by Orlando C. Fernando
Diary 1998 | Diary 1999 | Diary Early 2000 | Diary Late 2000 | Diary 2001
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Hot Chili on a Warm Halloween? Yes, it's true. A good Xerox friend of mine held her annual fall chili cook-off on Halloween weekend. The weekend which temperatures soared to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius). I may not have had the best veggie, best poultry, nor the best beef dish there, but I brought my traditional hand-scoopin' cookie-brownies. Gone after the first few hours! Aside from judging chili dishes, we also got to judge adult and child costumes for the occasion. My clown costume was definitely overshadowed by another division employee in an elaborate homemade cat costume. The pumpkin piñata was never the same after innocent kids beat it up with a stick and it's tootsie roll insides gushed out. What did it do to them??? Anyway, there was plenty of chili left to take home. However, you had to hurry to the parking lot before our special guest star zombie creature appeared at the party. A hideous face in ghostly apparel with long wooden stick arms. You should have seen how many times one young girl hid behind every parent in sight! |
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UK or Bust. After much plane ticket preparation over the year, September 3 finally arrived for me to fly to Heathrow Airport in England for vacation. I've had so much fun in such limited time (10 days). First stop was a visit to my good Xerox colleagues at the Welwyn Garden City site (they live somewhat near by to the area). The Xerox facility there was very modern with an H-style assembly of windowed buildings brought in unison with a plush garden entrance. My aunt, uncle, and cousins in Kent (in the town of Rochester, yes, Rochester) welcomed me for the remainder of the trip, taking me to see the famous Leeds Castle and the channel port of Dover. It was not complete without a night's stop in London for reuniting, friends, and hopping the pubs in Brixton. The weather was very cooperative for the duration of the stay with only one thunderstorm evening and one rainy morning (the day I left). A warm and sunny 70-80 degrees each day made for an unusually pleasant month for England in September. Never so good since the 1950's many have told me! There are several modifications nowadays compared to my last visit in 1991. Mobile phones are bountiful, which can even be purchased at petrol stations. You can never turn a town corner without seeing a business's web site advertisement. Family pubs sprout abundantly, giving a chance for parents to enjoy a decent meal while letting the kids frolic in the playground. The rollerblading scene, however, was rather disappointing (due to unpredicable weather and lack of extensive pavements for doing the sport). But nonetheless people are slowly catching the trend - especially with having such a great summer this year. And finally, a monstrous new millenium exhibit in Greenwich will open the new year with history, science, and technology. |
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Soccer Fever. Our Rochester Rhinos soccer team has had an excellent season so far with 16 wins 2 losses. The season continues with another win scored tonight vs. the Connecticut Wolves. Over 12,600 fans have crowded Frontier Field in downtown Rochester to watch the game, including a friend of mine and I. The Rhinos, in fact, ruled the first half and most of the second half with 4 points. Connecticut managed to get one point soon after the 4th goal, but that's all that was to be scored that night. The Rhinos are looking good to make it into the finals, continuing their yearly streak of great achievements, including championships, ranking #1 in the minor soccer leagues this year, having higher attendance than many MLS (Major League Soccer) games. Not bad for Rochester's attempt at the REAL game of football. ;)
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Weird Al in Tonawanda. Some Xerox coworkers and I had the opportunity tonight to catch Weird Al in concert this evening at the Majestic Theater in Buffalo (actually, it's at a town closer to Niagara Falls called Tonawanda). The theater itself was actually a basic dome! I was not expecting a MSG (Madison Square Garden) but it resembled the dome we have here in Rochester where we have gun and computer shows! But actually, the inside was nice with a circular style arena with a turntable stage in the center. After much (and long) anticipation with the opening comedian (some TV host of Comedy Central's "Make Me Laugh") the Man steps on stage. |
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At first starting out easy with "He's Gump" and a few other cover songs, he starts undergoing costume changes after each song and the excitement starts to pick up more and more. During his costume changes, they would show some fake TV commercials or clips from his cult movie hit "UHF" on the video screens. Some really good ones that were new to me was a movie promo for a natural disaster movies called "60% Chance of Rain", a black master of a mansion chasing after a French servant around the family dinner table during a preview of "French Prince of Bel Air," and How does a man like this have so much energy? He costume changes to, cranks out, AND acts out on the stage and the audience "Fat," "Eat It," "Like a Surgeon (a special Egyptian version)," "The Night Santa Went Crazy," "It's All About the Pentiums (my current favorite)," "Smells Like Nirvana," "Bedrock Anthem," "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi," "Grapefruit Diet," "Another One Rides the Bus", "Addicted to Spuds, "Achy Breaker Song," "Beverly Hillbillys," "I Lost on Jeopardy," "Jurassic Park" and much more. And yes, for the "Fat" song is DOES don on the fat suit like he used for the video. Quite a feat in the rather humid 70 degrees Fahrenheit auditorium! I was told that he also does very current parodies not released on any album, I understand, because he did not get official permission from the original song artists (a courtesy he always does) to parody their songs. This concert was no exception. Alanis Morrisette's "Thank You" song was turned into a thank you song for all the fast food restaurants like Burger King and McDonald's. He turned Offspring's "Come Out and Play" into "Gotta Seperate 'Em" talking about separating your laundry clothes. The best one was preceded by a short video parodying a scene from a certain unforgettable movie in which an underwater excavator (Weird Al) asks an elderly Rose (the real actress) if she could take him back in time and say where's the Jewel? She surprisingly responds among other good lines, that she doesn't like Jewel (the singer), she prefers Hanson. Had us in the audience roaring in laughter! Yes, this opens up into a parody of the familiar Celine Dion's Titanic song "My Heart Will Go On". Al puts on a pizza outfit and tickles our ribs royally with "The Toppings Will Go On" with lines changed to "Near...Far...I'll drive up in my car." I really wish this was released on album. :( In the classic tradition of rock concerts, he and his 3-man band depart prematurely on stage after a massive medley of songs. The entire crowd claps and chants "Al! Al! Al!" as the Man (I gotta copyright that!) and his band returns, in a very fast jedi costume change, to strum his current hit "The Saga Begins". I initially thought this "American Pie" set to Star Wars I parody was mediocre, but seeing this on stage with excellent acoustics and the audience singing along with cigarette lighters, really make this song very impressionable for me. Then he finished the night, after 2.5 hours, with another Star Wars parody "Yoda". Again, another song enhanced by audience chanting ("Yoda! Yo-yo-yo-yo-yoda!"). An unforgettable night of singing, chanting, clapping, and laughing. Easily the most fun and funniest concert I've ever been to in my life! He better come up with his next album soon, because I want to book my tickets for that concert tour early! ;) |
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Niagara Falls Skate '99. Our Rochester In-Line Skate Club had our annual Niagara-on-the-Lake skate which runs from Fort George all the way down south to the Falls itself. The skate was actually spread between today and last Sunday because many of us did not attend the latter due to threats of thunderstorms. The turnout last Sunday was three (it didn't thunderstorm until well after the skate) and today was six, including skaters from Churchville and south of Rochester. However this time, we started at the midpoint of the whole stretch of pathway, which was a parking lot across from the Floral Clock. We made our way south and we easily made it to the tourist area of the Falls. Coming back to the midpoint, with the uphills that we just took downward, was the challenge. Most of us made it in decent shape and only one person had to bail for the rest of the skate. 16 miles so far.
The remainder of the journey took us north all the way up to Fort George. We unofficially made 21-24 miles total. Casual tiredness and minor blisters. We were picked up by the sole skater that decided to drive the last leg and we all had a really nice late lunch in the Niagara-on-the-Lake town area followed by a visit to a peach market before our return to the States. For you gardening and trivia buffs, peaches become ripe in Ontario, Canada and Northern New York State by about late July. Although this year's peach crops were smaller due to the dry summer we have this year, it still remained sweet and very juicy. A basket of 10-12 peaches for US$3.65 cannot be beaten for that tasty richness!
Stamford Going Rink Crazy. While on my July 4th vacation in Connecticut. I had learned of a new skate park in Stamford called (duh!) Stamford Skate Park. Thanks to my little and big Canadian friends Alisha and Dane (you're the best!), I was motivated to try it out. Located in the Springdale neighborhood, it was sort of tucked away a street corner away from the back of Twin Rinks, a new ice skating & hockey rink.
When we entered Stamford Skate Park, it was overwhelming! A varied set of ramps, including medium and high halfpipes, quarterramps, corner-side ramps, and flat ramps with rails. The high flat ramp which leads you down to an upward ramp platform gives you some good air even if you're not trying! The floors in some areas were kind of rough though painted, but just in some patches. Bikers, skateboarders, share the park along with us in-line skaters and everyone seemed cooperative and even helpful. A roughly 9-year old girl even took to some quarterramps, making the two of us on opposite sides of the age scale for that place. :)
So if you're in that neck of Fairfield County and feel the need to release...something...on wheels, get your gear and step on over to the park, located at 81 Camp Avenue (203-322-2673).
Destination Toronto! I along with my good old college friends Dave and Bill have done another road trip for the Memorial weekend holidays...this time across the north border. We arrived at downtown Toronto to introduce my friends to the city I so hyped about for practically the past year, and they weren't disappointed. Thanks to my good Canadian friend Mike, we checked the nightclub district Friday night and winded up in a very awesome club called Whiskey Saigon. The multi-floored club has two dance floors, a pool and dining area, free racing simulation, and a romantic rooftop overlooking the CN Tower. The place did take a while to pick up, but as the night progressed, we were not disappointed with our C$8 cover charge (about US$6). At first at 9pm, only the pool tables, racing simulation, and drinks were at our disposal. Finally, the upper floors had opened around 10pm and by about 11pm, the hip-hop/dance floor was happening. Non-repetitive, thundering hits surrounded by lovely ladies and hip-dressed guys swarmed the floor. Extra points go to the front stage with a computer animated screen and a green laser show from the DJ booth to give it bit of a rave feeling. One of us tried to strike a dance with someone and was turned down, another danced closely with a Korean girl, but us boys won't tell. :)
The CN Tower was a must to see on Saturday. The tallest man-made structure in the world has a glass floor near the top that you can walk on at get nauseated if you so choose. We dare you to look down or even lie on it as you walk along the floor and become the object of a flash camera.
Canada's Wonderland, Sunday's all-day pursuit, is an amusement park quite comparable to Six Flags theme parks in the States. Twas a perfect day as all rides were open, including all sorts of roller coasters, a mini-water park (my favorite), and countless snack areas to get funnel cakes and snow cones. But avoid a certain snowcone booth. It took us over 30 minutes to get one. The lines to the Vortex and Thunder Run roller coasters had shorter waiting times than this. Speaking of coasters, Top Gun is the most treacherous, with several corkscrews which only our fearless Bill dared to tackle at the end of the day. The bumper cars and swinging pirate ship were Dave's and my cup of tea in the meantime.
After Monday's souvenir grab and return trips to the States, we've determined to return some day, and tackle Ontario Place, the Toronto Zoo, Wild Water Kingdom, and several other sites we could not pursue this time.
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| You can take a boat tour around the Toronto Islands just a mile or two south of the city lakefront, but we opted to take the ferry to land there. The southernmost point of the island overlooks Lake Ontario. Contrasting island sites are a children's amusement park, biking/skating paths, and a nudist beach! | The Blue Jays were destroyed by the Yankees 8-3 at the Skydome on Saturday. Well, I'm actually still amazed the Yankees win games. I go back some years following their losses in the '80s. Many thanks to Dave and his News12 Jersey's Talking buddies for providing us the free tickets. | The downtown landscape is just so uniform, especially with two skyscrapers with gold-colored windows. Bus tours drive around the Greater Toronto area. However, double decker buses and trams are excellent means to tour the city center. It truly is a near-spotless city. | While waiting for the dance floors at Whiskey Saigon, we tried out a racing simulation resembling the downtown race track. After figuring those dang black walls, I went to 1st place with the time of 1:06. Uh, huh. Uh, huh. Thaz right homes. We be acing all dat, y'all. :) |
Life Saver. I have just completed my renewal of my Adult CPR (by American Heart Association) and Standard First Aid certification (by American Red Cross). The CPR program now includes use of the defribulator, a very beneficial device which helps to reset the heart via shock when attempting to engage CPR on a unconscious victim without pulse. At first defribulators were useable only by the police force and various medical personnel and they used to be quite bulky. Now they are available in a convenient size like a laptop computer. Working on the MERT team (Medical Emergency Response Team) at Xerox, it is important to keep my skills up to date. Thankfully, we have not had one emergency since our group's formation in 1998.
Movin' On Up. I have gained a new web hosting service Internet Communications. In the course of the next month, I intend to make the site more interactive and dynamic. Now doing web page support for my workgroup in Xerox, the improvement efforts in both places complement each other. The easier URL address to reach me is barely the start for what is to come.
| Going in Circles. Well, it was about that time again for the annual Inner Loop skate, a fundraising skating event in Rochester by the Community Health Network to raise money for AIDS patients. This year I managed to raise $66 ($19 more than last year, yippee zang zoom!). It was truly a mecca of rollerbladers this year, as we've had a second consecutive warm sunny day for the event. New to the scene are free sweet red apples for the participants in addition to the traditional water stations, an aggressive ramp at the start line, free loaning of in-line skates and pads for participants, and face painting by a lady clown. I have swept part of the skate route in advance this year and for my volunteer work I got a yellow "Do As I Say!" T-shirt. It's apparently supposed to "friendly" convey to participants that we're there to assist them. Hmmm. They also had a army truck with additional water supplies. I sense a military takeover! ;) See my account of the Inner Loop skate for 1998. |
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Blizzard '99. Rochester this weekend has been experiencing what's said to be the 2nd largest storm for central New York since '93 (when the over 4-ft. blizzard hit). It opened up with heavy rain on Wednesday night, turned to snow Thursday morning and went relentless until noontime. Over 45 mph winds made driving (or walking for that matter) treacherous. Fortunately, I made it to work about 7am when there was just about 6 inches on the ground. When I left work around 6pm, there was over 2 feet!
The storm was amazingly only concentrated on the Syracuse/Greater Rochester area extending as far south as central Pennsylvania. The other regions were spared. As a result, Rochester was declared as one of 19 counties with a "state of emergency", cautioning everyone to only travel if absolutely necessary. The Thruway (interstate 90 which runs from Albany to Buffalo and beyond) exits and entrance ramps in Rochester were either closed or blocked by abandoned vehicles. In fact, over 500 cars on the Thruway were stranded, either because of being stuck in snowbanks or running out of gas (being stuck in the 10-15 mph traffic getting in/out of the city). Scattered areas (including my own apartment complex) were briefly out of power. There was even at least one death, unfortunately, as a poor person had a heart attack in trying to shovel these ungodly heaps of the white stuff.
Downtown Rochester indoor parking lots had to be open for free so that downtown and near-downtown residents could move their cars off the side streets. Yes, the street plows needed THAT much cooperation!
Since I live very close to work, I had two people over Friday evening to get some hot drinks and soup (you only have so much change and can only eat so much from a office vending machine!). One of them ended up staying overnight exhausted, the poor shoveler! But everyone is alive and well and people have been far more cooperative to each other and optimistic rather than panicing and being unruly. Countless people pushed and shovelled out other cars in the snow. I think everyone here realizes that "we're in this together".
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| Residential parking lots were in complete burial. Cars which hadn't moved away on Fri morning or Saturday evening were deeply stranded. | Shopping plazas had it better with reduced customers and a rectangular area to work with, but the resulting mounds made mountains themselves. | The Erie Canal walk paths wouldn't be cleared until several days later. Hopefully this was a municipal car, otherwise someone's going nowhere for a while! | This was the better view of the Erie Canal walk. Snowshoes and not running shoes was what you needed to traverse this knee-deep stuff! |
Feliz Navidad. My Christmas vacation had been one of the most fun and exciting ones of my life! I have had the privilege of being able to visit my godfather in Madrid, Spain during the best two weeks of the year! Spain is a country that really knows how to celebrate! Christmas has a much more religious and less commercial connotation there than in the States. Los Tres Regis Majos (The Three Wise Men), in fact, have a much higher importance than Pere Noel (the adopted French translation of "Father Christmas" or "Santa Claus").
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On Buenanoche (Christmas Eve), I had gone with my godfather's family to Tuleda. A small but modern village about 5 hours from Madrid in the northern country. Because of the effects of El Nino back in the first half of 1998, there was much less snow in the area. In fact, it could only be seen on the mountaintops. The town center is divided into the old traditional section and the modern section. This towering cathedral lies in the old very picturesque side of town. | In Spain, it's Buenanoche, and not Navidad that is the major time of celebration. In the evening, the streets are filled with crowds seeing all the luminous Christmas lights on the streets, stopping into bars for some hot & alcoholic drinks, and anticipating the march of the shepards - a town holiday tradition. Even the horses and donkeys are dressed up for the occasion! |  |
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After much waiting, the shepards arrive! All dressed in their best outfits with a rhythmic hopping sort of procession. You can't help but thump around yourself! :) Why such a long wait? These leaders of the march go all around town! Give them time to come to you! |
Various bands also play in the marching parade in colonial dress and instruments. Even some of the spectators and their children dress in the traditional clothing. Most notable of all are the distinct stockings and black clogs. All the world's a stage here! |  |
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A lot of junior shepards had later followed the adult ones, in similar costume. The girls in the band, however, were adorned in pilgrim-like outfits joining hands and skipping along the procession, passing around the other band members. | After several bands, shepards, and children pass by in the march, an old man atop a carried plank arrives with lots of candy for the crowd. Caramel candies are among the top treats. Here, he even holds an infant to make sure he gets his little share of the goodies. |  |
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On New Year's Eve, there is a Spanish tradition. Right from when the clock strikes midnight through 12:01, you are supposed to eat a grape at each bong. A clock bongs 12 times at midnight, which means you have to eat each grape every 5 seconds! If you are smart, you prepare your batch of grapes ahead of time by selecting only small ones and making sure they don't have seeds (you normally have seedful grapes in Madrid supermarkets). You'd be surprised how difficult it is otherwise. Watching someone stuck with chipmunk cheeks full of grapes is pretty hilarious! Better than shots, man! :) Parties on New Year's run much into the morning hour...even 8am! And they are excellent!!! |
Copyright 2001 by Orlando C. Fernando.
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