Birthday Week and Pacquiao…

I just took another step into the thirty-something club and turned 32. Damn, I still can’t believe how old I am. And now, I sound like my parents and all their friends. Occasionally, I’d hear, “Wow, I can’t believe I’m... I still feel like I’m dah-dah-dah.” It’s just one of this things you don’t understand until you get older…

So, the wife treated me to several nights in Bath. You know, that place where the Romans took showers. No wait, they bathed. Yes, make sure you say it like BAYth-ed.

The trip was great – so relaxing, especially after our big move. We got two massages in one day and spent some time in a small room that is purposely heated to make you hot and wet. Oh, yeah. I think it’s called a steam room.

We also ate at this awesome Italian place, Aio. If you ever find yourself in Bath, stop at this small joint and order whatever’s on the menu. I’m sure it’ll be great.

It was an uneventful trip but that’s the way I like to spend my birthdays now. Damn, maybe I am getting old. I no longer crave for sake bombs, endless sushi and bottomless beers. Nope. It’s time to live…

Now, to the other stuff:

This is a bit late but I’d like to put in my two cents about the Pacquiao vs. Marquez controversial decision. At the end of the fight, I sat on the couch and looked at my wife. We thought, “Shit, PacMan just lost his belt.” Then, Michael Buffer announced the decision and we were just CONFUSED. We started sympathizing with the BOOS and listening to the UK commentators who were vehement Pacquiao lost. Then we scoured the internet for articles. Well, really, the wife scoured and she filled me in on the details. After a few minutes of debating the decision in my head, I got flashbacks of another controversial decision but in the UFC. It was Shogun vs Machida I. In that fight, Shogun shut down Machida’s famous in and out Karate striking style by laying down some nasty leg kicks. He ultimately lost to a decision and the crowd BOOED and cried BULLSHIT! Then a commentator said something like, when in a title fight, “You don’t just have to win the fight. You have to beat the champion.” And this seems appropriate for the recent controversial decision. Marquez stifled Pacquiao’s game. He made PacMan fight cautiously and brilliantly avoided that dangerous left hand. Still, the judges saw he lost on points and after the Compubox scores came out, it made even more sense. And the fact that Marquez backed up the whole fight didn’t help him at all either.

In Manny’s corner, there was so much hype. Freddie Roach declared a knockout in six rounds or less and strength and conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, said Marquez could not win if God himself came into the ring that night. When the bell rang at the end of the 12^th round, I was sure Ariza had jinxed the fight. Then when the decision was announced, it was really hard to believe. But in a title fight, you can’t just win the fight. You have to beat the champion. Marquez did not do that.

I’m sure there will be a fourth installment in this awesome war but hopefully, PacMan gets a chance at Mayweather even though, after this fight, I’m actually afraid for Manny. When Money Mayweather fought Marquez, he made Marquez look like an old man. He danced his dance and Marquez left the ring defeated. If Manny had a hard time putting away Marquez, even after two previous meetings, well, you be the judge.

- wear a helmet

30 Weeks Later…

In the 30 weeks I’ve been in England, I’ve done 26 Walks in London, gone to the Lake District, Liverpool, seen Strawberry Fields, watched a show at the last place Jimi Hendrix ever performed, saw a bunch of blue plaques that mark where a bunch of dead people used to live at some point in their lives - among those people were Mozart and Karl Marx (in the same neighborhood) – decided to live in a different part of England, and almost cried to the season finale of Breaking Bad.

Yup, I’ve been busy. I’ve been writing. I’m working on a new script and hope it gets some play. It’s my first attempt at a comedy (knowingly). My first comedy was written UNknowingly and that turned out alright. It didn’t sell but what the hell, it was funny. At least, that’s what my mom said. Nah, she didn’t even read it. Still, I’ll let you know how this one turns out.

Breaking Bad Season 4. Anyone get a chance to watch it? If you consider yourself my friend, you’ll get the DVDs, sit your ass on the couch and watch this show – immediately. It’s the best-written thing on television since The Wire and The West Wing. I know that’s saying a lot but just try it out. Please.

Fatherhood. For me, that’s what this show is all about. It explores the depths of fatherhood and reminds me of my own dad. Inside the dark comedy, the meth, the killing, the Western-style intensity, there lies a simple tale of a father trying to provide for his family. At least, it begins that way, then it turns ugly, and becomes a story about how good intentions can lead to bad deeds. Still, it is the same story and it touches on something very dear to my heart – family. I can see this happening to just about any decent man in the world who feels an obligation to provide and protect. Whether you see it my way or not, I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s one hell of a show.

Aside from all that, I’ve been enjoying my time with the wife. It really is a new life we’re both adjusting to – it feels like a really cool hat…

- wear a helmet

New Beginnings: A birth and a death

The first post is always the hardest. I haven’t blogged in about 3 years or so and this is where I begin again. A new place. A new frame of mind. A new me… Right.

So, tonight I finally found something to write about. I was hanging with the wife and some of her friends just outside of London. Her friends, a very nice couple, had a housewarming party. They just moved into a new home in the suburbs and to top that off, they’re almost five months pregnant. The meal was agreeable – chicken and lamb. The drinks helped wipe away the week’s stress – beer and Pimm’s. We played games, chatted away, had our teas, and eventually it was time to leave.

Upon leaving, the housewarming couple spoke to our other friends, the city-loving-no-kids-just-yet couple. The city couple asked the house couple to go with them to Vegas. Yes, they wanted the nearly five-month pregnant woman to go to Vegas with them. They were asking her to fly nearly 12 hours each way for just three to four nights of “what happens…” She respectfully declined by pointing out the horrible jetlag for only a few nights stay. The desperation in the city couple’s voices came through loud and clear. They kept pushing and pushing her to come. Side note failed to mention: The husband was already going with them. The pregnant woman just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

Suddenly, this realization hit me like I was swimming in the ocean and a humpback decided to say hello by whacking me with its tail. The birth of their child meant the death of their former existence. They could no longer be like the city-loving-no-kids-just-yet couple. Once that baby is born, they are doomed to forever be “parents”. That’s it. Done and done. It sounds cynical. I’m really not right now. It’s just a realization. That same realization you get the month after graduation. That same realization you get an hour after the first time you have sex. That same realization you get a week after you start your first job. This is kind of awesome but it is fucking scary, too.

In my early 30’s, I know that their future is soon to be my future. It’s something I hope for – something I’ve been looking forward to for the past I-don’t-know-how-long…

And there we were, in that moment. I didn’t know if anyone else could feel it. I sure as hell did. This city couple wanted to hold on to what they had with the suburb couple. They wanted one last GO at it – one last chance to do “What happens…” with their friends. Pregnant for nearly five months, they knew it wasn’t possible. Yet, they hoped for it. They longed for it, because as much as they loved them, they knew the death of their relationship, as they knew it, was fast approaching. If you have friends who have kids, or if you have kids yourself, then you understand. But this moment. This wonderful, bittersweet moment spelt something out for me. It was something I rarely see or notice, even when my brother left the house at 16 to support an unexpected family. In this moment, I felt it. I felt life beginning and ending at the same time, as it always does.

- wear a helmet