June 14, 2010

            It’s been a very sad week for me.  After 16 years together, I had to have my faithful friend Max put to sleep. 

            Poor old Max, as you’d expect at his age, slowed down considerably over the past few years.  Our walks together were much slower and shorter than they used to be, and he wasn’t as interested in his toys.  He lost his hearing.  Then, it became too much for him to climb the stairs.  But things really started to get bad over the last two months.  He lost some weight and often couldn’t stand up without help.  And sometimes, he’d take a few steps and fall over because his hind legs were becoming too weak to support him.  I held out hope that once the winter chill left his bones he’d bounce back a little, the way he did last spring, but it wasn’t to be.  In my heart, I knew that it was his time and I that I was doing the right thing, but that doesn’t make it any easier to say good-bye.

            I’m trying not to think about our final moments together.  Our last visit to the vet, and those few moments while we waited for the end on the table in the back room, were agony.  That last hour we had together at home before the appointment was both the longest and shortest sixty minutes I’ve ever spent in my life.  I hope Max enjoyed the leftover pork chop I fed him as I tried to comfort him and prepare myself for what was ahead.

            I worry that I waited too long, and made him suffer needlessly.  I also worry that I jumped the gun, and deprived him of some good days and doggie pleasures to which he was entitled.  I keep telling myself that he was well fed and well loved, and had a much longer and happier life than he would have we not found each other in that shelter all those years ago.    

            On my way home from work, I routinely go over what I have to or want to do with the rest of my day, and my to-do list always started with “walk the dog.”  Now that Max is gone, my thoughts just derail when I get to my mental checklist.  It’s been a week, but I swear I can still hear the jingling of his tags against his collar.  I still find myself stepping over the places where he used to sleep.  And every morning as I leave the house, I feel like I’ve forgotten to do something, because I didn’t take him for our walk, like I did every morning for the last decade and a half. 

            I’ll always remember and cherish the sunny summer days he spent swimming with me at Lake Harmony.  I miss how he used to jump up on the couch in my office and keep me company when I was working at home. 

Max wasn’t much of a fetcher, but he loved to play “keep away” with his toys.  Sometimes, he’d play that game with things that weren’t his toys, too.  He used to take dirty socks out of my laundry basket and “present” them to my houseguests.  This one time, he got a hold of one of my sister’s winter gloves, and it took us an hour of chasing him around our snowy back yard until we could get it off him. 

            Oh, and he loved the snow.  When we’d get a good ground covering, he couldn’t wait to go outside and bury his head under the surface.  Or he’d roll around on his back and make little doggie snow angels. 

            I miss you, buddy.  Thanks for a lot of great years, and I’ll see you someday at the Rainbow Bridge. 

June 7, 2010

            We had an awesome trip to Las Vegas recently, but not everything was perfect.  On our travels, I discovered a few more things I can do without.

• Men who wear flip-flops on an airplane.  Look, I know nobody dresses up to fly anymore, but don’t you think flip-flops are just a little too casual?  I’m about to spend 5 hours in an uncomfortable seat at 34,000 feet inside a poorly-ventilated aluminum tube.  Do we really need to add the stench of your feet to the mix?

• Families that bring their children to Vegas.  I know that Las Vegas tried to reposition themselves as a family destination a few years ago, but they’ve moved away from that.  Vegas should be about Booze, Bets, and Broads…Cards, Casinos, and Comps—not Cartoons.  Go to Vegas for Slots—Not Spongebob.  Seriously, they have a Spongebob attraction at the hotel where we stayed, and it’s just plain wrong.  Look, I’ll make you a deal—since I don’t have kids, I’ll stay out of the Magic Kingdom as long as you keep your kids out of the MGM Grand.

• Resort Fees.  Beyond the cost of our trip, I paid about $10 more per night, and our hotel is by no means the only one who does this.  And it’s not the extra cost that cheeses me off; it’s the underhand, backdoor method used to jack up the cost.  Had the extra $40 been part of the package price I would have had no qualms about paying it.  But as an extra charge, I felt it a little disingenuous.   

June 1, 2010

            Welcome back from the long holiday weekend.  Hope you had a good one.

            Last week, I was on vacation, and we spent 5 days and 4 nights in Las Vegas.  All in all, it was a fantastic trip.  Our flights were on time and uneventful, our luggage made it to the right destination, and the weather was perfect.  It was actually about 15 degrees cooler than normal, so that meant the daytime highs were in the upper 70s and lo 80s—perfect for walking from casino to casino.  I think it was actually warmer here than there.

Me at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

             We had dinner at Spago in the Forum Shops at Ceasers Palace, and made it downtown to Freemont Street, where every night they play music and video on the 4 block-long overhead canopy.  Last time we were there, the light show wasn’t that great, but this time it was so good that after the first show, we went into another casino and gambled until it was time for the next.  The first one was exclusively Don McLean’s American Pie; the second show we stayed for featured all music by The Doors.

             We also got to see Penn & Teller at the Rio.  If you ever get a chance to see them in person, I’d highly recommend you do—great show.  And if you see them in Vegas at the Rio, definitely plan to have dinner at the Rio’s Carnival World Buffet—best in town.

While in Vegas, I treated myself to a straight-razor shave by a master barber, something I’ve never done before.  We also checked out the shark reef at Mandalay Bay, rode the roller-coaster around the New York New York, saw the bodies exhibit at the Luxor and took in the view from the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Las Vegas.  It was a full, rich week.

View from atop the Eiffel Tower at the Paris

            I even got lucky on a few of the slot machines. 

Sure, I gambled most of my winnings away, but I look at it like this:  I was playing with somebody else’s money, and all the time I was doing that, they kept bringing me free drinks.

            Oh yeah, I got engaged, too.  Last Monday night after dinner, my then-girlfriend-now fiancé and I were at the fountains at Bellagio. As the show started, I got down on one knee, pulled the ring out of my jacket pocket, and asked her to be my wife.  Fortunately, she said yes.  Otherwise, it would have been a really uncomfortable plane ride home.

            Anyway, here are a few more pictures from the trip if you’re interested.

                   The Excalibur Hotel and Casino, where we stayed this trip

                                           The View from our Hotel Room

Entrance to the Luxor

Some of the Coaster around the NY-LV

May 31, 2010

This was the scene on Freemont Street last Wednesday Night

            I’m back from my Las Vegas vacation, and it was fantastic. 

I'll be sharing some more stories and pictures from my trip real soon, but for today, I just want to say "Thank You" to some people.

    First, thanks to Tony for filling in last week so I could get away.  Also, a big Thank You to everyone who served or who is serving in the Armed Forces.

    So...enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend and the Memorial Day 500.  Tony will get to the #1 song sometime this afternoon.  And be sure to check back soon for "What I Did on my Vacation." 

May 21, 2010

     Just to let you know, I'm on vacation next week.

     Tony Ricciardi, Master of Karate and Friendship for Everyone, will fill in for me, and he'll be the one with the Mystery Tracks and the All Request Lunch Hours. I'll talk to you again during the Memorial Day 500.

     Have a great week--I know I will.

May 17, 2010

            Mad props to Jeff Brown.

            Last week, I was listening to Jeff's show on my way to work, and I heard him diligently trying to work through a cold.  Head colds, as you can imagine, are really rough on disc jockeys.  When your throat is scratchy and you’re all congested, it can be extremely difficult to talk and to stay upbeat.  And since they’re big requirements of the job, working with a cold just plain sucks out loud.  But Jeff, trooper that he is, was gutting it out.

            As I was listening, I made a mental note to disinfect the studio as soon as I got in.  See, we all use the same microphones, so when one of us gets sick, it’s easy to pass those germs along to everybody else.  And the next thing you know, the entire airstaff sounds like a TB ward.  But when I opened the door to the studio, the place absolutely reeked of Lysol.  Jeff, ever the gentleman, took the time to spray down the studio to try to prevent the rest of us from getting his cold.  A class act all the way, and a big reason’s he’s one of the elder statesmen of State College radio. 

            And as a bonus, he’s not a Flyers fan, like some DJs I could mention. 

May 13, 2010

            I can’t believe the Pens lost last night.

            To help me get over it, I’m banning all things Canadian from my show today.  I will not be playing any Rush, much as that pains me.  No Triumph, either.  Forget about Neil Young, BTO or the Guess Who.  You won’t hear any Bryan Adams (and maybe a ban on his stuff will extend beyond today).  Don’t ask for Chiliwack or April Wine.  No Wide Mouth Mason, Our Lady Peace or The Northern Pikes.  Forget the Bare Naked Ladies and Alanis Morisette and any other Canadians I’m forgetting about right now.  And DEFINITELY NO NICKELBACK!!

            The only silver lining is that now I can stop rooting for the Flyers.  See, I only wanted Philly to win so that they could face, and be beaten by, the Penguins in the next round—you know, like last year.  But even with those noble intentions, rooting for the Flyers made me feel dirty, so at least I can stop that.   

            So for now, let’s go Bruins.  And to win it all, since it can’t be the Pens, I’d like to see the Blackhawks hoist Lord Stanley’s cup.

This struck me as just too funny not to share.

April 26, 2010

            Starting today, if you win the Mystery Track game, and become a tenured professor in the Bus’s College of Musical Knowledge, you’ll receive a certificate proving that you’ve achieved that distinction.

            I floated the idea of making some sort of suitable-for-framing keepsake a part of the prize pack awhile ago, but for the longest time, nothing got done.  Eventually though, our crack graphics department met with our promotions staff, and together they came up with a design that passed muster with the legal department.  Then, they raised it up the corporate flagpole to see who saluted, and finally they delivered a certificate able to meet my exacting standards. 

            Of course, this means there is absolutely no budget left for my show.

            Hey, speaking of give-aways, it was great to bring back my What’s The Show game for Eagles tickets last week.  If they come up with another big prize like that, maybe I’ll resurrect another game I played years ago when I worked across town:  Answer Immediately. 

Down 3-0 in game 6 against the Senators, and they come back with an overtime win to eliminate Ottawa and move on to round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Go Pens!