back to blogging

Kelly (whose blog is developing nicely, by the way) just emailed me with an “Are you OK?” message. A multi-day non-blogathon is unlike me — I suppose I was so entranced by the wonders of Rochester, New York, to blog. (Or, more accurately, my friend Kim’s 9″ monitor and watch-the-gears-turn slow computer made blogging a chore, not the burst of joy it’s supposed to be.)
Anyway, I’m back in town. Rochester was nicer than I’d expected (e.g., it had running water) and Kim’s cat Scoop (great journalism cat name, no?) wasn’t as evil as I’d expected (or she’d led me to suspect). Got to see the Buffalo Bills (1-10) beat the Carolina Panthers (1-11) in the Battle of The Two Worst Teams in Professional Football. I’d expected/hoped for a scoreless tie, but instead it was actually an entertaining 25-24 game. (Q: How can you tell when a sports team is really crappy? A: Look at their web site. If the biggest headline is given over to the company Christmas party, and if prominent placement is given to the fact that “the Panthers have allowed the fewest first downs by penalty in the NFL,” chances are your team sucks.)
Anyway, my only complaint is that there wasn’t a blizzard, which I thought was mandatory for games in Buffalo in December.
Did some other fun things in Rochester, including seeing The Man Who Wasn’t There, but the clear highlight was going to Nick Tahou Hots, a local dive restaurant of some (ill) repute, primarily because of its invention, the Garbage Plate. Such an item reads like an eight-year-old boy’s culinary wet dream: first, take a heap of french fries. Then, top it with a bunch of macaroni salad. Then, add a cheeseburger and a sliced hot dog. Then, cover it all with mustard and onions. Finally, coat it all with meat sauce. (It is also possible to sub out the macaroni for beans. Frightening.)
It was as delicious and/or repulsive as that description suggests. Bonus points were awarded for the Ms. Pac-Man game in the back of the restaurant and the last-cleaned-in-the-Ford-administration ambiance. (There’s also a candy machine in the back, near where we were seated. To give you an idea of its age, the Big Red pack of gum in the display was faded to a pale yellow. Big Pale Yellow doesn’t sound as appetizing, does it?)
Anyway, it was terrific fun (thanks Kim!), I’m back at work, and there’s tons to do, so my blogging may be sporadic the next few days.