Hoops and Seva

This evening, after I got home from work, I got changed and immediately went over to the court at 18th & Catharine to shoot hoops.  The weather was pretty nice and I really wanted to do something physical to release some lethargic energy from my system.

When I got there, there was a guy at the other end of the court.  He asked me to play one-on-one right away.  I told him that I needed a few minutes to warm-up, plus I wanted to see if others would come so we could play 2-on-2 or 3-on-3.  He was cool with that.  So I shot around for about 10 or 15 minutes, and without anyone else having showed up, and him having come down to my end of the court (I guess hoping that I would play), I told him I was ready to play.  We played by ones inside the arc, two outside, up to 11, win by 2.  I beat him.  I think the final score was something like 11-6.  I felt good.  I had a pretty good handle on the ball, and I stole the ball from him at least three times.  I shot decently from mid-range, using the backboard quite a bit.

While we were playing, another guy showed up and called 'winner.'  I took a breather after winning the first game.  The second guy was shorter and more rotund that the first guy, who was lean and tall (though not as tall as me).  I went up on him 8-1 and it looked like I was going to rack up another win.  But then he started hitting 2-point shots from behind the arc, about four in a row, then he made another nice shot.  And before I knew it, I was losing 10-8.  I got the ball back and hit a 2-pointer of my own, tying the game at 10-10.  From that point on, the weak, atrophied state of my respiratory system began to level the playing field and I just didn't have as much gas in the tank as I had in the first game against the other guy.  After a long and impressive deadlock, my opponent deservedly beat me 12-10.

A couple other guys had come by in the meantime, and Jeannie and Seva were on the sidelines since about halfway through the first game, so I decided to bow out for a break, thinking that if one more guy showed-up, I'd been in for one more game of 3-on-3.  That never happened, though, so I eventually played a game of horse with Jeannie at the western end of the court, while the other guys played 2-on-2 at the eastern end.  It was nice to shoot around with Jeannie.  Seva started getting a little fussy or impatient towards the end, so Jeannie and I took turns shooting 10 shots from the free throw line, Jeannie hitting 2 and me hitting 4, when a couple raindrops started coming down.  I yelled good-bye to the guys at the other end of the court and we headed home, just in time as some more rain started falling.  Overall, the hour or so at the basketball court served its purpose: I got some air, blow off some steam, worked up a sweat, and had fun for a while.

Just a minute ago, I went upstairs to talk to Jeannie.  She was in Seva's room, trying to calm her down in her crib, hoping that she goes to sleep soon.  I asked Jeannie what she'd like me to write here, to remember how Seva has been doing and progressing these days.  And so I offer the following for posterity...  Seva has been holding her head up more often and for longer stretches of time.  She's now doing much better at recognizing our faces when she looks at us.  As a matter of fact, when I got home from work yesterday and today, I went up to Seva to say hi, and she clearly recognized me when she saw me, and smiled both days!  It made me so happy.  I know there are a lot more developmental steps along the way, but I'm looking forward to when Seva is a little girl who can walk and talk.

Anyway, getting back to her present progress, Seva is becoming more comfortable with lying down for periods of time in the crib and in the pack'n'play, while awake, without crying or being fussy.  She's also developing just a little bit more color to her skin, not as pale as she was when she was born.  I predicted to Jeannie the other night (yesterday?) while walking down South Street that Seva will continue to develop her skin color, especially as we continue to spend time outside.

The only real frustration on my part is that there are times when Seva cries, and even screams, to the point of being inconsolable for reasons that are beyond us.  We can only guess that she's resisting falling asleep for some reason.  It's frustrating for us, because Jeannie is pushed to the max in terms of sleeplessness and I'm, to a much lesser extent, also negatively impacted in my sleep schedule, which effects my productivity and my mood sometimes.  But I think we both know this is par for the course, though we're ready for the time when Seva can sleep through the night.

Mid-week Musings

Immediately upon getting home from work today, I changed into a t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers and walked over to the basketball court at the southwest corner of Marian Anderson Park, at 18th & Catharine Streets.  As a sidenote, the t-shirt I wore was my black Singha Lager Beer t-shirt that I bought on a corner store in Bangkok on the last night of my TLC tour (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia) with Paul.

It felt good to be out.  I was there for over an hour, the first 45 minutes by myself and last 15 minutes or more with Jeannie and Seva.  I was shooting the ball pretty well tonight.  I'll periodically shoot 10 free throws in a row.  When I did so at one point tonight, I went 8 for 10, which is the best I've shot in the few times I've played recently.  After Jeannie got there, we played a game of horse (as we did last time) and I won with only an "H" against me.  I'll grant Jeannie that I was warmed up nicely by the time she got there.  But the point still remains: I was shooting very well tonight.  It felt good and made me miss playing basketball.

The day started out on a different note.  I slept in until 11am.  Today, of course, is Wednesday, thus mid-week and I just needed a break to catch up on rest.  Seva has been an absolute blessing, but she has certainly altered our sleep schedule, which is to say that I haven't slept for eight hours straight since before she was born.  Since I didn't have any morning appointments at the office, I figured I would just stay home and sleep in.

It may not have been the responsible thing to do, but I've always been one to follow my intuition.  If my body is telling me to sleep in, then I'll very likely sleep in.  My health is one of my most important priorities.  I know others that pride themselves on being into the office every day by such and such time.  I really don't care about that; I'm not trying to impress anybody.  My goals are staying healthy and getting my work done, even if it's not within the cookie-cutter schedule that some others would prefer to squeeze me into.

A random note from yesterday.  I went to lunch at Beck's Cajun Cafe at Reading Terminal Market.  As you may remember from my post the other day, I've been loving the vibe I get at RTM these days.  And as you can probably easily glean from my posts over the past year relating to work, I'm always happy to be anywhere but at the office.  So my lunch hour yesterday was a win-win.  I had the blackened chicken breast po' boy topped with a sprinkling of their devil dust ("everything seasoning & dry rub") every few bites.  It was pretty good.

Another random note, this time relating to a current event.  Yesterday a federal judge struck down Pennsylvania's ban on same-sex marriage.  And today, Governor Tom Corbett announced that his administration is not going to appeal the decision, meaning that marriage equality has now come to Pennsylvania, the last state in the Northeast to do so, if I'm not mistaken.  I have no problem with this.  In fact, I'm in support of marriage equality.

But all the buzz on social media in support of these current events has provoked a criticism on my part.  I've seen so many friends post and re-post the same couple of articles over and over again on facebook.  It's like they're all parroting each other.  And on a very "safe" position for the year 2014.  It ranks up there with anti-racism against blacks as one of the safest social positions in this day and age.  And this is my criticism: nearly all liberals are too scared to stand up for anything but a non-controversial position.

Can I blame them?  I guess not, most people by nature are going to maintain their self-preservation, most people by their nature want to be liked by the most people possible.  But it's bullshit when everyone is too scared to stick out or do anything contrary to the masses.  For example, it's easy for liberals to be angry at a guy like Donald Sterling, because he says something (wrong, yes) that fits squarely within the "racism against blacks" category, against which all liberals are champions and defenders.  And now, it's easy for liberals to post and re-post articles reporting that Pennsylvania is a marriage equality state, since that fits squarely within the pro-gay marriage category.

If you hear me, then ask yourself: what are the edgy social issues of the future? what are the social issues that are not yet ripe according to the masses, but are still the right thing to stand for today? in what way(s) are the masses complacent to something unfair or biased or bullshit?  Who's going to identify these issues and wake up the liberals who are too scared or blind to see the next step?  As my friend Andrew would probably agree (based on a pendulum theory he shared with me), in what way(s) has the pendulum swung too far in another direction, creating an unfair or unjust imbalance?

May Day

Let's see, where do I begin to catch up on the past week that I haven't written?

First of all, Seva is now two days short of three weeks old.  She's healthy, thank God.  And she's growing, which is perceptible even though I see her every day.  And for that I'm thankful too.  I treasure those moments when she's awake, alert, calm, and her eyes are open and she's looking around.  It's as if she's beginning to take in her surroundings, even if her depth perception is not yet developed.  I'm almost certain that she recognizes me, or at least I hope she does.  Jeannie and I have really been blessed and I look forward to seeing Seva continue to grow and develop into a little girl.

Speaking of changes, this week is the first week that [...] is at its new location at the Cast Iron Building, 718 Arch Street.  Although I had some doubts and misgivings about moving from our previous location at 15th & Chestnut, I've been pleasantly impressed with the new building.  The two main things that I miss are my view from the windows at 42 South 15th Street and the fact that my commute was simply a 15 to 20 minute walk.  Now I have to take the 17 bus and I have just one window, behind me, that looks out to an opposing wall and a parking garage.  As a whole, though, the office set-up provides more privacy and overall a lot more square footage for the organization.  Although I've lately been critical of [...], I'll always give credit where credit is due, and in making this move, and actually making it happen, management has done a very good job.  With that being said, I'm still looking forward to going out on paternity leave in mid-June.

After finishing The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, I began reading Blindness by José Saramago.  I'm nearly halfway through now.  It's been a good book so far, but I'm really wondering how it's going to end, whether all the characters will be cured of their white blindness and whether the author will explain the cause of the epidemic.

Right now it's raining again.  There was already about an inch or more of standing water in our patio from a ton of rain that fell throughout the day and night yesterday.  What can we expect though, it's springtime.  As I was walking to the bus stop this morning, I noticed that little leaves are starting to emerge from the buds on the trees.  Spring is definitely here.  After fall, this may be my favorite time of year.  There's just something fresh and exciting about springtime, finally to be able to get out of the house after winter is over.

I have so much hope for the future.  I feel like I've been through a couple negative challenging periods recently, first with Ileana and most recently at work.  But I feel that these tests were setting me up for the next step, something different, something better.  In the case of post-Ileana, I'm now married to Jeannie and we have our baby Seva, and in spite of our occasional challenges and growing pains, we're happy.  In the case of post-[...], the chapter is yet to be written.  I can only hope for a similar storyline, a positive trajectory in the direction of a better me and happier, healthier future.

I was telling Jeannie earlier this evening over dinner how so many of my clients have been so happy and congratulatory for the birth of Seva.  It's really heartwarming.  I should keep it in mind that being a lawyer comes with its intangible rewards, of which this kind of thing is right up there at the top of the list.  This kind of genuine gratitude and recognition makes me think that being a lawyer isn't the problem, it's just where I'm at now.

This past Saturday, with the weather being nice, I thought on a whim that it would be great to go out to shoot some hoops.  I mentioned it to Jeannie that she should pack up Seva and come with me to the basketball court at 18th & Catharine.  We stopped by the YMCA, hoping that I could pump up my basketball a little bit, but the Y was closed, so I had to go with a mostly-filled ball, which wasn't so bad.  When I got to the court there was another kid, probably in his late teens, who got there right around the same time.  We shot around at one end of the court for a while until another couple guys came by, probably in their early to mid twenties.  About a half hour into shooting around, we got a game of 3-on-3 going at the other end of the court.  I told Jeannie before the game started that I was sure that I'd get winded.  And my prediction came true.  I had bursts of athleticism and flashes of some good offensive drives to the hoop, but overall my lung capacity and poor cardiovascular condition held me back from playing anywhere near top form.  I'll tell you, though, even though my body felt it for at least the next couple days, it was totally worth it, I had a lot of fun just playing ball, doing something for the heck of it, but still competing.  It was great.  I hope to play again this coming weekend.

Another highlight from this past weekend, Sunday I think, was looking through a lot of the poetry that I've written and saved on my computer.  Some of it made me grimace in embarrassment, but there were other poems that brought back feelings and memories that made me laugh and smile.  I know that many times there's no telling when inspiration will inspire, but I'm certain that there has to be a certain degree of intentionality necessary to write, especially when it comes to poetry.  I say that as a preface to the statement that I'd like to come around at some point and start writing poetry again.  I can't say that I'm any kind of master, but if I can make my future self laugh and smile, and maybe some others laugh and smile too, then it'll be worth it.

Reflecting on the paragraph before last, I realize that I love competing when it's fun.  And I hope to get back to that point when it comes to law.  It's fun to have fun and it's not fun to not have fun.  I'd like to have fun and be happy.

Going back to the topic of memories, I like to think of moments from the road.  The other morning (perhaps this morning?) I was thinking of being on the bus with Jeannie somewhere in upstate New York on the way to Montreal.  I remember being on the phone with Pito and Jess and looking out the window at the colorful trees on the side of the road and feeling excited about heading back to Montreal for a long weekend.  I remember sitting in the passenger seat as Jeannie drove the rental car straight from the San Diego International Airport south on I-5 to the Mexican border and down along the coast to Ensenada.  I remember the beauty of looking out and down the Pacific cliffs to the ocean below and the winding road along the sleepy Mexican coast, the hills looking really dry to our left-hand side.  I remember sitting in a bus seat in the middle of the dark night somewhere in Laos, listening to my iPod, including the song "Light of the Moon" by Scapegoat Wax, which I'll never forget.  I remember the bus stopped randomly at some point on the back road to let everyone out to piss and shit on the side of the road, without any light (except from the moon and stars) and without any cover.  It was one of those experiences that could never be truly captured on a camera, but yet it remains an indelible memory of life on the road.

Another Friday night in the 215

Last Saturday night (March 29, 2014), I got an unexpected message on facebook from my old college friend, M. Lorge, saying that he and his wife were in Philly, but since the Phillies game was rained-out, they were free and wondering what I was up to.  After checking with Jeannie, who was 39 weeks pregnant at that point, I invited Lorge and his wife to come by our place for a visit after they ate dinner.  We had a great time.  I was so happy to see my old friend, who I hadn't seen for about three years before that.  We hung out for over 5 hours, from 7pm until almost 1am, and went through nearly 3 bottles of wine (Jeannie didn't drink).  It was great catching up with Lorge and after we'd caught up and also warmed up a bit on wine, we got to the fun part, which was going over old stories from college.  I definitely intend to write as many of those stories on to this blog, but I'm going to hold off for now.  The point for now is that it was a great night, and I felt the happiest I've felt in a while.  Although Lorge doesn't live more than about an hour away, it's tough because he has a young son and three stepsons, in addition to running his own business.  I wrote him a follow-up message earlier this week, saying though that we really need to get together at least twice per year.  And he replied to agree.  I hope to see him again some time this summer.

I've made a lot of friends over the years and I recognize (since I've said it before) that things change and thus relationships change and evolve.  For instance, I'm not as close with Paul and Evan as I was when I was in my early to mid 20s, for reasons related to different socio-political beliefs and also due to class.  It's sad when some relationships change.  But it's also part of life.  And some people, even though they're close by and they're good people, I just don't fully connect with, even though I don't quite know why.  A perfect example of this is Corey, here in Philly.  He's a good guy, and I enjoy catching up with him every once in a while, but I also don't see myself becoming better friends with him than I am now.  I can't say what it is; maybe the slight difference in age is enough to create that relationship gap; maybe it's that I never got a great feeling from his wife, Laura; I can't say for sure, but I'll accept reality.  Coming back to the point, though, I'd love to deepen at least one or two friendships.  Besides my wife Jeannie, I want to feel like I've got someone who's got my back, someone I can hang out with and connect with, and someone to look forward to seeing and spending time with.  With Jeannie and I starting a family, is that going to be difficult?  I don't know.  As I sit here at the computer, and look to my right down the length of this floor, I see the glass doors leading out to the patio.  I think back to last summer, when we had a handful of get-togethers, and I believe it's very possible that we can invite friends here to hang out and spend time.  The main X factor now is how we'll feel doing that after the birth of our baby girl, which can happen any day now.

Last night, Jeannie and I had a date at Seafood Unlimited.  We took a cab there.  We started ordering drinks: a lemonade for Jeannie and a glass of malbec for me.  I ordered a shrimp bisque to start, which was good, although not warm enough.  Then, for my entree, I had a crab cake with cajun remoulade, and a baked potato and mixed vegetables on the side.  Jeannie had seafood empanadas and a salad.  Overall, it was good, but not overwhelming.  I liked the vibe, though, especially since I know that Jeannie didn't want to go anywhere too fancy.  The Sixers game was playing on the television behind the bar (they beat the Celtics).  The lighting throughout was a warm blue-green.  And of course the front room was characterized with the beautiful Isaiah Zagar mosaic mural (see here for photos).  Overall, it was a nice time.  We took a cab home and spent the night watching the movie Joe Kidd, starring Clint Eastwood, while flipping to the Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets game during commercials (the Rockets won, behind a huge game from James Harden, though Kevin Durant tied Michael Jordan for 40 consecutive games scoring 25+ points).  It was a good night.  I thank God.

Saw Temple at Penn men's college basketball game at the Palestra, section 201, row 17, seat 21, with Jeannie, Jeannie's dad, Malinda, Omar, and Eric, for $14.00 per ticket.  There was a post-game performance by Bill Cosby.

Saw Temple vs. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) at the Liacouras Center, section 119, row T, seat 13, for $18.00 with Jeannie.

Saw Temple vs. Massachusetts at the Liacouras Center, section 102, row F, seat 8, for $35.00.

Saw Penn vs. Harvard at The Palestra, section 216, row 11, seat 20, for $20.00 with Corey and Wagner.

Saw Temple vs. Villanova at the Liacouras Center, section 102, row U, seat 10, for $35.00.

Saw Temple vs. Rhode Island at the Liacouras Center, section 201, row E, seat 10, for $16.00.

Saw Temple vs. Penn at the Liacouras Center, section 103, row M, seat 8, for $35.00.

Saw Temple vs. Georgetown at the Liacouras Center, section 214, row A, seat 5, for $25.00 with Ileana.

Facebook status update

Temple men's basketball opens the season tonight ranked #22 in the nation. I like that Juan Fernandez has moved to the point, and Ramone Moore steps into the starting line-up as the 2 guard. I'm really excited for this season, I think this team has a lot of potential to win lots of games.

Facebook status update

Iverson is to Besiktas as Beckham is to L.A. Galaxy.

Saw Philadelphia 76ers vs. Indiana Pacers at Wells Fargo Center, north floor courtside, row 2, seat 11, with Wagner.

Saw Temple vs. Richmond in the championship game of the 2010 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament at Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, section 219, row L, seat 20, for $40.00.

Saw Temple vs. Dayton at the Liacouras Center, section 114, row F, seat 6, for $35.00.

Saw Temple vs. Rhode Island at the Liacouras Center, section 102, row R, seat 9, for $35.00.

the end of a busy week

It's certainly been a very busy week. For the first time, I had three hearings scheduled for one week. It didn't turn out so bad, though, because my client at this morning's hearing had already decided to remit all child support arrears for the defendant and terminate the support order, all by the time I got to court. So in the end, I only had to put on two hearings this past week, on Monday and yesterday. Even besides the hearings and the preparation involved for them, I've been busy trying to catch up on call-backs to clients. I still have a list of about ten calls that I need to make today. And over the course of the day, other things always seem to pop up to slow down any progress. But I realize that it's all part of the ebb and flow of work. Next week should be pretty good. I only have a custody master's conference on Thursday. So that should afford me the opportunity to catch-up on some things that really need to be done.

Anyway, enough about work. This past Wednesday, Wagner and I went to see the Temple men's basketball team take on the UPenn Quakers at the Palestra, the famed basketball arena. The game turned out as we had both hoped: Penn hung around for the first half and into the beginning of the second half, enough to make it an interesting and entertaining game, but then by mid-second half Temple began to pull away en route to their 60-45 victory. For buying tickets right there at the box office about five minutes before tip-off, our seats were not too bad: just behind the Temple student section, behind and slightly to the side of one of the hoops, and not too, too far from the Temple bench. There were no outstanding performances from the Temple players, more of just an overall team effort. As I commented to Wagner during the game, I think Temple played down just a little bit to their competition.

Last night after work, I went out with a few co-workers for happy hour. Diane organized the outting, and we went to the American Pub, underground near the Clothespin on 15th and Market. The atmosphere was decent, though nothing to really go back to in the future. I had a couple Miller Lites. Afterward, knowing that I had nothing at home to make dinner, I invited Ileana out to dinner. We shared some mozzarella sticks and a pizza at Pietro's Coal Oven Pizzeria, on Walnut Street near 18th.

So that's what's been going on. Besides simply reporting my weekly, or even daily, activities, I wanna get back to writing here about random stuff. Maybe if next week isn't so busy at work, I'll be able to take a quick break here and there to post some thoughts on non-personal issues. In the meantime, I hope you don't mind too much reading my online personal diary. Have a great weekend, fellow user of the world wide web!

Wow, two days in a row!

Okay, so I'm actually back again. I was surprised to look out the window this morning and see some snow on the ground outside. It's a half-day at work, being that today is New Year's Eve. Today at work I only have a couple of complaints (divorce and support) to file at the Clerk and then make a couple phone calls.

Last night was nice. Ileana and I wanted to go out to eat. So we first walked to Erawan, where I was hoping my friend Laddie would be working. But since she wasn't there, we left and walked to Grace Tavern. But there weren't any open seats there. So we walked a block down South Street and decided to give L2 a try. We walked to the dining room in the back, which had sofa benches with dark red satin all along the walls. There was swing music and other 1940s-sounding music playing. The room was dimly-lit and there were large framed paintings of portraits of women on each wall. The vibe was somewhat Eastern European or perhaps Parisian. So we had hopes that it would be a good meal. Things became a bit disappointing right off the bat when the waiter said that they didn't have many wines to choose from. Of course I wanted malbec, which they didn't have. So we had to settle for two glasses of merlot. Then when Ileana ordered a pasta dish, the guy came back and said they didn't have pasta! and that she would have to order something else. Despite his explanation that they had been closed for five days for the holidays, the idea of such a sparse menu seemed preposterous and shoddy. To top things off, when I got my chicken parmesan, the red sauce was so thin that I think they must have bought the sauce on sale at Shoprite. We really enjoyed the atmosphere (music and ambience) and the appetizers (pita with hummus and shrimp wrapped in bacon) were good enough for us to enjoy our time there. But everything else was disappointing enough that we decided that we're never going back there.

After wrapping up the check, we decided it was still too early to go home. So we walked another block down South Street to Ten Stone. We had a couple rounds of beers: two Palm Belgian Ambers for Ileana, and one Palm Belgian Amber and one Hoegaarden for me. I watched the Sixers-Kings basketball game while we talked.

Well, I hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve tonight. Be safe. And may the new year bring you good health and happiness!