Wednesday in The Big Apple

Let me share with you once again why I am so taken with living in The Greatest City in the World. What I am about to describe may seen trivial to some of you, or even perhaps, all of you, but what it does is partially explain why Billi Pod is so smitten with this city.

As you know, my regular drug store, Rite Aid, was damaged when the crane collapsed up the block in March. It has not reopened meaning that my nearest Rite Aid store is at the corner of 30th Street and 2nd Avenue, exactly one mile away. I needed to go there today to pick up my monthly meds refills. Also, I needed to go up to Lincoln Center to exchange one of my New York Philharmonic concerts that is scheduled for the timeframe I will be in Orlando with Bill.

Monday and Tuesday were extremely hot days, in the upper 90s, but last night rain came so the temperatures this morning were in the 70s. I decided to walk down to the drug store rather than bus or subway it. Dressed in a T-shirt, shorts, a messenger bag with water, and my iPhone and Nano, off I went at about 11:30.

It felt great and I felt great. I determined to walk at a leisurely pace rather than my usual ... "hey, get the fuck out of my way - I am more important than you" ... NYC pace. I headed south and there was a very nice breeze hitting me in the back. Lots up suit-people walking around talking on their cellphones.

It took me a bit over 20 minutes to get to the drug store. Picked up the meds, thanking my Higher Power again that I am fortunate enough to have a good prescription drug plan.

Then I walked over to Park Avenue and picked up the northbound 6 train at the 28th Street station. I got off at Grand Central (42nd Street) and walked to the Shuttle to Times Square where I got on the North bound 1 train that delivered me in 3 stops to Lincoln Center.

One very nice thing about being a New York Philharmonic season subscriber is that they have a very generous exchange policy and really go out of their way to accommodate requests. I was able to change my ticket to the 8:00pm Saturday performance, which is a staged-concert production of Puccini’s Tosca.

It was about 1:00pm when I got my ticket. I knew I was going walk back to the apartment, so I headed over to Central Park and slowly strolled through it, down to the 59th Street entrance. It was so pleasant inside the Park with lots and lots of kids and families. I stopped several times and I took several pictures, two of which are at the top of this post.

The picture of people laying out in the sun is the area where I use to go to catch rays until I decided that I had tempted fate once too often and took sunning off of my to-do list. A wise decision on my part I am certain.

It was about 2:30 when I got back to the apartment. I calculate that I had walked about 4 1/2 miles. I immediately went online because I needed to schedule something for Thursday and Friday nights. Within 10 minutes I had booked these two Off-Broadway shows:

For Thursday - A Perfect Couple - “A Perfect Couple is about three best friends and their young next door neighbor. Over a long summer weekend in the country, secrets are revealed and bonds are tested, forcing these friends to discover who they are now, versus who they thought they would become.” I think this is the first preview performance (complimentary ticket).

For Friday - The Bully Pulpit - “The Bully Pulpit, a new play about the extraordinary life and turbulent times of Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, our 26th president. The solo performance is written and performed by Michael O. Smith, and directed by Byam Stevens. The year is 1918. The scene is in Sagamore Hill, New York, Roosevelt's beloved home. Ten years out of office and coming to grips with his legacy, The Bully Pulpit takes the audience on a passionate journey behind Teddy's gruff exterior into the complex persona of a true American legend.” This show has been running for some time and received uniformly good reviews (complimentary ticket).

So, my dear cyberspace friends, this is what the remainder of the week is:

Wednesday - 8:00 - New York Philharmonic Orchestra @ Carnegie Hall - Orchestrations from Wagner’s The Ring Cycle (full price ticket)

Thursday - noon - lunch with student/bartender/manager Scott Reed; 8:00 - A Perfect Couple

Friday - 8:00 - The Bully Pulpit

Saturday - 8:00 - New York Philharmonic Orchestra @ Lincoln Center - Puccini’s Tosca.

Tonight after the Carnegie Hall concert I am sure I will walk back to the apartment while listening to the Yankees/Oakland game, which starts at 8:00.

Yep, this is why I am here.

Go Yankees!!

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Monday - The New Yankee Stadium, the game, and other stuff.

As these pictures show, the construction of the New Yankee Stadium is moving along and everyone is predicting that it will be ready in time for the Opening Day for the 2009 Season.

It was very hot and humid during this afternoon’s game and both Mike Mussina and the Royal’s pitcher, Luke Hochevar, pitched excellent games and the score was tied 2-2 going into the top of the the 9th. The Yankees brought in closer Mariano Rivera and he promptly gave up what turned out to be a game-winning home run. We had a chance in the bottom of the 9th with the bases loaded and 2 outs but it just wasn’t meant to be. We lost 2-3. The sellout crowd was stunned and the Yankees fell back to .500, where they have been most of the year. It just doesn’t feel right, it really doesn’t. This was only my 7th game of the season, but their record for those games is 3-4.

To add to my misery, my nose began to run and I sneezed a lot, all, I hope, due to the extremely high pollen count. I really feel kinda blah even now.

I have nothing planned for this evening and nothing has shown up on any of my services, so ...

Please don’t tell Mayor Mike that I will be staying in for the evening.

I don’t think I have posted that I will be out of The Big Apple for most of next week. On Monday I will fly down to Orlando to be with my son, Bill, when he has surgery done on his ears to clear away some polyps and whatever. The surgery is outpatient and was originally scheduled for Tuesday but has now been moved to Wednesday. I will have the responsibility of looking after his two massive Rottweilers, Zookie and Zeko. Assuming everything goes OK, I will come back to NYC on Saturday the 21st.

More to come later.

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Monday - Headed out to Yankee Stadium

As soon as I post this I will head out to Yankee Stadium to see the final game of the 4 game series against the Kansas City Royals. The Yankees have won 2 out of 3 and I hope it will be 3 out of 4 by this evening.

It is very very hot and humid with the predicted high in the upper 90s. Thankfully my seat is in my usual area, in the shady Loge section.

Have almost finished the travel observations regarding the Japan portion of the Japan/China adventure and it should be posted this evening.

I was, frankly, surprised at the number of emails I received regarding Part One of the Travel Observations, especially the number of you guys who are interested in more details regarding the air travel and who wanted a breakdown of the mileage on each leg/flight. So, here goes:

JFK to San Franciso - 2,586
San Francisco to Tokyo - 5,133
Kyoto to Shanghai - 868

Inter-China:
Shanghai to Guilin - 497
Guilin to Xi’an - 621
Xi’an to Beijing - 567
Beijing to Hong Kong - 1,222
Total China - 2,907

Hong Kong to Tokyo - 1,827
Tokyo to San Franciso - 5,133
San Franciso to JFK - 2,586
GRAND TOTAL - 21,040

And, finally to DW - I don’t loathe fat/over-weight people. I am, however, very very concerned that otherwise intelligent and worldly people have made a conscious decision to pursue and maintain a life-style that impacts their quality of life and impairs their health. I feel the same way about people who still smoke.

Anyway, on that happy note, it is off to The Bronx.

Go Yankees!!!

Billi Pod

Japan/China Adventure - Observations - Part One

1. THE TOUR OVERALL - As I have written before, the entire trip and every aspect of it, exceeded my expectations. Of course there were bits and pieces that I had slight quibbles with (such as not having an additional night in Tokyo) but nothing that distracted from my overall satisfaction with the tour. Interestingly, toward the end of the tour I found out that this particular Japan/China configuration was a first for Globus, which explains why our tour director Mark was taking copious notes regarding our comments as the tour was winding down.

2. THE GROUP - There were 32 people in our group, 12 couples and 8 singles. The oldest person was 76 and the youngest 19. We had one family traveling with their two sons, 22 and 19, and one kissy/kissy early 40s unmarried couple. Unfortunately, the majority of the people over 50, both male and female, were overweight and one couple was almost morbidly obese, with both weighing over 250 lbs. They were a very interesting couple however - he, Paul, is a retired college history professor and she, Sandy, a retired elementary school teacher. At first you could feel some tension between some of the group because the couple was always the last off the bus and the last to get on and they walked very slowly slowly. But, as the tour developed their outgoing personalities overcame any criticisms and the single guys made a point of staying with them during the walking portions of the tour, to be of assistance if necessary. And, frankly, often assistance was necessary. At our last dinner as a group, in Beijing, our tour director announced that Paul and Sandy had bought a round of drinks for the group in appreciation of our patience and understanding - nice. By the end of the tour we actually ended up admiring them for their willingness to undertake such a physically demanding tour.

But, don’t get me started, though, on how out-of-shape American tourists are. It is just a fact. 90% of the guys over 50 had a potbelly and this was the same percentage with all of the other tour groups we saw. Man, something has to be done, it really does ... OK ... enough ... sorry about that.

Back on track - as a group we got along very well although the married couples almost all fell into what I have named “The Married Tour-Group Cycle.” What is this you ask? Let me explain ... in my years of traveling as a single traveler with tour groups I have found that almost without exception married people go through 3 phases during the tour, each phase of about equal length:

a. First 1/3 of the trip: “We are the happiest couple on earth and we want to tell you all about how happy we are to have found one another. Have we told you how happy we are and how much we love each other? Let us tell you again.”

b. Middle 1/3 of the trip: Bicker, bicker, bicker and more bickering, especially on the tour bus. To which I want to scream: “Come on people, you are not at home sitting on your couch in front of your blaring TV - we can hear you already - shut the fuck up,” but, of course, I don’t. Bicker, bicker and bicker - it is a fact of married life, I guess.

c. Final 1/3 of the trip: Ice cold silence with no eye contact between them. When talking to others they refer to their spouse in the third person, if at all. It is particularly difficult because there is very little opportunity, if any, for them to be away from one another for any length of time. This phase, unfortunately, is taken with them back home and, thusly, I have no idea how long it lasts once the tour is over and I don’t think I want to know.

3. THE TOUR GUIDE. Our tour guide was Mark Nichols, who was born and raised in New Zealand but has lived in Tucson, Arizona, for the last 25 years and has worked for Globus for about 20 years. His specialty is Asian tours. He was excellent. Polite but in control. Tactful. Understanding. Knowledgeable and very well read on Asian cultures and history. I rank him in the top 2% of all the tour guides I have had with Globus, or any other group for that matter.

He was particularly adept at supervising our luggage transfers, hotel check-in, inter-China flights, restaurant and shopping recommendations and basically helping to keep the collective stress levels under control.

Each of the local tour guides were good although I got the impression that those in China were not as open and responsive to questions as their counterparts in Japan.

4. OH MY GOD - THE TIME IN THE AIR. OK, I already knew we would spend a lot of time in the air on this trip and that we would have to fly to each city in China, but ... wow ... it was almost overwhelming, it really was. But, everything went just as planned and the Norris Travel Curse did not factor in at all on any leg/flight. I was particularly impressed with Japan Airline and with all of the airports in Japan and China.

Now, here is a statistic to end this portion of my trip observations - I flew a total of 21,040 miles. The circumference of the earth is 24,900 miles, so on this trip I flew 84% of the way around the world. Awesome, fucking awesome.

More to come later, hopefully.

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Friday - What An Upcoming Weekend

I have just finished making the final reservations for my weekend and it looks to be another interesting time for moi in The Greatest City in the World.

Tonight I head back out to The House That Ruth Built for the Yankee/Kansas City game, the beginning of a 4-game series. I also have a ticket for Monday’s 1:05pm game. Nothing, of course, could equal the game yesterday afternoon that ended with Jason Giambi hitting a 2-run walk-off game winning home run in the bottom of the 9th inning, giving the Yankees a 9-8 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. Yes, I was there at the very end. Luckily I was able to leave my nosebleed seat at the end of the 3rd inning and find a much better seat in the Loge area even though the game was technically a sellout. I would estimate that about 25% of the fans left before the bottom of the 9th - their bad.

This is what my upcoming entertainment pallet looks like --

Friday night - 7:05 - Yankees/KC (full price ticket)

Saturday - 2:00 - The Hired Man - “Set in rural Cumbria in the early part of the twentieth century, The Hired Man tells the timeless, moving story of a young married couple and their struggle to carve a living from the land, just as the rhythms of English country life are being interrupted by the gathering storm of war in Europe. Featuring stunning traditional British chamber music, this haunting, thrilling and stirring production is unlike any musical on the New York stage.” (complimentary ticket).

8:00 - Judy & Me - “Judy and Me addresses the issues of both homophobia and domestic abuse as it recounts the true story of sixteen-year old "Anthony," trapped in the narrow-minded suburb of Elmont, Long Island. An outcast at Sewankawa High School in Floral Park, Anthony is the daily target of verbal and physical torment from his classmates. His life at home is equally tenuous; his volatile, violent father is a constant source of pain to both Anthony and his mother. The teen finds his only escape in the music and entertainment of the legendary Judy Garland, who comes to life before his eyes and counsels him through his daily struggles. Through her compassion -- and through Anthony's passion for (and camaraderie with) Garland -- the boy learns to deal with his dysfunctional family, his school life, and the realization that he is gay.” (complimentary ticket).

Sunday - 6:00 - Tony Talk - “Ars Nova presents TONY TALK 2008, a heated discussion of Broadway’s best and worst, moderated by the deliciously controversial New York Post columnist Michael Riedel. Riedel and his panel of Theaterati will discuss the current season while taking an in depth look at the 2008 Tony Award nominations - who got them, who was snubbed and what it will all mean in the end.” (complimentary ticket)

On Monday I have the Yankees/KC game in the afternoon and on Wednesday I have a full-price ticket to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra performing the operatic score (Opera Without Words) of Wagner’s The Ring Cycle, performed at Carnegie Hall. This should be awesome.

OK, it is now time to get ready to head up to the Bronx.

Go Yankees!!!

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Thursday - Forgive Me Father/Mayor Bloomberg, For I Have Sinned!!

In recognition of the importance of full disclosure to all of my loyal readers out there, I have a confession to make about a major New York City transgression I intentionally committed last night. How could I have done it I am asking myself this morning?

What, you ask? What did I do that requires this public display of humility with an admission that I, Bill Norris, aka Billi Pod, may have character defects like the rest of you out there in cyberspace? OK, take a seat, take a deep breath, and ... here it is ...

Oh God, this is difficult - but ... as many of you know I have been a subscriber to the New York Philharmonic Orchestra concert series since 1999. For the past several years I have subscribed to 3 series, totaling 21 concerts. As a reward for being a subscriber, each series comes with a voucher for a free concert in the same seating location as your series. In my case, rear orchestra, house left. Excellent seating in Avery Fisher Hall.

I had selected Wednesday night’s concert, Mahler’s Symphony No. 9, a majestic work of epic proportions, running about 85 minutes. It was the only thing on the program for the 7:30 concert, meaning the program would be finished around 9:00pm.

During the day yesterday I did a lot of stuff, not the least of which was having my semiannual HIV test at a Doctor’s office on Central Park South. Following the test I walked back to the apartment, stopping along the way at the awesome Apple Store at 59th Street and 5th Avenue to buy a protective case for my iPhone (at last). When I got back to the apartment I called the Dr.’s office for the test result, which was NEGATIVE. Thank you Higher Power, Thank You.

I then did more things and stuff including grocery shopping and before I knew it - it was time to get ready for the concert, meaning I had to leave the apartment no later than 6:15 to make sure I would have plenty of time to be in my seat because no late seating is permitted. I planned to carry along my old but trusty Walkman so I could listen to the Yankee/Toronto game on the way back from the concert.

OK, here it comes - I, gasp, suddenly decided to skip the New York Philharmonic Concert so I could watch the Yankee game on TV. Oh my God, what I am saying is that I passed on seeing one of the premiere Orchestras in the World perform a classical music masterpiece in order to watch a fucking midseason baseball game on TV. Yes, that is exactly what I did. It began to lightly rain in the 2nd inning and I thought ... “how fitting it would be for the game to be rained out”... but it wasn’t and the Yankees won 5-1 in a very exciting game.

Now I know several of my readers out there are classical music affectionatos and are thusly having difficulty in understanding how I could make such a choice. To them and to you all - I ask for your patience and understanding that even someone like moi can have a character defect or two hidden under the aura of perfection.

So, Father/Mayor Bloomberg, this sinner is asking for your forgiveness. I would ask for your understanding but even I know that is too much to ask/expect.

Whew, I feel as if the burden of the World has been lifted from my aching shoulders.

Oh, I am going to this afternoon’s Yankees/Toronto game, so I have to post this and do the prep work. My seat is in the nosebleed section.

Where are the observations about my Japan/China Adventure you are also asking? Have patience, please, they cometh anon.

Anyway - Go Yankees!!

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Tuesday - Joba’s First Start Tonight

Well, the Yankee Nation is all a-buzz about Joba Chamberlain making his first major league start tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays and I will be there, of course. This will mark a major change in the Yankee rotation and bullpen since Joba’s role last year and at the beginning of this year was in the bullpen as the 8th inning setup man for closer Mariano Rivera. He has excelled in that role. One of the local headlines is: “8th Wonder Cut Loose in Bronx Zoo.”

Frankly, I think it is a rather sad commentary on the state of the Yankee team because so far their decision to rely on the young arms of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy has tanked and the Yankees are still playing lackluster ball, putting it kindly, and can’t seem to get hits with men in scoring position. My gut tells me that the rest of the season is going to be very very difficult and that Joba will not be the Savior people are looking for. I hope I am wrong, but ...

I mean, look guys, the season is now 1/3 over and you are below .500, trail the league leading Tampa Bay Rays by 7 games and are exuding the same confidence level as a band of Austrian Zombies. Not a fitting ending for the final season in The House That Ruth Built. My Gawd, Tampa Bay has the best record in the American League? What is happening here? Yep, it is a zoo for sure.

OK, OK, on to other things - Monday night I saw a really funny musical show called: “Bombs Away! The Worst of the Best of Broadway.” This was a staged reading before an audience of potential investors. It had been performed in a cabaret setting at Don’t Tell Mama and the creative team is hoping to move it to an Off Broadway theater. The hysterical story line is: “The show centers on a fictional Dr. Barry Mishkin, curator of the American Musical Theatre Archives in Washington, DC, who has amassed a collection of numbers and scenes allegedly dropped from Broadway's classic musicals. Dr. Mishkin and his troupe of actors present his collection against the wishes of the writers, their estates, their lawyers, the Supreme Court of New York, and more recently, the FBI's Musical Comedy Fraud Division. Undaunted by his legal troubles, Dr. Mishkin will not be stopped in his compulsion to present these rare, raw, frequently embarrassing pieces of Broadway history.”

A sampling of selections includes: "Krakatoa," from South Pacific; "I Own a Nail Salon," from Miss Saigon; "I Shake Me Green Shillelagh" from Finian's Rainbow; "See Ya in IKEA," from Mamma Mia; "You’ll Have A Bris," from Fiddler on The Roof; “We’re French and We Are Revolting” from Les Miz; “I’m Going Down with You” from Titanic; and, the precursor to "Age of Aquarius," "Age of Uranus," from Hair.

Very funny and very very dirty and risqué. I liked it a lot.

I really appreciate all of the “welcome home” emails and calls. Thanks so much for taking the time. I am working on the Japan/China observations and observations is the operative word because I don’t intend to give an after-the-fact daily narrative of the entire adventure. That would be too boring. I think the first segment will be ready for posting tomorrow.

Another topic - I am a staunch Hillary supporter but it is now time for her to toss in the towel and begin working on uniting the party behind Obama. It will be an interesting race, that is for certain.

Finally, Sunday, June 1, was a very important milestone for my daughter Kathi Bendeck of Columbia, SC. “Kathi, I am so proud of you. Keep on keeping on. Love, Dad.”

Enough for now - Go Yankees!!

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Sunday - June 1 - Back into my Big Apple routine

On Wednesday evening at 9:15pm my flight from San Francisco landed at JFK and a little over an hour later I was opening the door to my apartment, thus ending my once in a lifetime Japan/China adventure. I was tired and my body clock was trying to determine just which time-zone was correct. I gave it a boost by immediately ordering in pizza and wings. I am happy to report that as of today everything seems to be in-synch.

Thursday was a day of catching up, sorting through and reading 3 weeks worth of accumulated mail, paying bills, taking stuff to the laundry, restocking the fridge etc. etc. etc. and becoming one again with my beloved Big Apple. I definitely had jet-lag though.

Friday was an excellent day ending with The Eagles concert at Madison Square Garden. It was outstanding. On Saturday I got back into my theater routine by seeing two Off Broadway shows: “Three on a Couch” - about a famous author who fakes his own death so he can read his obituaries and the effect it has on his wife and his Shrink; and a one-man show by Mike Daisey called “How Theater Failed America” - excellent.

For the upcoming week I have already scheduled the following: Monday - “Bombs Away” Off Broadway; Tuesday - Yankees vs. Toronto; Wednesday - New York Philharmonic; Thursday - Yankees vs. Toronto.

Now, about my Japan/China Adventure - it met and exceeded all of my expectations. I was unable to post anything on this blog once I reached China because the Chinese government has blocked access to all known blog sites, yes, that is correct, the sites are blocked.

So, what I want to do is create an overview of the trip with my thoughts, comments, and observations. I am working on that now and should be able to post it/them in manageable segments during the upcoming week.

I will, however, post the following observation about what I consider to be the highlight of the entire trip, walking The Great Wall of China. This is an excerpt from a family email --

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.....I hope to write about my thoughts in some detail later but the highlight of the entire trip was The Great Wall of China. We were there for about 4 hours on Friday. When we got to the entrance our tour guide said we had two options, on the right would be the "normal" side and on the left, the steeper more difficult side. Most of our group opted for the "normal" side. Did I? You already know the answer to that. Yes, this 74 year old guy chose the steeper, more difficult side and off I went with 6 other people from our group.

Well, it was one of the dumbest things I have done in a long time because the steps were irregular and very very very steep. But up and up and up we went until about 45 minutes later we reached the top viewing point for our entrance station. I took lots and lots of pictures and had mine taken when I finally reached the top.

When I turned around to begin the descent it became obvious that this part was going to be much more difficult and dangerous and I was right on both points. I was very very careful going down because one misstep would have had dire consequences. It was also very hard on the knees.

About half way down I thought to myself - you egomaniacal asshole, why do you always do things like this? It's not like CNN is going to carry a special news flash: "Breaking News from China - Bill Norris has just walked The Great Wall of China via the "more difficult" path - more news as it develops."

I have to admit that I was tired, sore and drenched in sweat when I finally reached the exit area. But, I had, in fact, walked The Great Wall of China via the more difficult route. Yahoo!!!

I later bought my first "things" on the tour - a black T-shirt that says: "I Walked The Great Wall," and, an authentic Beijing Olympics T-shirt, also black....
*****************

So, my cyberspace friends, it is great to be back in The Big Apple in the good old United States of America.

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Sunday, May 18 - leaving Shanghai

I haven’t been able to timely post on this blog since arriving in Japan because of the lack of internet service/availability. Hopefully I can post some interesting details when I get back to the good old US of A.

About Japan - what an interesting country and I found Tokyo to be breath-talking. I wish our tour had more time there but I understand why not because it is so hideously expensive there.

I found Kyoto to be excellent too.

I am writing this on Sunday afternoon in Shanghai. I am not certain it will post because the Chinese government has just started an internet monitoring program in anticipation of the of the Olympics. Once you got online it takes forever for every website to load.

These are emails I sent to family --
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Thursday - tomorrow it is on to China

Hi:

An awesome　day in Kyoto today　and in the morning we leave Japan to begin our adventure in China.

Once again, I hope this goes through OK.

In a few words - Japan is interesting beyond description　and the people are terrific.

Hopefully I can give more details when we get to our hotel in Shanghai．　I have been doing OK in keeping my log.

Billi Pod
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Friday night - in Shanghai

Hi everyone:

I am in the lobby of the Sofitel Hotel in the middle of Shanghai and it is 10:15pm, They have just installed wifi service, but in the lobby only.

Today was a very long day with a long bus ride to the airport in Osaka and then the flight to Shanghai. The flight went OK and we actually had a pretty decent meal.

Had no problems with getting luggage, clearing passport control and customs. Our main tour director, Mark, was with us and we were met by our Shanghai guide, David.

The airport is a long way out of the city and it took 90 minutes to get to our hotel. The weather is awesome.

After a brief rest we headed out to a museum for a couple of hours and then had dinner at a Thai Restaurant.

When we got back to the hotel around 7:30 we split and I went walking in the area of the hotel, which is on one of the busiest streets in the city. It was awesome.

Tomorrow we have a 7:00am wakeup call and depart at 9:00 for a full day of sightseeing, ending with an acrobatic show in the evening.

How about letting me know if this goes through OK and is in English.

Billi Pod
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Sunday - Leaving Shanghai

Hi everyone:

{is this comes through twice - sorry - this internet service sucks}

It is 12:10pm on Sunday and I am sitting in the lobby of the Sofitel in Shanghai. We have checked out and now have some extra free time because we don't leave for the airport until 3:45. I am not certain what our flight departure time is or the length of the flight. For whatever reason our Tour Director, Mark (who is doing an excellent job) hasn't shared that information with us.

As I wrote the other day, the internet service in the lobby of the hotel is quirky and once we get online, sites takes forever to load. Someone said that the government has ordered local hotels to monitor websites, but I don't know if that is true.

Shanghai is H U G E!!! I have tried not to compare Tokyo to Shanghai or the Chinese to the Japanese, at least not until the whole tour is over. The traffic here is chaotic and is beyond comprehension. The crowds are the same. I have taken a lots of picture, especially of the new buildings and the skyline. With all of the internet problems I will not try to send them until later.

As I said, the skyline is awesome with lots of tall new buildings.

On Saturday we spent the entire day on and off the tour bus going to various landmark locations. We also spent some time at a Kindergarten (ages 3-7) and were allowed to go inside the instruction areas to take pictures and then on to a silk production shop - both very interesting.

We had lunch in a Mongolian restaurant. I know but just like last night's Thai place, the tour selected the restaurant. I had pork, chicken, lamb and ?.

Most of the afternoon was spent at a mega-crowded rock garden.

For the evening we had a wonderful show by a world acclaimed acrobatic team, whose name escapes me at the moment.

We were back at the hotel around 9:30. I got some diet coke and a ? sandwich and after eating it spent the next several hours just wandering through the massive Saturday night crowds.

Bottom line on Shanghai - very impressive and it has been an enlightening experience.

Now, I am through sitting here and will stow the computer case and head out to do something.

Later.

Billi Pod 
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So there it is - hopefully to be posted.

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Saturday - I am in Tokyo

Well, I made it to Tokyo and so did all of my stuff.

It has been a long long long day/night. All of the following times are based on my body clock, starting in San Francisco on Friday morning.

My wake-up call this morning in San Franciso was for 7:00am. I had breakfast at the hotel and then took the shuttle to the airport, getting there around 9:00am even though my flight didn't leave until 1:20pm. I ultimately was able to get an exit row seat. I met several couples who are in our group and that helped to pass the time at the airport.

We loaded on time and pushed back from the gate on time at 1:20pm but weren't airborne until 1:40pm. The flight was about 75% full. The flight attendants couldn't have been nicer and we actually had two decent meals.

I spent the time alternating between doing crossword puzzles, playing solitaire on the iBook, and watching a movie - Bucket List with Jack Nicholson. I couldn't sleep even though I tried. It was a long and draining flight. I made sure that I got up every hour and walked up and down the aisle.

We touched down at 11:55pm, or 3:55pm local time. It was a 10 hour and 15 minute flight. It was raining when we landed.

By 1:00am I had picked up the duffle (thank you Higher Power) and cleared passport control and customs. Our Globus tour guide met us at the arrival area. We had about an hour wait in the arrival area as members of the tour group arrived on different flights.

The airport is huge and I mean HUGE.

At 2:00am we were on our bus headed into Tokyo and we got to the hotel, The Tokyo Hilton, at 3:15am. It was still lightly raining. I was in my room at 3:30am.

As I write this now it is 9:25pm local time (5:25am my body clock) and I am drinking a Coke Zero and eating a slice of carrot cake.

Our wake up call in the morning is for 6:15am. We have a group meeting at 8:00 and then a full day of sightseeing, ending with a welcome dinner at a trendy restaurant across the street from the hotel.

Oh, Tokyo is really awesome looking at night.

Man, I am tired but also very happy to finally be in the Orient,

Later.

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Thursday - Day One

Well, the adventure is underway. I am writing this in my suite at the Best Western Grosvenor Hotel in San Francisco. It is 1:45am per my body clock but 10:45pm local time. All has gone well so far.

I finished everything up at the apartment at 11:11am Thursday morning (and yes, there is that number again), doubled checked everything in the duffle and computer case and then went downstairs to meet the car service at 1:00pm and the car was waiting for me.

The trip to JFK went well and I was at the Delta terminal at 1:35. I usually use curbside checkin and I did so this time even though Delta has started charging $3 for the “privilege” of using that service. Had a very interesting chat with two of the Sky Caps and they said their earnings have plummeted and if people do use the service they usually don’t tip. Well, I tipped. Way to go Delta, just another example of screwing over the little guy. Anyway ...

When I got to the gate I was able to get an exit row aisle seat and that made me very happy. I had about a 2 hour wait but it went by pretty fast. I did buy a rather nasty looking sandwich to eat during the flight.

We boarded on time. The plane was about 75% capacity. When we pulled back from the gate we got into a long line of other planes waiting to take off. We finally were airborne at 5:30, 35 minutes after leaving the gate.

The flight itself went very well. I spent most of the time either working a crossword puzzle or playing solitaire on my iBook. I ate 1/2 of the nasty sandwich. We made up time and actually landed at SFO 5 minutes ahead of schedule - it was 11:30 EST or 8:30 PST.

Had a bit of a scare with my duffle. I kept waiting and waiting at the baggage claim area and no duffle ... the crowd got thinner and thinner and I began to have thoughts that The Norris Travel Curse had struck yet again. But, thank you Higher Power, the duffle did finally arrive, with the last load of baggage. Whew!!!

Still breathing sighs of relief I went outside the terminal to the Hotel Shuttle Area. It was cold and windy and, of course, my jacket was in the bottom of the duffle. No matter. I gritted my teeth and soon the shuttle arrived.

My two-room suite is excellent

My flight tomorrow departs at 1:20pm and I will be at the airport in plenty of time since the hotel is only about 5 minutes away from the International Terminal.

So, that is about it.

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Wednesday - Departure Day Minus One

The countdown to my Japan/China Adventure is almost over and I have spent most of the past two days finishing up my To-Do list, which includes getting the apartment ready for family visitors week after next.

I really thought through what I was going to pack in the duffle bag, keeping in mind what assholes the airlines have become in their desire to squeeze the last dollar out of already stressed travelers. Unless I have forgotten something important I think I will be about 10 pounds under the 50 lb. limit. I will also carry on some stuff in a suit bag. I don’t like to carry on but I have to consider the possibility of the duffle ending up in Amsterdam when I deplane in San Francisco. Yes, the Norris Travel Curse is still active.

I did resist packing everything black (shirts, pants, shoes etc.) because I didn’t want my tour-mates to believe that I had only one set of clothes, which I wore every day for 3 weeks, so I included a couple of red shirts and a pair of blue jeans. Normally I wouldn’t care what other people might “think” but since we are going to be together for 3 weeks, sometimes in very close quarters, I decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Or, maybe I just wimped out. Whatever.

I will do my best to make timely postings, depending, of course, on internet access.

Now, other things --

I want to congratulate my soulmate, Rosemary Barkett, for successfully completing her Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage in Northern Spain, in 18 days. That is 18 days of hiking. Rosemary, I am soooooooo proud of you for accomplishing this once-in-a-lifetime experience. You did it girl! AWESOME!!!

On the entertainment scene - saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall Monday night and enjoyed it very much. If you like the Superbad/Knocked Up brand of humor, this is the movie for you.

On Monday I also had a nice lunch with student/intern/bartender Scott Reed. We ate at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant called Blockheads. It was damaged in the crane collapse and has just reopened.

As I anticipated, the critics absolutely ravaged Glory Days with some of the nastiest, meanest comments about everything concerning the show that I have seen in a long time.

And, the Yankees lost the first 2 games of the 3 game series against Cleveland. I hope they will have turned things around when I get back.

Gosh, I hope that about this time in 24 hours I will in the final approach to the San Francisco Airport.

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Sunday in the Big Apple

It is shortly after noon as I write this and I have nothing scheduled for today entertainment-wise. I have spent the morning working on things on my Japan/China To-Do list and this afternoon I will begin the process of getting the apartment ready for my departure on Thursday, a much bigger deal than usual because I will have family using the apartment while I am away.

On May 16th my niece Donna Jadamec of Denver, CO, her husband Joe, and their young daughter Josie, will arrive in The Big Apple and land in my apartment. They will be in town for the wedding of one of Joe’s siblings and will leave on the 19th. They already know that the apartment is an alcove studio and a bachelor pad but I still have lots of things and stuff to do to get it ready for them. And, truth-be-told, cleaning and household chores ain’t one of my strong suits and that is why I have allowed myself plenty of time before my Thursday departure for my own travel adventure.

Speaking of Japan/China - about a month ago I bought two rather expensive travel books by Lonely Planet, one for Japan and the other for China and I quickly became overwhelmed. Why? Well, the Japan book is 868 pages and the China book is 1028 pages and that is more information than I could ever absorb. Also, they are heavy and bulky and I might not be able to take them with me because I am very very concerned about the weight limits imposed by both the airlines and the tour group.

Just looking at them now sends the alarm off in my head and the voices begin, like: “what are you going to eat in Japan because you hate sushi? ... how can you get around alone if you don’t understand the language, written or spoken? ... what the fuck is yuan? ... did you know that bottled water in Japan costs 120 yen but only 2 Y in China? ... why doesn’t Hong Kong use the same currency as the rest of China? ... how many people will be on the tour with me? ... why the fuck am I doing this? ... etc. etc. etc. whatever and so on ...”

Ah, the sun is out and now I know what I will do this afternoon - watch the Yankee/Seattle game at 1:00 and then go see a movie, either 21 or Forgetting Sarah Marshall, or Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Cleaning and chores in the evening. Yeah.

On Saturday evening I saw a new musical called Cry-Baby which just opened to very mixed reviews. It is based on the 1990 John Waters movie and is set in Baltimore (think Hairspray) in 1954. The central conflict is between two teenage groups, the straight-arrow Squares and the greasy, lawbreaking Drapes. My seat was in the mezzanine of the cavernous Marquis Theater and the mezzanine was only 1/4 full on a Saturday night - not good at all.

I can certainly understand the mixed reviews but some of the songs were really funny, like the opening number: “The Anti-Polio Picnic,” and later on in the show “Girl, Can I Kiss You, With Tongue?” What saved the show for me was the outstanding choreography and the young energetic ensemble. I don’t think the show will last very long.

Happy Birthday to Grandson Topher Falletta of Gainesville, FL - today is number 26.

It is hard to believe that this blog is now almost a month old and this will be my 31st post. Rock on Billi Pod!!!

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com

Friday - Back From Freezing Yankee Stadium

Well, against my better judgment I went out to Yankee Stadium for the Yankees vs. Seattle game, the first game of a 3 game series, and it was freezing with a strong steady wind blowing directly in from center field. The radio announcer (I always listen to the broadcast during the game) said it was the coldest and nastiest weather of the season and I concur. I was dressed warmly and this time I remembered to bring my gloves, but, it was still very unpleasant. In fact, I left at the end of the 7th inning - enough was enough.

The good side - the Yankees won 5-1 behind another outstanding outing by Ching-Mien Wang with 3 scoreless innings from the bullpen. Wang’s record is a league leading 6-0. Thus far the Yankees are 3-1 in games I have seen. My next game won’t be until the June 3rd game against Toronto.

On Thursday I had a terrific lunch with Steve Gardner and it was great to get back in touch with him and to be brought up-to-date about him, professionally and family-wise. I look forward to spending more time with Steve when I get back from my Japan/China trip.

My entertainment event for Thursday night was another Broadway show in previews, a rock musical called Glory Days. The story line is that 4 high school buddies reunite a year after graduation. They meet on the bleachers of their high school football field and compare notes on how they have each changed and how they will deal with these changes. The four young guys were excellent and I liked the show a lot but I have a gut-feeling that it will have a difficult time finding an audience. I hope I am wrong.

All of the day on Friday was spent doing things and stuff in preparation for the Japan/China adventure including getting some foreign currency: China - yuan; Japan - yen. I feel pretty good about where I am in the process. The countdown has definitely begun.

Saturday I have another Broadway musical, Cry-Baby, a recently opened adaptation of the 1990 John Waters movie. Reviews have been mixed, so we will see ... At this point Sunday is open.

Speaking of Sunday - my youngest grandson, Christopher Falletta (whom I have renamed Topher), of Gainesville, will celebrate his 26th birthday on Sunday - congrats Topher.

Bill
wanjr@aol.com

Billi Pod’s Activities for April

April was a rather strange month for me activity-wise because in checking my daily log (log, not diary, real guys don’t keep diaries) I find that I actually stayed in the apartment 7 nights without attending some sort of entertainment event during the day or evening. Hum ... 2 nights were because I didn’t feel well (sniffles, cough, slight fever) and the majority of the rest was because the baseball season has now started and I wanted to get back into my Yankee baseball rhythm, so ... this is what Billi Pod did during the month of April --

During the month I attended: 3 Broadway shows (Boeing, Boeing; Thurgood; and, A Catered Affair); 10 Off-Broadway shows; 3 comedy shows (Seth Rudentsky, Jon Stewart et. al; and, The Kids in the Hall); 5 classical music concerts; and, 3 Yankee baseball games.

I celebrated my 74th birthday on April 23rd (barf and double barf); was taken to a birthday luncheon on Staten Island by Scott Reed and Ben Sears; with my dear friend and fraternity brother Stumpy Harris of Orlando I saw the Florida Gators play in the semifinals of the NIT; acted as a tour guide for my granddaughter Gina Falletta and her friend Kelly Smith; and, on April 6 finally joined the blog generation with Billi Pod Blogs. I actually posted 28 times during the month.

So, in review, maybe it wasn’t a bad month after all. What do you think?

I didn’t go out to Yankee stadium last night for the second game against Detroit - I just didn’t feel like it. Actually, not a bad thing because once again the Yankees sucked. Even worse news - Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez and Phil Hughes are all on the Disabled List. Not good. I know it is early in the season but I just don’t see any fire in the team and they appear to me to be lethargic and lackadaisical, almost as if they were sending a message to Ownership that Joe Torre should never have been let-go, fired, whatever. Maybe that is overly dramatic but it is how I honestly feel at this point.

I am not in a panic mode, YET, but something is definitely wrong with this team.

Oh, I did a lot of routine stuff in my preparation process for the Japan/China trip. I think my main concern now is over what to pack, especially since the tour group is limited to one checked bag weighing not more than 50 pounds, thanks to the airlines.

Billi Pod
wanjr@aol.com