I started this blog on Friday, but had to run off to Long Beach for a consumer show before I could finish it...
The Chargers game was a little disappointing. We weren't able to leave work at a decent time so we got stuck in some gnarly traffic on the 15. Around 8 miles north of the stadium traffic got heavy and we averaged at best 10 MPH. By the time we got to the stadium exit the game was well underway in the first quarter. As it turns out, it wasn't a bad thing. Either way I still can't believe the NFL thought it was a good idea to start a game at 5:15 p.m. during a weeknight in California.
We parked at a nearby Lowe's parking lot, which threatens to tow non-customers from its parking lot with security roaming around trying to enforce it. Our co-worker said he parks there all the time and has never had a problem, so we had some faith in the whole free parking idea. The sign threatening a $350 tow didn't discourage us. My boss bought a tape measure at Lowes, with metric measurements (for some reason that was a big deal for him to find one), just in case the whole tow thing panned out. We were officially paying customers and we figured they couldn't tow us. Of course, they didn't!
We made our way to Qualcomm Stadium and the score was already 24-0 Chargers. However, we did figure the Raiders were leading in one category, most fans throwing up in the parking lot, which stunk of stale booze and piss. Far worse than any tailgating smells at Gopher football games, believe it or not. We made our way to our seats through the sea of black and silver and saw some seriously sketchy stuff. One thing is for sure, Raiders fans intimidate through dress and actions, and they don't relent ... to the point of making the game unpleasant. We were on the Chargers sideline in row 4 ... not bad seats, but a tough view of the action.
The NFL long ago made the leap from family atmosphere to disgusting and this game backed it up. I'd much rather enjoy the NFL games from the comfort of my sofa than Qualcomm. And, the beer isn't $8 at home and my carpet usually doesn't smell like piss. I'd say the NFL loses its luster when you attend a game in person. Maybe it's just my experiences at the Metrodome and Qualcomm, easily two of the worst stadiums in the game. I doubt my feelings would change if I went to Oakland, that much is for sure.
We left the game after the 3rd quarter and had a few Tecates and some cooked scallops, they were frozen inside, from a local KTM dealer's RV tailgate BBQ. He hasn't missed a game in 7 years but, you guessed it, he managed to miss this game. Partially from his drunken state, and the other from a Raider fan stealing his cousin's tickets from his back pocket. At least that's the story his cousin tells. He probably found them sitting on the kitchen counter when he got home!
All in all, the lesson learned here is the NFL isn't a family atmosphere. If you are all for Junior learning how to binge drink, puke, swear, get neck tattoos, lack respect for others around you, overeat and generally just stink at an early age, an NFL stadium is the place for you. Don't forget to buy Junior a Raiders jersey while you're at it, he'll fit right in 10 years from now.
That's it for today...I'm swamped at work and really don't want to stay 3 hours late again. Still no cable or Internet. I'm beating the odds!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Chargers Vs. Raiders
I was just offered up a free ticket tonight's blood battle between the worthless Raiders and under-performing Chargers. Of course, I accepted. I'm heading down to the game with two co-workers in an hour! I'll adopt the Chargers as my local AFC team to cheer for, but the Vikes are always No. 1 no matter how many sex cruises or drugs they take ... McKinney, cough, cough, Williamses.
Vebe Visual Logo
What do you think? I made it in 10 minutes over lunch. Rank it on 1 to 5 with 5 being the best. Your input is appreciated.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
NorthWORST At It Again
If there's one airline I could choose to avoid at all costs, it's Northwest. NWA has to be the most unreliable, worst airline in the industry. I'm not sure it will change much with the Delta merger, but it certainly can't get much worse. The planes are old, out of date and have more quirks than a 45-year old dressing up to play Laire.
Naturally, my 9:15 p.m. flight Monday night was delayed more than 2.5 hours due to a mechanical issue. I'm all for getting to my destination safely, but a little organization and at minimum a half-assed effort from the NorthWORST staff would be appreciated. At 4 p.m. I noticed the same flight number out of Columbus was delayed. In my two-hour pre-flight e-mail notice, NWA said on time. Not so much. If you know the plane is having an issue, come up with a contingency plan to find an identical plane, at your airline's largest hub no less, and transfer passengers and baggage immediately. It was the last flight of the night and planes were sitting everywhere. It doesn't take a high IQ to figure that out. After waiting 2 hours they finally made the brilliant decision to switch us on to an idle plane across the airport.
What it meant for me was arriving in San Diego at 1:55 a.m. PST. The flight was good all things considered, if not a little hot. Everybody complained about how warm the plane was, but no flight attendant could managed to turn the thermostat knob to the left. Besides that, not too bad considering the delay. I guess it's to be expected. It's flying the friendly skies on the worst airline in business with planes that want the 70s back. I got home to Murrieta at 3:15 a.m. after driving through some seriously dense fog in the mountains ... 100 feet of visibility. I got up for work at 6 a.m. and the day that felt like two was just getting started.
I made a drive through the Santa Anas and Cleveland National Forest at 8 a.m. on the Ortega Highway, which can really test your nerves when you are buzzing on caffeine and little sleep. I successfully made it to my business meeting in Orange County right on time at 9:30. After a few hours discussing the industry and feeling pretty good for hardly any shut-eye, I zipped back to Murrieta using the 91, now free of morning traffic. By the time I got back to the office it was 2 p.m. and time to drive 40 miles north in our KTM Sprinter van to Milestone MX to break in several motocross media ATVs.
Before I knew it the clock
was ticking past 5 p.m. and I was putting in some hard laps aboard our all-new 450 SX ATV. The exercise and motos were good and it gave me a needed boost of energy for the 40-mile drive home. I got hung-up in traffic on "the" 60 so the drive ended up taking me an 1 hour 15 minutes. I've learned freeways are always referred to as "the" 15 or "the" 405 here. I'm not sure why, they just are. Next up, Taco Bell and a 25-minute wait for two soft tacos! Not ideal on limited energy. I can officially say that particular location has lost any future business from me. By the time I ate and caught up with Tracy I was crashing hard. I probably beat my grandma to bed when I fell asleep at 8:30.
The biggest news, I finally moved in a new couch today over lunch. I'm pretty "stoked" to dump the college futon and sit on some real furniture. No cable or Internet yet. It's become a game of how long I can hold out!
Naturally, my 9:15 p.m. flight Monday night was delayed more than 2.5 hours due to a mechanical issue. I'm all for getting to my destination safely, but a little organization and at minimum a half-assed effort from the NorthWORST staff would be appreciated. At 4 p.m. I noticed the same flight number out of Columbus was delayed. In my two-hour pre-flight e-mail notice, NWA said on time. Not so much. If you know the plane is having an issue, come up with a contingency plan to find an identical plane, at your airline's largest hub no less, and transfer passengers and baggage immediately. It was the last flight of the night and planes were sitting everywhere. It doesn't take a high IQ to figure that out. After waiting 2 hours they finally made the brilliant decision to switch us on to an idle plane across the airport.
What it meant for me was arriving in San Diego at 1:55 a.m. PST. The flight was good all things considered, if not a little hot. Everybody complained about how warm the plane was, but no flight attendant could managed to turn the thermostat knob to the left. Besides that, not too bad considering the delay. I guess it's to be expected. It's flying the friendly skies on the worst airline in business with planes that want the 70s back. I got home to Murrieta at 3:15 a.m. after driving through some seriously dense fog in the mountains ... 100 feet of visibility. I got up for work at 6 a.m. and the day that felt like two was just getting started.
I made a drive through the Santa Anas and Cleveland National Forest at 8 a.m. on the Ortega Highway, which can really test your nerves when you are buzzing on caffeine and little sleep. I successfully made it to my business meeting in Orange County right on time at 9:30. After a few hours discussing the industry and feeling pretty good for hardly any shut-eye, I zipped back to Murrieta using the 91, now free of morning traffic. By the time I got back to the office it was 2 p.m. and time to drive 40 miles north in our KTM Sprinter van to Milestone MX to break in several motocross media ATVs.
Before I knew it the clock
was ticking past 5 p.m. and I was putting in some hard laps aboard our all-new 450 SX ATV. The exercise and motos were good and it gave me a needed boost of energy for the 40-mile drive home. I got hung-up in traffic on "the" 60 so the drive ended up taking me an 1 hour 15 minutes. I've learned freeways are always referred to as "the" 15 or "the" 405 here. I'm not sure why, they just are. Next up, Taco Bell and a 25-minute wait for two soft tacos! Not ideal on limited energy. I can officially say that particular location has lost any future business from me. By the time I ate and caught up with Tracy I was crashing hard. I probably beat my grandma to bed when I fell asleep at 8:30.The biggest news, I finally moved in a new couch today over lunch. I'm pretty "stoked" to dump the college futon and sit on some real furniture. No cable or Internet yet. It's become a game of how long I can hold out!
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