Reunion and Other Crap

Reunion and Other Crap
So I hightailed it over to Oddfellows in Jersey City last night to hook up with some former co-workers. When we first walked in I didn't recognize the people around me because I had forgotten what employed people look like. The whole night was pretty fun though. Some of the things that get said now that the cloak of potential sexual harassment has been lifted are pretty funny. During a conversation about the on-premises sexual antics of some of the customer support people, my former boss Mike's former boss Dave mentioned that he'd never christened his office before. I was like "You've never christened your office Dave??? Even I'VE christened your office." Which totally isn't true but the saying of it was fun.

My favorite comment of the night was from Paul, right after we got into Diane's car. "Christ it's cold. I thought I had an Altoid in my front pocket but it's my nipple."

So the latest sports controversy (besides the Klan wanting to demonstrate at Augusta National to show their support for the club's right to exclude) is basketball chic who turns her back on the American flagduring the national anthem. Nice. As much as I respect everyone's right to do whatever they want, people who choose to live in America yet reject things that represent America kind of annoy me. I feel like they're just taking up space that could be used by someone who could not only better their lives in this country but also appreciate that betterment. Sometimes people look at me and because I'm Asian they think I'm foul for being so patriotic. Why?? If you look at it logically, I would think that people who are immigrants or whose parents are immigrants should love this country even more. This is the country that sees their children fed. This is the country that sees their children educated. This is the country where anyone anywhere can grow up and be someone successful and amazing, regardless of their station in life. Where my parents come from, if you're born into poverty like a squatter's family... that's it for you and your children. None of them are getting scholarships... none of them are getting an education... none of them are becoming doctors. It's considered a good week if there is food on the table. So hell yes I appreciate this country and everything I've received because my parents were lucky enough to immigrate here. As much as I believe in the First Amendement, I think people who protest should take it upon themselves to understand that you can protest war without rejecting your home and everything that represents it. There shouldn't need to be controversy, they shouldn't need to be told this, just like people shouldn't need to be told that being burned alive is painful.

Ralph Wiley from ESPN says that the athlete's expression is something you'd want your own daughter to do. Uhh.. okay, no.. I think my daughter would have a bit more class. I would not want my daughter to turn an athletic event into a political forum. You know you hate it when NSync says shit like "Peace in the Middle East" at the fucking Grammys. I would also hope that I would raise a daughter who wasn't such a spoiled brat and hypocrite. It is as hypocritical to despise the country you willingly live in while reaping all the benefits of living in it, as it is for some millionaire playboy who has never worked a day in his life to say that welfare and low-income housing shouldn't exist. Hating war is one thing... oftentimes even people who believe that war is sometimes necessary still hate war. But hating America when your life is 80 times better than it might have been had you been born into 97% of the world's population is just pretty naive and sad. At the same time it's also indicative of this country's greatness that people have the time to worry and discuss crap like this, through our cable modems, color televisions and cell phones. Speaking of crap like this, I swear PETA must be run by lunatics. Their latest ad campaign is called "Holocaust on your plate" and is meant to illustrate the "similarity" between what the Jews in concentration camps suffered during the Holocaust and what farm animals suffer. Holy Christ. Words fail me.

Patrick Ewing's Jersey Retirement Ceremony
Yeah I watched this. How could I not, it was in the middle of a Knick game. Just kidding. I must be getting soft in my older years. Instead of viewing the festivities with my usual "Eew Patrick Ewing"-ness, I was actually glad that MSG put on such a great show for the player they wanted to honor. Not like that bullshit the Bulls organization pulled on Michael Jordan 5 years ago. They might as well have taped his jersey to the wall at 4 in the morning and taken a polaroid of it. Joe the janitor could have said a few words. One thing I thought was funny was when Marv introduced some guy as the player who had worn number 33 before Ewing. He might have well just said "And here we have the guy who sucked as number 33 and so of course wasn't good enough to be standing in the place of honor tonight." I also noticed Ewing didn't thank his wife for displaying his infidelity all over the tabloids, then writing a "fictional" tell-all book. Hey, at least she didn't run him over with her Mercedes. Although he might go after her with his new Humvee. Is that how you spell that? Or is it Hum V. I don't really care though. I think people who drive humvees that aren't in the military and aren't running over land mines in Afghanistan and don't have it loaded with surface-to-air missiles that they shoot into caves or arsenals disguised as mosques are kind of Napoleon complex-y.

Okay my food is ready. Geo made sinigang (pork in a tamarind broth)... YUMMY!!!