grabbed the first seat that I could. I was afraid that if I went back to look for a better one, it would take too long to return to the sales page.

   Unfortunately, the whole first section was all sold out. I got a seat in row I of the center second level. I guess that seems okay. It said that the tickets didn’t go on sale to the general public until 10 a.m. but I got through by 9:55. I was worrying that I got the time wrong and it was really 9:00. I hope not; I will be very mad if I did and could have gotten a closer seat.

    I have maps of the SteelStacks area where there are also other music venues. This concert is part of the Musikfest that is taking place there. It’s an outdoor venue so I have to pray that there won’t be any rain that day.

    I also have the Trans-bridge bus schedule. I sent an email to the company asking if I can purchase the ticket in advance and a couple of other questions. They sent me a very informative reply. I probably will just get the ticket on the day of the event.

   I don’t want to get too hopeful about this concert because it’s best not to just in case something goes wrong and I won’t get to go or it will be cancelled. The only time that I was really hopeful and excited about a show was DD’s Atlantic City one in 2012 which wound up being cancelled due to Nick’s illness. Thank God I had gone to their Foxwoods show the night before that.

   There is one other concert that I have to go to before this one. I am not even telling Mom and Mike about it. Mike would just say that I am obsessed. I am not even sure that I want to mention it to Amy. I did tell Sharon that I am going to see Duran Duran in Port Chester, NY on Saturday, August 1, which is 5 days before the one in PA.

   This show is in the Capitol Theatre. I was able to do presale through the fan site for this one. I almost didn’t do so because I read things wrong and thought that only the $150.00 tickets went on sale that day. I didn’t realize that the general admission tickets were the $89.50 ones, not these.

   Luckily, I was on Tumblr and a DD fan that I follow did a post about this show that clarified the presale thing for me. I ordered my ticket shortly afterwards. It is a pick up at the will call desk only deal. I am not really fond of this; I would prefer having a ticket in my pocketbook before arriving at a venue.

   The box office will call window opens only an hour before the show which is when they open the doors. This will be a crazy scene. I am picturing the fans running into the theater in an attempt to grab a good spot near the stage and the employees telling them to slow down.

   But it isn’t fair that the people who got the general admission tickets on the regular sale days will get to go right into the theater because they will already have their tickets. The presale people should be allowed in there earlier. What is the point in paying a membership fee to have the privilege of presale when you don’t get the first dibs on getting close to the stage?

   I wrote an email to that theater asking if maybe I read their policy about this wrong; maybe they do let the presale people in a little earlier. I should have worded this email differently for it sort of sounds like I am an obsessive fan, which I am not.

   I am very worried about the train ride home. The Metro North schedule for Saturday says that the last train to NYC is at 11:17 p.m. I hope that the show starts relatively on time- 8:00 p.m. – and lasts until only 10:30. That would give me plenty of time to make the train. The station is not that far from the theater.

   I didn’t see an opening act listed. I hope that there isn’t any, for that surely would screw up the schedule. If there is one, the show usually starts at 7:00.

   I can’t help but think of all the things that could go wrong that would prevent me from going to my concerts. I am even more anxious about driving now because if I get in a bad accident and am seriously injured, I won’t be able to see my favorite group and possibly even my country boy Chris, depending on when this might happen.

   I also have grim thoughts that there could be a death in the family and this would prevent me from attending these fun events. I have a couple of others on the calendar for this summer too- the US Open and Luke Bryan. I can’t even think that far ahead to those; the former is August 31-September 3 and the latter is on September 11.

   Mike wants to go to a Mets game that weekend that I am going to see DD. I am telling him that I am going into the city that day to meet up with some DD fans at a 80s club. I will be in the city, but to take Metro North to NY State. Should I get my bus ticket for PA that day? I will be taking the 7 to get to Grand Central Station so I could stop at the bus terminal before getting on that subway.

   Sharon was encouraging me when I told her that I was not so sure that I wanted to get a ticket to the NY show because of my fear of missing the train home afterwards. She said not to worry about it and that I could always take a cab back to the city. That would be so expensive but if it comes to that, I will do so. I would not want to miss out on this show just for this reason.

   I am fantasizing that I will be fortunate enough to get a spot within the first 6 or 7 rows near the stage. I doubt that I will be as lucky as I was at their Wellmont Theater concert in 2008. I think I was within the first 4. I was even closer at the Central Park one- 3^rd row. I will just be happy to be there no matter where I wind up.

Crumbs Cupcakes

Thoughts about the times that my brother and I would go to Crumbs bake shop when we were in the city and buy a cupcake for us to share have been on my mind today. I can't recall how many times that we did so or even exactly when. It has been a while though, at least 6 years. They were so yummy!

Duran Duran - NYC October 25, 2011

My brother and I really enjoyed this concert 2 weeks ago. The seats were better than I expected - 5th row in the bottom section towards the left in a section towards the left but not close to the stage. Those seats would've cost 30.00 more. I might have been willing to pay that if my brother hadn't wanted to come with me. I suppose we could've gotten tickets in seperate sections. Nah- I would've been cutting into my computer savings fund to do so. I guess that I got a little spoiled after the last 3 concerts of general admission and being pretty close to the stage.

My brother was happy when they did The Reflex, Notorious and Wild Boys, the latter being not a song of theirs that I really care for. I was pleased that the did Planet Earth, Is There Something I Should Know and Careless Memories. Mark seemed a little disappointed that they didn't do Girls on Film, nor did they perform Save a Prayer. I wasn't that upset about this but felt bad for the people who had either never seen them in concert before or haven't in a long time so if they liked these songs I'm sure they would've been disappointed just as I would've been if they hadn't done the 3 that I mentioned.

They did 7 songs from the new album. I like Leave a Light On and Before the Rain. Mark said that they should've only done 5. I didn't even have the new album yet. I ordered this a couple days after the concert. I usually buy the souvenir tour books at Duran Duran and Bon Jovi concerts but did not do so this year for either group. It was 35.00. I need that money for more important things now. Rio, my former #1 favourite song was last and right after the show I was already wishing that I could see them again.

Yes, I did look into getting tickets for Atlantic City but there were none available when I checked a few times. No way would I drive down there. I looked into options and taking a bus from NYC seemed the best bet. The Borgata just happens to be the place furthest from the station so I would've had to take a cab. It's probably for the best that this didn't work out because that Saturday was the day of the storm and power outage in New Jersey. I feel kind of embarrased for hoping that they will return to this area sometime next year so I can see them for one final time. This was the 8th time in 6 and a half years. The first was also at Madison Square Garden in 2005.

Someone spilled their beer on my jacket and my arm which was kind of upsetting. I've always been afraid that this would happen. I dislike the smell of beer. I tried to let this go but it was in the back of my mind a little during the first few songs. She did give me tissues to wipe it up and 5.00 toward the dry cleaning. I can sort of laugh about this a bit but it would've been nice if I didn't let it affect my enjoyment during those songs and also I was too embarrassed in the beginning to really get into the music because I was afraid that my brother would tease me alot about that. He is always teasing me which is annoying. He actually thinks that I have a crush on Simon LeBon. I'd rather him think that then know who it really is that I like in that group. I was using my binoculars alot, esp. on John Taylor. It was like being in the front row then. I wouldn't let myself use them as much at first though, also because of the shame issue.

I am so glad that I somehow found out about a presale for this event for WPLJ listeners. I forget how. This is why I was able to get such good seats. I haven't really listened to that station in a long time but I used to often. The 2 morning djs were on stage before the show. A group called Neon Trees was the opening act and they were on for about 30 minutes. I don't know anything about them. The one song did sound familiar.

I'm going to see Duran Duran tonight

I took these photos at the last Duran Duran concert that I went to at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, N.J. on December 14, 2008. I was lucky enough to be close to the stage because it was general admission (is that the right term?) and I got there 3 hours early so I was 3 rows from it. I did use a bit of zoom which isn't that great on my camera. I kind of went bonkers with the photo taking and the battery ran out before the last 5 songs. I had never taken a camera to a concert before because I prefer to focus on the music so I don't know what possesed me to do so this time - never again.

Well, tonight my brother and I will not be this close to the stage. We are going to Madison Square Garden in NYC and our seats are on the first level but almost directly across from it towards the left which should be okay. I've never been that far down at a concert - it's normally nosebleed seats for us. I'm really excited but also nervous about this event. I worry that the NJT trains will be delayed which seems to be happening alot lately but I'm praying that this won't be the case. I hope that we will be able to get a spot in the parking lot at the station too. I will try not to let my anxieties spoil the evening though.

I read a review and set list from their Chicago show and they did 7 songs from the new album and 13 hits. No Girls on Film but it's alright if they skip it as long as they do Planet Earth which I always liked better than that anyhow. My brother might be disappointed though. I hope that they do Is There Something I Should Know and Careless Memories as they did for that show. My brother seems to like Wild Boys but I don't really care for that and even sometimes skip over it on the CD. I will be doing a post about our concert experience soon. I wish that I could go to the Atlantic City show too but after all I spent at the US Open this year that is definitely not in the budget plus I'm kind of scared to go there. It's easier going into the city for us.

US Open 2011 Photos

I haven't been here in so long because of going to the US Open, being sick for a week afterwards and my brother's computer giving him problems. I'm going to have so much catching up to do with all my blog friends. I have started my picture project of this event and just wanted to share some of the better ones with you all. It seems like I am a bit obsessive with the picture taking when I'm at these matches but for every 10 photos I take only a couple come out good. The first 3 are of my favourite player, Austria's Jurgen Melzer. I kind of semi stalked him after the match and got the one of him with a couple of other people having their photo taken with him. The Juan Carlos Ferrero ones didn't come out that great because it was night time. You aren't really supposed to use a flash while they are playing. The bottom photo is of the guy who first got me into tennis 5 years ago - Tommy Haas. I missed part of his match because I was watching all of the Petzschner 5 set one - should've left after the 4th.

Because of Hurricane Irene our power was out for 4 days and we were unable to recharge our batteries until Wednesday night. If I had been more conservative with the picture taking on Monday my 2 batteries probably would have lasted all of the first 2 days but they were dead by Tuesday afternoon. I had a regular 35mm camera and film with me just in case this happened but unfortunately wasn't even able to use it because I forgot that it takes a special battery and had waited until we got to the tennis center to put batteries in it - it takes 1 lithium, not AA. If I had grabbed our 80's camera too, I could have at least used this even though there isn't any zoom on it, not that the zoom on the 90s one is that good.

At first in the bus terminal - we couldn't take the train because service of New Jersey transit was suspended- I bought 2 of those disposable digital cameras at one store. They were kind of expensive- 45.oo for 2. I went into another store, saw the 4 pack of film which I bought then returned the disposable ones which I totally regret now. I obviously was not thinking clearly during this whole day. It turns out that it would have been cheaper to get like 6 of those disposable ones than it was the way that I did things. I had all the film put on a discs so I'd be able to send the best shots to the computer than to Walgreens photo to have printed out. I had put off looking at them because I feared that there would be alot of crappy shots which turned out to be right. Very disappointing.

This whole camera incident feels like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone as does the fact that we were the only block in our small town to actually lose power during that Hurricane. We had to throw out like 80.00 worth of meats and dairy products. I'm just glad that I was smart enough to think to charge all our batteries on Saturday so at least we were able to take digital photos on Monday and part of Tuesday. It's been like 6 years since I've last used a regular camera. I didn't go digital until the end 0f 2008. I can't believe that I resisted the technology for so long. And I also looked into the bus schedule on Saturday because I was afraid that the trains might not be running. We had to walk 15 minutes to the bus stop which we wound up doing for the 5 days. We weren't even sure when the trains starting running again. The money that I saved on parking in the train lot wound up going towards the film but that was only a small portion of what I wound up throwing away because of the power outage. Things could have been much worse so I shouldn't even complain. We didn't get the flooding like many towns in Jersey did. And thank goodness that New York had their subway system up and running in time for us to get out to Queens to attend this event.

I hope that everyone has been well lately. I will have much more on our US Open experience in the future. It's nice to be back here. I'm looking forward to reading and commenting on your posts.

Just a Quick Post About the US Open - For Now

I have so much that I'd like to write about my 2011 US Open experience only I feel too darn sick to even be on the computer now so I will just make this a brief post. This is a picture taken at one of the booths at the tennis center. My brother and I entered a contest to win a Citizen watch and the chance to meet Kim Clijsters. The weather was wonderful all week, thank goodness. I should just be greatful that it was and that we even got to be there but I can't help but be upset about the fact that we lost power in just our 2 blocks in my small town for 4 days because of Hurricane Irene so we couldn't recharge our camera batteries until Wednesday night. I took alot of pictures on Monday and by the time of my main guy Melzer's match on Tuesday afternoon the battery was getting weaker so I wasn't able to take that many of him. Oh how I wish that I had been more conservative with the picture taking at other matches. More about this topic next time. I was so close to going myself for a 6th day on Saturday. The guy at the ticket booth said that there weren't any tickets available when I asked on Thursday night but to come back on 8:30 that morning. If I hadn't gotten this awful cold I definitely would've been there. I got sick after this event last year too which sucks but it was worth all the suffering that I'm going through now.

I did read some of my emails and comments on my posts and would like to thank Chelly, Pam, Darrin and all my other blog friends for their kind words and I certainly will respond to you all as soon as I'm feeling better. I'm looking forward to reading your posts too. I've missed everyone here. Hope that you all have been well these days.

Hurricane Irene Might Spoil Our US Open Plans

Here are some photos of the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, N.Y. from last year when the weather was very hot but no rain except for a little showers for about 25 minutes or so one day out of the 6 that we were there. Well, it looks like things might not go so smoothly for us this year because of the Hurricane that is due to hit this area Saturday into Sunday. Sure, the rain will end by Sunday night, but there's always the worries of floods, power outages, delays or cancellations of trains and other factors that could spoil things for Monday especially. It might be okay by Tuesday but I'm hearing some doom and gloom reports on the news. We have to take the train and subway to get out there, no way could I do any city driving. Very scary and stressful, esp in those areas that we'd have to take to get there. I'm just praying that things work out alright but I'm not very hopeful.

I feel bad that I have not responded to comments on my posts lately. I've had very limited computer time and I've also been catching up on tasks, projects and other chores. I promise that I will do so and also read and comment on posts of my friends here in the blog world as soon as I can. Next week is going to be a very busy one with us being away most of the day for the tennis event so it won't be for another 10 days. I'll miss being in touch with you all and I'll send out my thanks for everyone who has been reading my posts.

Tennis- US Open 2011

Two weeks ago I ordered the US Open tickets which came in the mail this past Saturday. We hopefully will be going to this event for the first 3 days. I always worry that something bad might happen that will prevent us from going to concerts and other events. Luckily last year things worked out well, only a tiny bit of a rain delay on Day 5. I actually got myself a ticket for Thursday too but I don't want to tell my brother this because I'm afraid that he will just criticize me for doing so and be mad that I won't be here to take him to his first day of college classes. There are 2 buses that can get him there so he will just have to get there that way.

I had debated whether or not to go by myself on Friday. I really wanted to and was going to order that ticket right after getting our 3 days of tickets but an illogical voice inside of me was saying that it would be too scary to go there alone plus I had my brother's voice putting me down for even wanting to go without him. I finally was able to convince myself that it wouldn't be scary to go alone and why should I even care what my brother thinks so I went to the TicketMaster site at about 2:45 pm only to discover that they were already sold out for that day so I checked for Thursday and they still had some available so I got one for that day. I would have rather had Friday though.

I couldn't believe that those tickets were gone already especially because last year Mark and I didn't decide until the day after they first went on sale to get tickets for Saturday. I'm suspecting that those ticket scam artists had a part to play in this which is so annoying and unfair. I did click onto the link for ticket resales just out of curiosity. I knew that the prices would be more there but I did not imagine that the lowest one was going for 25.00 more than the TicketMaster price would've been. The message at the TM site said try again closer to the event and maybe more would be available - that's doubtful. I am so mad at myself for not just going with my smart voice and getting that ticket right away.

A tiny part of me is hopeful that more tickets will be available. It would be so nice if I can be there for all the days of men's 2nd round matches. With my luck the main guys that I really want to see will be playing them on Friday. I already have a list of primary and secondary players to see. Two more months until this event. It seems kind of far away even though it really isn't. I should be watching the tennis now but I need to squeeze some computer time in today because my brother will be around more than usual this week.

2009 US Open

I have only been following the tennis since the second week of the 2006 US Open. I didn't really know that much about it and used to think that it was boring but I was depressed about my mom being in the hospital and put the TV on to take my mind off of this. I wanted to watch The Price Is Right and was mad that the tennis was on but part of me was thinking give it a chance - well, mostly I left it on because I was thinking that the two players were kind of cute. One was an American, Robbie Ginepri and the other a German, Tommy Haas. After this event, I was thinking that there wouldn't be any more tennis until late spring so I really wasn't paying attention to sports. I felt so stupid when I found out that I had missed the Australian Open and other events. I did see the last few days of the French Open 2007.

I really wanted to go to the US Open in 2007 only my anxiety problem kept me from doing so as it did in 2008. I finally got over my fears and my brother and I went to the first 4 days of that event in 2009. If I hadn't gone into the city to see Federer at a charity event maybe I still would have been too scared to go. We didn't get the tickets until a few days before the event. I had never ordered tickets on line or printed them out before. I was so glad that tickets were still available.

I have good memories of being at the US Open then but also the memories of some of the stupid things that I did haunt me. I have been better at letting all that go these days and am focusing on the fact that I was brave and didn't let fear prevent me from going and also am thinking how lucky we were to be there. We were at 4 matches in Armstrong stadium on that Wednesday which was the best day there. We saw Pennetta v. Mirza, Safin v. Melzer, Bartoli v. Clijsters and Del Potro v. Monaco. I could have gotten Safin's autograph when he was practicing but was too afraid to. My brother did get me another Russian guy's autograph the next day - Davydenko.

I went to 2 Tommy Haas matches. The first one I was sitting real close on the outside bleachers exactly where I wanted to be only I listened to the guy next to me who said it was better to be on the inside. I regretted moving even like 20 minutes later. I probably could've gone back outside and gotten closer than the 6 rows up that I was on the inside but my idiot voice said it was too late and I had to stay where I was. My camera battery ran out just as the match ended so I was unable to get a photo of him leaving the court. I am embarrased to admit that I ran out of there just to get close to him. Originally I only planned on going 3 days to this event but I added a fourth just because I wanted to see Haas again.

The photo is of Tommy Haas at his second round match against Kendrick which he won in 3 sets. I was sitting pretty close there only my brother was in another section because we were dense and didn't listen to the 2 nice people who we were talking to as we waited an hour before the tennis center opened. They said that the closer seats on the one side were for grounds pass people and not reserved but I asked an employee inside and she said they were. Why did I believe her? She must've misunderstood me.15 - 20 minutes later I asked another employee and he said that we could sit over there. I forgot to ask my brother for the binoculars -I would have had a great view of Haas if I had those. His seat was on the opposite side of where I was. I'm still ashamed that I was going a little ga-ga over him.

I saw 4 or 5 other matches. On the last night we were watching Kohlschreiber but we left after the 3rd set which we regretted. I don't know why we just didn't stay for the whole thing. Oh well, we aren't too bright, I suppose. Mark was happy that he got to see his girls and despite some of the stupid things that I did I enjoyed being at this event that for a couple of years that I was afraid to go to. Yes, I was still feeling anxious about being around so many people but I managed to do okay with that and even socializing with them. I sat next to a nice guy who looked a bit like James Blake at the Tsonga match on day 2. He was from Canada. I only took 3 pictures at that match. I didn't do the match hopping like alot of people do at this event so they can see more players that way. I would have liked to have seen more of my guys like Ferrer.

Mark and I were exhausted after these 4 days. We were up by 5 a.m. and out until like between 9 and 10 pm. It was well worth it though and we said that we would definitely be getting tickets for the next year's US Open like shortly after they went on sale which we did - actually I got them the first day. I had been having this bad feeling even like right afterwards that Haas would not be there then and unfortunately I was right. Safin had retired the year before not long after that event. I'm trying not to think about the fact that I wish that I had gone in 2007 and 2008 and I would have gotten to see more of my 2 favs in person. I can't belive that I used to think that tennis is boring.

Christmas Show

I can't really remember much about this show or even if it was a class or Girl Scout trip. I do recall that it was pretty exciting going to New York City and that I had a good time. I can't believe that this was 30 years ago.

Figure Skating Shows

My mom and I really enjoyed watching figure skating during the Olympics in the 1980s and early 1990s. We got to go to 2 shows in the early to mid 90's. Brian Boitano was at both of them. We took some pictures but they did not turn out that great. Boitano and Witt are in the first 2. In the bottom 3 are Petrenko, Kerrigan and Boitano. You can clearly see on the program page who was at the first one but it's harder to see on the second - Torvil and Dean, Nancy Kerrigan , Oksana Baiul and Victor Petrenko are included in this one. We went with a couple of friends. Skating 2 was at MSG in New York City and the 1994 show was in New Jersey at the Meadowlands. I'm not sure why after 1994 I lost interest in the figure skating. I must've been watching it in the late 70s a bit too because I remember getting the Dorothy Hamill haircut a couple of times back then.

Cooperstown 1987 and 1988

Mom, Mark and I went to Cooperstown in 1987. We went there again the following year with Dad. We went to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Farmers Museum and the Secret Caverns. I pet a cute calf and it got snots on my pants at the museum. We went on a boat ride on Lake Ostego. It is very nice in upstate NY. I'd love to go back there someday. We were also in Saratoga Springs for my cousin's wedding in 1988.

US Open 2010 Part 2

These are some of the other players that I saw at this event. Top - Bottom - Russia's Youzhny, Spain's Tommy Robredo, Sweden's Robin Soderling and also from Spain, Juan Carlos Ferrero.

I did some match hopping for certain players but stayed at whole matches for others. Last year I did not do the former. There are too many players that I like now so it's impossible to see their whole matches or even any of them. I had to sacrafice a few so I could see all of Melzer and Fish.

Food is pretty expensive at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center. My brother and I wound up splitting the burgers (8.50) and chicken sandwiches(9.75). We alternated nights. He also got the waffle fries(4.50). The Snapple Peach ice tea was 4.75 a bottle. We got one a piece each day.

A few of our dinners were eaten during matches. I packed a lunch of a peanut butter sandwich and Nutrigrain bar. We had grapes and water for a snack before we got on the line.

Our am routine was up at 4:30 to catch the 5:59 train. It was half hour late one day. We got into the city by 6:45. My brother had a donut and milk at Zaros then we walked to Times Square from Penn Station 2 mornings and the other days just took the subway - 1 - to get to the 7 that goes right to the tennis center in Queens. After the hour and 15 minutes in line before the gates opened we'd buy the daily schedule, go to the bathroom and look around at the courts to see some of the players practice. Then we would go our seperate ways, except for on Saturday when we both spent all day at Armstrong to see 3 matches - Soderling, Wozniacki and Fish.

PM- we would get home between 9:30 and 10:40, that was the last night. We had to recharge our camera batteries, shower, put the tickets and money in my purse, make up a list of matches of interest on 2 index cards so we'd know where each other would be. We don't have cell phones.I had the tennis on tv but we were too busy to focus on this. We would get only between 4 and a half and 5 hours of sleep each night. Very long days but well worth it despite getting very sick.

I forgot to mention the nice girl from Trinidad yesterday. I feel bad that I didn't ask her name. She was on line with us for 3 of the days. She took our picture.

My memory card ran out of space on Friday morning. I had no idea that I had taken so many pictures. I sat there and deleted photos of the grounds and stuff that I had taken pictures of for my blog to make room. The Robredo match ended during the start of a 2nd set tiebreak because Benneteau had a wrist injury. This was disappointing. I wouldn't have been able to take more pictures during it because I could only fit 22 more on that card. Luckily the Olympus store there had the right card. I had to pay $5.00 more for it here than at Walmart.

Some other players that I saw were Italy's Seppi(2 sets), David Ferrer, Marcos Baghdatis(only 1 set), Davydenko(1 set and 2 games), Stakhovsky and Querry(1 set) and parts of a few women's matches mostly because they were on the court that my guys were going to be next. Mark was mostly at his girls matches but he did watch some Melzer with me and saw John Isner. I would've liked to have seen him too but I was at Youzhny. I sacraficed some Ferrer and Lopez for him too.

I did quiet a few stupid things there but I'm trying not to dwell on it. At a few of the matches I could've moved to better and closer seats but I did not. I am not sure why. My view would've been better and I would've gotten better pictures. I also deleted a few photos that I shouldn't have and didn't take enough at a few matches like the Melzer v. Ferrero 3rd round one. By Saturday night I was feeling so tired and a bit sick so maybe that's why I wasn't thinking clearly then.

We bought some souveniers - 4.00 for 5 postcards, an 8.00 pin and the 17.00 book. Mark wanted the magnet but they were out of that so he got the pin. We didn't think until later that we probably could've ordered that from the US open site. They gave out pens, cookies and yougurt there. No beanie baby like last year. I was hoping to add this to my collection.

I hope that we are able to go to this event next year. I just finished going through my photos yesterday. Many of them didn't come out that great. I can't believe that I took so darn many at the Melzer/Petzschner doubles match. I swore that I wouldn't go so bonkers with the camera like I did last year but I was even worse this year. Mark regrets not taking more photos.

My 2 Tennis Guys/2010 US Open

My brother and I were at the US Open for the first 6 days this year. Last year was the first time that we ever went and it was for 4 days. I haven't been following the tennis for that long - 2006 US Open. I was depressed that my mom was in the hospital and wanted to watch The Price Is Right but tennis was on which at first I was mad about and was thinking so boring but the 2 guys were kind of cute - Haas and Ginepri - so I kept it on. If they hadn't been cute, would I have changed the station? I was so stupid that I didn't think that there would be any more tennis until late spring of the next year so I missed out on the Australian Open and other events.

Anyhow, getting back to the present, my brother and I didn't add the 6th day until a week before this event. Last year it was only a few days before it that I printed out the tickets on my computer because it wasn't until then that I had overcome my fear of going there. I wish that I had been able to in 2007 and 2008. This time I ordered the tickets the very day that they went on sale.

Haas and a couple of my other guys were out injured but I had plenty of other guys to see, including the 2 pictured above. The top one is American Mardy Fish and the bottom photo is of Austria's Jurgen Melzer. I was at 2 full 5 set matches for both of them plus one set of Fish's 2nd round match, 2 sets of Melzer's third round match and nearly all 3 of his doubles match and a total of 3 sets for 2 of Fish's doubles. I wish that I could have been at all of Melzer's third round but it was going on at the same time as Fish and I made the decision to stick with that until the end.

The weather was very, very hot the first 4 days and still kind of hot on the 5th. Last year we didn't apply sunscreen much and got burned. In fact, the first day I totally forgot the sunscreen and got a painful burn. This year I did a better job of sunscreen application, although I still did get a bit burned.

I met some really nice people at this event like Bob and Jim who let me hang out with them at the one Fish match and afterwards. There was Igor at the Youzhny match. That day there was a 30 minute rain delay. We were lucky that this is all the rain that occured during our time there. Brian and Kathy from Canada and a few others also were nice. I'm usually very shy and not good at socializing but I seemed to do okay at this event.

Our day was very long - up at 4:30, catch the 5:59 train and get there by 8:00. I have the whole schedule of am and pm routines in my journal. I might include this in a part 2 of this topic. Right now I am feeling very tired because I am still feeling sick. My brother and I both got sick from these long, hot days at the US Open. This is the sickest that I've been in a very long time. It started 11 days ago. Even though we are suffering this illness because of that, I still can say that I had a good time being at this event and hope that my financial situation will allow me to go again next year. I'm not too positive about this though.

I've really missed being here and reading everyone's posts. I will try to slowly catch up on this. I have alot of stuff to do that I had to put off for the past 2 weeks like laundry and sorting through the many photos that I took at this event and need to send them to the Walgreens site for printing out. I took too many at some matches and not enought at others. Many of them didn't turn out that great.