Holy shit! I was on the NFL Network!!!

Okay, so last I blogged, I thought perhaps I might be on the NFL Network's coverage of the Patriots' AFC Championship pre-game press conference at Gillette Stadium on Friday, 1/18. Well, HOLY SHIT! I was!!!

Note: the delay for blogging about this is partly because I'm still walking around pinching myself and others just to be sure it wasn't a dream.

Thanks so much to my Aunty Diane and cousin Beth for their head's up DVR'ing! Imagine their surprise when they tuned in for the Pats' press conference and saw my smiling face in the crowd of reporters! Thanks, guys!!!! YOU ROCK!

Thanks also to my head's up choice of seats upon entering the press conference. After confirming that there wasn't a pecking order that would force me to grab a seat in the rafters, I chose the ideal spot for taking in the greatness that is Patriots football: dead center. It turned out I had also positioned myself in the direct gaze of the NFL Network's cameras. Yay!

It was great to check out the full press conference at my Uncle Mark and Aunty Diane's house (who are super fans 1 and 2). Without my knowledge, I'm on camera a couple times (snickering at stupid questions and Belichick's "is that a question?" retorts -- again, am I the ONLY person who thinks he's hilarious?).

So, without further ado, the video I taped off their TV of me asking Brady a question: (note how composed I am...well, up until I can't take it any more and melt)



Oh, and if that weren't enough, I went to the AFC Chamionship game that Sunday with my Dad and had the most amazing, memorable time ever (thanks SO MUCH, Jeremy! the seats were AWESOME!!).

I'll never, ever forget walking along Route 1 with my Dad up to the stadium, bundled from head to toe but still somehow cold, smelling the tailgater's fires, hearing the crowds up ahead and turning to my Dad to say "thanks so much for being here to enjoy this with me!"

It doesn't get any better than that...especially when your team wins and heads to the Super Bowl!!!

Tom Brady. ’Nuf said.

So, I thought that Sunday, Dec. 16 was the best day of my life (on the set of the NFL Today show all day, meeting Dan, Boomer & Coach, getting Dunkin' Donuts coffee delivered) but today far surpassed it. I'd like to write a novel about today but need to go to bed for an early day at Gillette tomorrow so...

As part of my freelance work for Watch! CBS Sports magazine, I was invited to attend the Patriot's press conference for Sunday's AFC Championship game. Of course, I accepted (duh).


(me @ the Patriots' AFC Championship pre-game press conference @ Gillette Stadium! this photo appeared on the front page of the Providence Journal's business section on Sat. 1/19 for a story about national media staying in the city's hotels for the game...um, okay, Providence -- work that angle!)

My game plan was to keep a low profile and not say anything...which lasted longer than most would expect. Out came Bill Belichick (am I the only person who finds this guy HILARIOUS?), then Mike Vrabel (MUCH bigger in person), then Tedy Bruschi (is he the nicest guy on the planet or what? I want a Tedy Bruschi bear just like him), then Kevin Faulk (a lot shorter than I expected).

Then, the grand finale: Tom Brady. At this point, I'd asked nothing (but taken lots of photos with my new BlackBerry Pearl -- everyone else was doing it!) but then a reporter asked Brady a question about keeping his adrenaline in check. He said, yeah, it's hard, gotta keep focused on the game at hand, etc. but he also said that it was a particularly hard thing for him to do. I was like, WTF? This guy is known for being cool in the pocket, nerves of steel and all that. Then, I remembered: isn't this the same guy who TOOK A NAP BEFORE HIS FIRST SUPER BOWL??

I couldn't resist the urge any more. I had to speak. I tapped the NFL Network guy on the shoulder and asked for the mic next. He agreed. As Brady was wrapping up an answer to another question, I took a deep breath, my own adrenaline going like mad, and said (transcription from www.patriots.com):

Q:Wondering way back to your first Super Bowl against the Rams, it was reported that you had taken a nap in the locker room prior and now you're talking about the adrenaline and keeping it in check; what's changed over the years?

TB: I think I was naive back in the day. My first couple years, I thought it was easy. I got to the Super Bowl, hey, this is no problem, you start a few games, you're in the Super Bowl and U2 is out there playing in the field. It was a great environment. I think we all look back on that Super Bowl, any time it's your first time in those experiences and everything felt like it was so out of control, you can look back and realize how much fun it was. Now you kind of know what to avoid so you lose a little bit of that naivete as Mr. Kraft would say and you just focus on whatever you need to focus on. The adrenaline, it comes and it goes. I think for me the more prepared, the more comfortable I feel with what we're doing, I think the more relaxed I'll be. I think adrenaline is a little bit different because you get very excited when you run out in front of 75,000 people, and especially in a game like this, and those emotions just play out.

Check the video at http://www.patriots.com/mediacenter/index.cfm?ac=videonewsdetail&pid=30402&pcid=82 (my question starts at 9 min. 7 sec. and his answer ends at 10 min. 28 sec.) -- Brady is all smiles the entire time (giggity giggity), esp. at the end when I jokingly reminded him about the TV audience that's also watching (but then realized I don't want to nerve him out and screw up my own team so I tell him to forget about the TV audience). Oh. My. God.

But then, the day is capped by national media picking up on my I-can-die-now moment (it was a press conference, after all)...

The Associated Press writer covering today's press conference used Brady's reply to my question in the article he filed. The article, "Chargers QB Rivers 'optimistic' he can play in AFC championship game," has since been picked up by news outlets that subscribe to the AP wire service (i.e. A LOT, including the Sporting News, ESPN, Yahoo, AOL, USA Today, etc.)

From the AP article:

Tom Brady, whose best games often come in the biggest settings, was typically more composed, joking about a future in Hollywood.

For all his experience in pressurized settings, the Patriots quarterback suggested he had more trouble nowadays when it came to keeping his adrenaline in check. Brady was reminded that six years ago, right before playing in his first Super Bowl, he took a nap on the locker-room floor. Brady wound up as the game's MVP in a win over the St. Louis Rams.

"I think I was naive back in the day," Brady said. "I thought it was easy."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/chargers/2008-01-18-injuries_N.htm

Okay, I'm going to try to sleep now (operative word: try).

p.s. my Uncle Mark and cousin Manda say I was on the NFL Network's coverage today. Luckily, they're HUGE Pats fans and DVR'd it. Can't wait to see how it looks!!!! Again: Oh. My. God.

Every (winter storm) cloud has a silver lining

All day, I've been thinking about the weather. Now that I'm finally done working, I can ruminate about it here (like you care).

So, it started raining at 9 last night --- just a cold, hard rain...nothing dramatic. At 3 am, it was still raining as I was getting into bed but then there was a huge thunder clap outside. And then another. WTF?

The storm continued until morning (making my dreams were VERY interesting). In the mid-afternoon today, another round of "severe thunderstorms" rolled through. I kept thinking, "WTF? Am I in South FL in mid-July or New York City in mid-January?"

I've heard thunder in the winter up here before. Once, during a blizzard, I swear I heard several thunder claps (no one believes me). In fact, including last night's performance, I think I've heard more thunder in NYC than I ever did in South FL during the month of January.

My curiousity was piqued. I Googled "january thunderstorm nyc" and was comforted by an old NY Times article:
"The weather system that produced yesterday's rain, thunder, fog and warmth, in which much of this winter's deep snowfall vanished, might be considered a garden-variety thunderstorm in July. But it comes to New York in January about once a decade." (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E1DC1E39F933A15752C0A960958260
A Bit of July, Sort of, in January By WILLIAM K. STEVENS Published: January 20, 1996)

Okay, once in a decade -- that's cool. But ever since Al Gore invented global warming, it's hard to shrug these oddities off. I had to research today's storm further. Was it so ordinary? Maybe even a sign of global warming? An omen from God about my Patriots?

The part-time blogger and full-time weatherman at mattnoyes.net ("THE New England weather analysis page and blog") assured:
"This clash of airmasses and the strong upward motion of the air resulted in a remarkable phenomenon - January thunderstorms with a surface temperature in the 30s! A situation like this is known as 'elevated instability' - favorable conditions for thunderstorm development removed from the ground by a few thousand feet, located above a cold, dense dome of air."

Again, seems like run-of-the-mill meteorology -- not a sign of impending doom. Then I checked weather.com:


Special Weather Statement

KINGS (BROOKLYN)-NASSAU-QUEENS- RICHMOND (STATEN IS.)- 1:42 PM EST FRI JAN 11 2008

...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT KINGS...NASSAU...QUEENS AND SOUTHERN RICHMOND COUNTIES...

AT 1:36 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM PERTH AMBOY TO 6 MILES NORTHEAST OF COUNTRY LAKE ESTATES TO 8 MILES NORTHEAST OF HAMMONTON... AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH.

THESE STORMS WILL BE... NEAR VERRAZANO-NARROWS BRIDGE BY 1:50 PM. NEAR CONEY ISLAND BY 1:55 PM. NEAR FLATBUSH BY 2:00 PM. NEAR ROCKAWAY BEACH BY 2:05 PM. NEAR KENNEDY AIRPORT BY 2:10 PM. NEAR MANHASSET BY 2:15 PM.

INTENSE CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING... SMALL HAIL...AND DAMAGING WINDS UP TO 50 MPH ARE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS. IN ADDITION...VERY HEAVY RAIN...WITH RAINFALL RATES OF UP TO 2 INCHES AN HOUR...IS OCCURRING WITH THESE STORMS. THIS COULD CAUSE PONDING OF WATER ON ROADWAYS... AND MINOR FLOODING OF POOR DRAINAGE AREAS.

LIGHTNING IS ONE OF NATURES NUMBER ONE KILLERS. REMEMBER...IF YOU CAN HEAR THUNDER...YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. MOVE TO SAFE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.

Jesus, Joseph and Mary! I immediately began planning my escape route off Long Island. With the Belt Parkway permanently jammed thanks to somewhat interesting scenery, I had no choice: I'd have to swim across NY Harbor to Sandy Hook, NJ.

Even though the storm ended hours ago, I'm still thinking about it. I doubt it's part of global warming. Remember 2004 when there were icebergs floating up the Hudson and East Rivers? (http://cgvi.uscg.mil/media/main.php?g2_itemId=94312)

On the other hand, I don't doubt that the planet is warming. But unless you're trying to build a house on a glacier, climate change is just not something we can witness in our quick little lifetime (my great-great-grandkids are fucked, though).

The scale of planetary changes are so massive that it's like trying to feel the earth move through space -- we're spinning at 24,000 mph and traveling at 67,000 but does anyone feel motion sickness from it? It's happening but we can't register it (our egos like to think otherwise).

Anyway, if it's evidence of global warming, well, here's one good thing: it keeps us on our toes. I mean, did anyone expect to hear thunder last night in the middle of winter? That's kinda fun, right?

Shop 'til you drop a history lesson

It was one thing to live in Orlando for a year without once visiting Disney; it's quite another to live in NYC for 7 years and not once visit a single historic site. Even more sad than that is how I came to realize my ignorance of the area's incredibly rich history: I was shopping.

On Sat., Jeremy and I did our bi-annual "yes, we really are poor" reality check: a drive out to Mendham, NJ, for pub grub and then The Mall at Short Hills for "silly bourgeois upstart, are you looking for a price tag?" Along the way, I saw many gross things (mangled deer on the side of the road, Newark, etc) but one sign in particular got me thinking: "Washington's Headquarters." That's all it said on the side of route 24 -- typically cryptic NJ signage. I guess they mean, "exit here if you'd like to see one of George Washington's many headquarters from the American Revolution."

In light of how much time I'd just spent looking for a Coldstone ice cream shop at Short Hills (they don't have one! I'm starting a petition!), I suddenly felt very stupid for not making an effort to see a single brick laid in the tri-state area during this country's founding.

The realization sank in today when I met Shay for brunch at the Cheesecake Factory out in Huntington (Long Island). In addition to the typical LI strip mall/Starbucks/strip mall/gas station scenery, I noticed signs and stores named "Whitman." A pattern started to emerge and by the time I got to brunch, I realized I was in the heart of Walt Whitman's birthplace (the sign across from the "Walt Whitman Mall" said so).

How did I not know this? I've studied "Leaves of Grass"...surely my Norton American Lit Anthology mentioned that Whitman also bought chinos at the Gap. Seriously, I didn't know Whitman was from LI (or that he lived most of his life in Brooklyn!). My ability to live -- and, of course, shop -- in such close proximity to history while being so ignorant of it is frightening.

Yes, naming a mall after one of America's most anti-commercial literary giants may be a cruel disrespect, but it's okay for 2 reasons: 1) Whitman would've LOVED Abercrombie & Fitch; and 2) it alerts ignoramuses like me to sites of historical significance.



Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. I mean, isn't history everywhere? Even when I was living in Coral Springs, FL (ew, I just threw up a little), surely there was something of historical significance nearby? Hmmm. On second thought, pro'ly not. The place was a bug/gator-infested swamp just 20 years prior to my arrival. But it's hard to forgive myself, especially when I make such an effort to seek out history when I travel, read nothing but books about history and was so moved by my visit to DC that I cried on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Actually, I was briefly inspired to check out local history in mid-'07 after reading "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation," a really great book by Joseph Ellis. One of the chapters is dedicated to the Hamilton-Burr duel that took place on the cliffs of the Hudson (about where Weehawken, NJ, is today). That got me thinking, "hmmm, maybe I should check out..." but then I got distracted by a shiny object.

So, that's a New Year's resolution for 2008: see at least 3 historic sites in NY/NJ/CT/RI/MA (any one of the states I'm in throughout the year -- shouldn't be hard to fit some field-trippy sight-seeing in, right?).

Addendum
Just remembered that Coral Springs has some historical significance beyond being partly to blame for the Everglade's destruction: woolly mammoth bones were uncovered while they were building the community I'd later live in (Parkside townhomes).
http://www.coralsprings.org/history/fullstory.cfm?articleid=10517

Lucky, cheap calendar girl

Yay, I made deadline and can now fuck around online again!!! Despite having only 4 hours sleep before heading into CBS today, I was SO excited at the prospect of not having to rush home to work that I decided to fuck around in the city first.

FIRST STOP: Sephora in Times Square.
This store is the only reason I ever step foot in that NYC version of Florida fakery (aka Times Sq). Yes, there are just as many Sephoras in NYC as there are Starbucks (okay, maybe 100 fewer) but the Times Sq Sephora has the biggest selection of makeup and it's open 'til midnight. Convinced that Macy's has it all wrong and Shiseido did NOT discontinue my S1 lipstick, I marched from CBS over to Sephora to replenish my golden lip goo.

On the way, I was amazed at how immaculate the streets were despite having hosted millions of drunk tourists just one day before (the mess Dick Clark left on his seat would've taken ME at least a week to clean); however, just before entering Sephora, a flurry of confetti drifted onto my head in the bitterly cold gust...must've been stuck behind Diddy's billboard or something. Oh, and I did see some glittery bits of New Year's evidence frozen in a dirty puddle, too. If it weren't for wind, ice and Diddy, I might never know the sight of confetti in Times Square!

NEXT STOP: Barnes and Noble in Union Square (stopping to get a hot apple cider from the farmer's market first, of course).

Here's something I've never admitted before: I'm one cheap bitch when it comes to buying calendars. Every year for the last decade or so, I've waited until AFTER Jan. 1 to get my calendar. Yes, it's inconvenient for the first few days but why should I pay $20 for a calendar that will be $10 just days later? The trick is getting to Barnes and Noble within the first week of January -- otherwise, the selection dwindles even further and you're left with "World War II" and "Literary Cats" to pick from.

Today, the selection was its usual range of bizarre and boring but still do-able. Ya know, I wouldn't even know what kinds of calendars are usually available but if the masses consume them, I probably wouldn't be interested, anyway (yeah, I'm that cool despite liking all the crap shows on MTV).

Honestly and truly: I have LOVED every calendar this freaky time of year begets me. One year was "Virgen de Guadalupe," 12 big months of various shrines to Our Lady. While this may sound like an awful calendar to look at for a year, those who know me well know that my bathroom's theme is all Guadalupe, all the time. Another year was "MikWright"...'nuf said (www.mikwright.com).

So, today's decision was tough (the "Extreme Ironing" calendar was tempting: images of extreme sports people ironing their clothes on the sides of mountains) but I finally settled on three (yes, I know this defeats the purpose of buying 50% off calendars but so what):
1) "2008 NY Yankees" (same style as my "2007 New England Patriots")
2) "Chicano Art" (in the same vein as "Virgen de Guadalupe" only not as campy)
3) and the BEST CALENDAR EVER: "Veggies Gone Wild! Produce Behaving Badly"




My initial thinking with the three was to be nice and offer my roommate a choice since we both eat and share the kitchen space but the more I laughed about the veggie calendar (and cried about my need to tone up), the more I realized: this calendar is EXACTLY what I need to look at every day in 2008. Not bad for $6.99. (For what it's worth, I ended up spending $103 in B&N today. [Schmuck.])

I'm SO looking forward to February (dates are posed like they're blind and waiting for someone--caption: "The blind dates waited for hours, not realizing the other had also turned up early"). And, June looks good, too (a shipwrecked orange eating himself--caption: "Fearing scurvy, the orange resorted to eating himself, segment by segment"). Love my lucky, cheap calendars!

p.s. you'd think I'd have nothing left in the writing tank after doing a magazine but nooooooo...