A Year of Firsts

• Went out Black Friday shopping at 3am...didn't buy a darn thing, but I went...
  

A Year of Firsts

• Saw my first two-man show (I think)
• Drove to NYC for the first time (super exciting, I know)...no problems except for the next item on the list...
  
• Bus terminal...enough said...ha ha ha...not really fitting to be on this list, but it's a memory, to be sure...

A Year of Firsts

Ate/drank the following on my recent trip to Disney:

• Escargot - Tasty...couldn't taste a thing other than the garlic it was cooked in
• Lamb - Also tasty...I was told that this lamb didn't really taste like "normal" lamb...maybe that's why I liked it?
• Fried green tomatoes - Once again, also enjoyable. Fry anything and it tastes good, right?
• Margarita - Was fine, but not anything I need to drink again...
• Artichokes - Not for me...
• Bok Choy - Didn't taste enough of it to have a real opinion...
  

A Year of Firsts

• I discovered that I like whiskey. I am becoming more and more like an old man with each passing day...I'm sure whiskey's an "old man" drink...
• I partook in sports betting for the first time. I now have a vested interest in football -- that $6 I plunked down'll do that, I guess...

Year of Firsts

• Went to my first show/concert at a bar...granted the show was in a section separate from the bar, but beer was flowing there, so I say it counts..

A Year of Firsts

• Attended my first film festival in lovely Newark, Delaware. It was okay. I had a good time, but the films were a little lacking. I've been told that the Philly Film Fest will be much better.
• I got flashed at for the first time...those University of Delaware chicks will just pull out their boobs for anybody...maybe it is time to go back to school...
  

A Year of Firsts

Not important...just keeping my list going...

• I'm growing a beard...because why the hell not...who knows how long it'll last.
• Saw my first concert in a stadium venue
  

A Year of Firsts

Movie Edition

• Saw my first Bollywood musical
• Saw my first live-action Imax movie
• Saw my first silent film in a movie theater

A Year of Firsts

A Saturday trip to New York City yielded the following:

• Rode the NYC subway for the first time
• Subsequently got lost on the NYC subway for the first time (the getting lost was not my fault)
• Went to the site of the World Trade Center -- a mess of fences, but shockingly smaller than I thought it was going to be; still, there's something eerie and disquieting about the site; especially the small memorial at the fire company station that was less than a block away; I look forward to returning in several years when it's all rebuilt because, right now, there are, unfortunately, no real memorials to the fallen.
  
• Saw Battery Park for the first time
• Went to the Wall Street area of NYC for the first time
  
• Saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time
• Saw Central Park for the first time
• Tried grits for the first time (Doesn't fit in with the theme at all...but, as exciting as it is, it happened...)
  

A Year of Firsts

The year of firsts continues with a bunch of unexciting things...

• Went to my first "away game" for a Philadelphia sports team -- at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, Florida
• Went to my first sporting event inside of a dome

And, ate the following (to the best of my knowledge) for the first time (I know, I lived a very sheltered life):

• Key Lime Pie
• Tofu
• Rice Noodles
• Guacamole

A Year of Firsts

It's been ages since I've posted anything under this headline and this isn't anything really life-changing or anything (like eating sushi for the first time was?), but it was really cool nevertheless.

- I saw how an IMAX projector works for the first time. Obviously, I'm around actual film and projectors all the time, but seeing how these massive projection systems work was pretty cool. The film itself is so much larger than normal film and the projector is much larger than a normal 35mm projector. The fact that the projector needs to have both a fan and a water-cooling system in it to keep the temperature at a certain level tells you how huge this system is. I could go on and on about the differences (and how I'd never want to have to deal with it at our theater), but that would likely bore all but one of you reading this now. Nevertheless, it was mighty nifty.

A Year of Firsts - Medical Edition

Fun, fun, fun was had this past week in the form of utilizing my medical insurance to its fullest possible potential.

- Had my first MRI done
- Had my first echocardiogram done
- Had my first arterial ultrasounds done

All is fine...all is well...just a little "scare" that turned out to be not a big deal.

Hey, but I can at least add all that to the wonderful year of firsts.

A Year of Firsts

Like I said before...95% of these are gonna be food-related...trying to widen my palette...Not that anyone else cares...just a running record for me...

- Wasabi Peas - Not what I was expecting at all.  You hear peas and you think mush, but these were cold and hard.  Like flash-frozen or something.  Odd, with a funky taste...obviously, the taste was wasabi, but it was just odd.

- Butternut Squash Risotto - I'm a risotto fan, but I've never had anything other than plain old risotto that I've made at home.  This stuff was delicious.  I don't think I've ever had squash before either.

A Year of Firsts

Totally not exciting here in the least, but just to keep the record going...

- Had a bite of a Reuben sandwich which is cause for two firsts -- first time I've ever had corned beef (which is what, exactly?) and the first time I've ever had sauerkraut -- shockingly not bad!

- Tasted matzo ball soup for the first time -- cornmealy, but surprisingly tasty

- Drove home from New York City --now that I know I can do it (it was a breeze), I'm hoping to head up there more often

A Year of Firsts

The year of firsts continues...

- Ate smoked salmon and an edible flower - went to a "fancy" champagne brunch for my grandmother's 80th birthday and had some smoked salmon...I mean, I think it was raw (but if it's smoked, is it raw?), I guess, but it tasted much better than the sushi I had earlier in the year. My little cousin convinced me to eat the flower that garnished my plate as well. My first foray in edible botanicals (well, I guess all plants are botanicals, but you get what I mean...this one had petals and stems and stuff). By the way, I'm 100% sure that 90% of this "year of first" stuff is gonna be related to food...I led a very sheltered life...

- Saw our new Vice President in person - I'll relay the story to those that want to hear it when I see you, but suffice it to say that the 5 SUVs and numerous Secret Service guys kinda make you nervous (which I guess is kinda their job, so they do it well). But, I can now say that I've been steps away from a Vice President...I mean, that's kinda cool even if I didn't vote for him...

A Year of Firsts

"There's nothing wrong with being afraid at all." -- Norman Schwarzkopf

Oh, General Schwarzkopf, that's what I was repeating over and over in my head when I lifted that piece of sushi precariously toward my mouth with the wavering chopsticks in my hand last Saturday night. Sure, you were talking about war...but there was definitely a battle going on in my mind about downing that raw piece of tuna.

I've decided that there's no need to be scared of things anymore...not that sushi is something to be "scared of," but I think there's a need on my behalf to be open to trying new things. To stop living so sheltered.

So, 2009 will be a year of firsts for me, and I'll keep track of them here. Sure, they're gonna be tiny things for the most part, but I'll view them all as big steps at expanding my horizon.

I realize this won't be the least bit exciting to most, but it's the best way to keep a record for me...

January 1, 2009
- Going to a casino - I went to our local casino on New Year's Day and was by far one of the youngest people there. I played a little electronic roulette (lost $2.00 -- big spender, I know). Then, I ventured to the $5 video blackjack tables. I put in $10 and walked away $22.50 richer. So, I came out with $20.50 in my pocket that I didn't have before. I say that they knew it was my first time in the casino and they let me win so I'd have the urge to go back...It was kinda fun, honestly. I wouldn't mind stopping in every few months with a $20 bill and seeing how I do.

January 2, 2009
- Eating at a "mom-and-pop" Chinese restaurant -- I was never raised on Chinese food. We never ever had the little white take-out boxes in our house -- my parents never ever ordered Chinese food when I was growing up, so I never even ate Chinese food until my mid-20s, a few years ago.
- Eating Sushi -- it was ok...the tuna "roll" which was probably seaweed, rice, and tuna which I dipped in a wasabi (another first)/soy sauce blend was "blech", but the simple piece of tuna over a bed of rice was actually ok. I can say I did it now...but I won't be rushing back to eat sushi again.
- Eating a variety of Chinese foods, including mu shu pork, pork lo mein, seaweed, miso soup (which contained tofu...another first), shrimp rolls - I enjoyed the mu shu pork and shrimp rolls, but didn't care for the pork lo mein and miso soup.
- Took a sip of Sapporo (Japanese) beer -- hated it...tasted kind of sweet to me.