Surviving Irene...

     Due to circumstances beyond my control, the blogging continues!  I have survived the Hurricane and because it was not all that it could be (thank God), I now have to go to work... A 2-11pm shift followed by being back at 6am tomorrow...(Lucky me).  Don't know what the Tennis Center looks like yet but I get to find out soon.  There will be no general public allowed and I don't know how much work they will be able to redo because the winds will be with us the remainder of the day, but the worst is over and now New England bears the brunt of the storm.  I hope all my readers and their families are OK and now can begin bailing out and cleaning up after Irene.  I need to get ready to go... Talk to you soon.

Hurrican Irene and the US Open...

     I've said it to myself a hundred times and now I will write it here...it just doesn't pay for me to visit the East Coast.  I moved in '08 and returned for a visit in June of 2009.  I was here for 19 days and it rained for 17 of those days.  I told myself then that I would invite everyone to come to Arizona and never set foot back here again... (however, no one took up my offer--except my sister and her family).  Then a work opportunity came up where I could come back to New York (which I still love) and get paid for being here.  The day before I get here an earthquake hits the area and now I'm hunkered in a hotel room waiting for a category 1 hurricane to hit me in the face.  I have seen more rain in 2 days than I've seen in the almost 3 years I've lived in Arizona and I believe I will take Mother Nature's advice this time and stay the hell out West.  I will enjoy my work experience and hightail it back where the sun shines and the heat is unbearable.  I love all my East Coast friends but this weather is freaking ridiculous!

     My assignment for the US Open is to run security for the Indoor Tennis Center which is across from Lewis Armstrong Stadium.  There are three stadiums (stadia?) on the grounds... Arthur Ashe, Lewis Armstrong and the Grandstand.  Then there are 17 outer courts (5 practice and 12 for matches) around the outside of the stadiums.  In the indoor tennis center there are 12 courts... (but courts 1-5 are being set up as corporate hospitality venues, courts 7-9 house the SmashZone for kids, so there are 4 courts for practice for the players).  The SmashZone is set up with smaller courts, larger balls and smaller rackets to help kids learn and enjoy the game more.  Rafael Nadal (#2 in the world) held a clinic/photo op with a group of kids there on Thursday. So, I was on court during that event and the rest of the time we are there to make sure only those with proper credentials are in the center.  Once the tournament starts on Monday (hopefully) the hospitality areas will be filled, the kids will be there and I'll have more people to police the center.

     Today the special events (including Arthur Ashe Kids Day) were cancelled in preparation for Hurricane Irene's "visit" to the New York area... I worked my spot as the only guard for the entire center (it was closed to the public and only players, coaches and workers were allowed in the building.  The outside courts were open early but by 10am the rains started and all the players were coming to the locked doors trying to get in. So I had to play door man for the rest of the morning.  I did get to see Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray arrive for their practice sessions and the building was closed at 2pm to prepare for the storm's arrival.  I stayed working until 5pm and then we came back to hotel as the rain worsened and the winds started picking up.  The storm is over Delaware and South Jersey as I write this and I will try to blog during Irene's visit when she officially arrives in New York during the day tomorrow.  I am scheduled to work 2pm-11pm tomorrow but that may be called off depending on the weather... So I'm back to hunkering and watching for Irene...

New York, New York...

     Start spreading the news....I arrived today in the Big Apple.  Staying at the Marco in the borough of Queens right around the corner from Citifield and US Tennis Center in Flushing.  It is great to be back on the East Coast.  Landed around 7 pm local time and went downstairs for dinner and to meet with some of the other people working the event.  Tomorrow will be a walk through and then the fun starts on the weekend.  Just in time for hurricane Irene to make a landing in the area!  Just in time to get here in the aftermath of an East Coast earthquake! (nothing like Mother Nature sending a "welcome back" card).  It seems to me that Mother Nature is telling me to keep my visits back East to myself and not to come here at all.  But the chance to escape 110+ degree heat was too much to pass up.  I can't believe how nice 75 degrees can feel.

     Left Phoenix this morning at 9am and had to connect in Minneapolis...(my first sojourn to Minnesota).  Luggage made it to NY without a problem and we caught the shuttle from LaGuardia to the hotel.  Traffic was a bear and it was great to hear some New Yorkers speak the language.  I feel the "f" bombs will be dropping by Monday, and that I will need to use the Rosetta Stone DVDs to reintroduce myself to speaking English after this 3 week gig is up...  Just wanted to let everybody know that I arrived in one piece...(and was glad that the Virginians were also in one piece after the earthquake).  Okay, it's late and I need some jet lag sleep. Talk to youse guys tomorrow... (oh no! it's starting already).

Gearing up for NYC...

     What the heck happened to August?  Oh well, last week was a relaxing, invigorating week pent in the beautiful mountain areas of Utah and the Grand Canyon's North Rim...  Uncle Jim's Trail was a hoot and I had the entire trail to myself except for one woman (who of course came from New York) but the views and the quiet were spectacular.  I left enough for a second trip back...(got to keep an eye on the weather because the road into the North Rim closes when there is snow---and trust me, you don't want to driving that road if it's snow covered. I also want to stay in a cabin at the Grand Canyon Lodge at the top or maybe a donkey ride down to the bottom and stay at the Phantom Ranch on the floor of the Canyon.  It's a 14.2 mile hike down to the bottom on the North Kaibab Trail but there is no way I am making a round trip back up in the same day.  I also need to lose some tonnage to get under the minimum (200 lbs) for the donkey ride.  If that doesn't happen, this fat bottom will have to walk (or trip and roll all the way).

     Got back yesterday and unpacked and did laundry and started the re-pack for my next jaunt...back to the Big Apple for the US Open Tennis Championship.   Three weeks in Queens near the Tennis Center and Citifield (where my awful Mets play).  Still don't know my schedule or times or anything except that I will be working everyday.  So, East Coast, be prepared.  The Arizona Kid is back in the city that never sleeps (ah, 24 hour stores, restaurants open after 10pm, cabs you don't have to call, and more people than I'll know what to do with).  Visits to some of you may be in the offing, but again until I know more I can't make any promises... (that is not to say I won't meet you somewhere in Manhattan).  "Once around the Park, Bitterman...you know how I love the park."  But I expect to be working my ass off, because they (the company) aren't paying my airfare, hotel and per diem to give me a 3 week holiday in NYC...(although that would be sweet, no?).  Won't know any details until Thursday or Friday...(don't even know the hotel I'm staying at yet), but the computer is going with me and I will let my fan(s) know the pertinent details...

    

A-Hiking we will go...

     Vacation...the word rolls off the tongue nicely.  I took the ride up through the northwest corner of Arizona and into Mesquite, Nevada Sunday night.  I arrived about 9:30pm without an incident (except for the fuel issue...) There are no gas stations anywhere once you leave Kingman. I had to make the trip to Bagdad, Arizona (again) which is 10 miles off the main road and 10 miles back (no other way around) and paid $3.62 a gallon at the gas station/quickie mart/visitors bureau.  Bagdad is a copper mining dot on the map located truly in the middle of nowhere.  Nice school though. But I digress (don't I always?).  So after gassing up I made the trek through the desert over the new highway above the Hoover Dam (can't see much but much faster route--you can still exit and go down to the dam), through Las Vegas (kept my money in my wallet), and into Mesquite.  I was staying at a timeshare exchange called Great Destinations at the Oasis Resort and Casino.  I had to check in across the street at the Casablanca because the Oasis closed their casino and office at 8pm.  I rolled into the deserted parking lot and found the building I was staying in...(a little leery at the accommodations), but the room was beautiful.

   Monday was a golf in Utah day...(by now you know the bucket list--50 rounds in 50 states) so I was checking Utah off the list with a round at the Sand Hollow Resort in Hurricane, Utah... (about an hour northeast of Mesquite).  I had an online tee time of 7:30 am and I left at 6am (plenty of time) to get there and warm up before the round.  I crossed the border into Utah and the electric time sign said 7:48 am.I looked at my watch and it said 6:48am.  Damn time zone change!  I had crossed into Mountain Standard Time.  So now I was late!  I got to the course at 8:10 and told the starter of my dilemma and he laughed and said it happened all the time.  Luckily it was a Monday and there weren't too many people out to play.  I joined two other guys and played a round at a spectacular golf course again in the middle of nowhere (there is a ton of "nowhere" here in the West).  I can see why they call the "wide open spaces".  The course was cut through the high plains with plenty of purple sage and red rock and breathtaking views of the mountains... (didn't see any polygamists walking around--they were further north from where I was). 

    Tuesday was a 54 hole golf-a-thon at Falcon Ridge right here in Mesquite.  A course located literally around the corner from where I was staying.  I had set up a morning and afternoon round.  I finished the first round about 10:30 and my second tee time wasn't until 1pm.  I asked the pro shop if I could go out earlier and he said the magic words "you'll have to play alone" (bonus!).  So off I went playing a two ball tournament and I had 54 holes completed by 2:30 in the afternoon...Needless to say my nap at around 5pm took me through the night into Wednesday.  Wednesday was a lazy day exploring the immediate area and planning my trip to the North Rim and Uncle Jim's Trail.  That's on the docket for today...

     Before I go and try not to fall into the Grand Canyon, I want to wish my sister a very Happy Birthday (being the gentleman I am I will not reveal her age).  My sister is not just my sister.  She's my friend, my confidante, my reality check... (let's face it, that's a full time job in itself).  She has the most beautiful nieces an Uncle could wish for and I love them to death. She has the sort of life I would envy if I were the "marrying kind" (and we all know I'm not).  So Happy Birthday, Sheryl. Love you!

So this is time off...

     Holy cow! So this is what time off feels like!  It's a Sunday and I'm not making sure someone else is having a good time.  I do not have to work until I leave for New York on the 24th and I have planned a road trip up to Mesquite Nevada and into Utah to play some golf and do some hiking and picture taking in Zion National Park and the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  So those of you who are my Facebook friends should see some beautiful nature shots and of course spectacular golf courses photos... (the kids are excited to be going along also).  The plan is to drive up to Mesquite later today and then I have a round of golf in Utah on Monday (add Utah to the bucket list of 50 rounds in 50 states) and then 36 holes in the Mesquite area on Tuesday.  Wednesday and Thursday I plan on hiking in Zion National Park followed on Friday by a trip to the north rim of the Canyon and a walk on Uncle Jim's Trail.  A quick overnight stay at the Grand Canyon Lodge and then back to Mesquite on Saturday and maybe another round of golf or two before coming home on Sunday.  Monday and Tuesday I'll get ready for NYC and then I'm off to the East Coast for 3 weeks.  Nice!

     I don't know what my work schedule is yet...(I think they don't want to scare me off) but as you all know (or maybe don't) once the tournament starts they don't take a day off until it finishes two weeks (fortnight) later.  And the matches last all day and sometimes late into the night so who knows how much free time I will actually have.  I am bummed that I will miss the San Gennaro street festival (it starts on the 15th) but I am glad to be in NY for the tenth anniversary of September 11.  That day is forever burned in my memory...(as I'm sure it is for all Americans) and to be back in the city for the occasion will be an emotional time. 

    OK...got to pack up the car and get out of here.  Not much of a break in the weather up in Utah (100 during the day and 70's at night)  but I get to wear shorts and I'm not at work.  Working on further vacation plans for Virginia in October and of course Aruba in November... (back to normal work environment until it picks up in January.  Let's not get too far ahead.  ROAD TRIP!!    

Working for a living---Part 3

     And the beat goes on... I am in work today as the final move out for the Assemblies of God is going on across the street.  We are scheduled until 6pm but hopefully they will be done before that...it has been a killer week and my boss is on vacation so the reighns have fallen to me.  I must say that the event has gone pretty smoothly with no major incidents... (there are always some minor complaints but that's business as usual).  No thefts, no lost children, some minor medical issues (including one of my dock guards getting hit by a pickup), but nothing major.  My dock guard was bumped in the hip as a pickup was backing into a space to unload.  Minor bruise is all that was suffered, but it sounded scary on the radio when someone reports that a guard was hit by a vehicle on the loading dock...  This event was swarming with people all over the place from start to finish.  There were thousands of children here participating in youth activities and prayer councils and services and performances throughout the event at varying times and places so it seemed very confusing and crowded at times, but our staff performed well.  The only thing left is for the decorator to pack up the ticket booths and carpeting and pipe and drape and head out of town. 

     And then tomorrow a new convention is moving in followed on Monday by another.  But after this week, the schedule slows down and I have a week off and I am planning a trip either to Albuquerque or into Utah to satisfy my golf bucket list... (one round of golf in all 50 states).  I may also do a Staycation in Arizona and explore the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Or I may sleep at the pool and catch up on some much needed sleep here in Tempe.  More to follow as the week evolves.  It a light week compared to this summer of blockbuster conventions and I'm not working 15 hours days every day... (not every day but a couple).  I am scheduled through next Saturday and then nothing (so they say) until I leave for NYC on August 24... (can't wait---there's an everything bagel with lox and cream cheese waiting for me there. And pizza, and restaurants that don't close at 10pm, and all night Dunkin' Donuts!!).  So a little R&R and then the Big Apple.

     A great big welcome to Charlotte Anna Sloca (not sure of the spelling), Cousin Beck's new daughter and hopefully a one day reader of the adventures of her friend (I have no idea---2nd cousin?) Jim.  Makes for interesting bedtime stories, don't you think? (especially since she can't understand what I'm writing about--I'm having a little trouble doing that myself).  So welcome, Charley (again the spelling is correct I hope) and I hope to be able to come out and see you in the near future... and of course all the best wishes to her Mom and BIG sister Grace.  I know she will have plenty of love in that household.