In Corpus again, five years later

I'm in Corpus Christi again this week, five years after my last visit (which means five years since we graduated college!) Freaking crazy.

I rode down today on the team bus - we play a friendly against an amateur team at the baseball stadium here on Thursday night. I needed to download audio from our radio station so that our video crew could match them up with the video highlights from last Saturday, which had only been provided to us in Spanish.

Unfortunately, my wireless card - which intrepidly maintained some sort of signal almost the whole trip - was operating at super slow speeds through most of the nothingness that separates Houston and Corpus Christi. It was seriously an accomplishment to watch the download rate rise above 4 kb/second. At one point, I watched the download rate accelerate to 8 kbps and back down to its more normal 2 as we neared, reached, and then drove away from a broadcast tower of some sort.

I gave up at some point, when I realized we were closer to Corpus than the time remaining on the download. When we got here, I quickly downloaded the file and got in touch with my video guys. They said they had already downloaded it themselves and edited the highlights! Great news, but a lot of stress for nothing.

I've got to say, this city didn't really impress on the way in. A lot of depressed-looking coastal stuff. The stadium looked nice from the bridge, although I don't know that the soccer field is going to impress a lot of people.

I had some work to do in the hotel, then went out to dinner with the people from our staff down here working the game. There were 12 of us, so we had a whole table reserved at this place right near the ballpark. I ordered chicken-fried steak, but when it came it had gravy slathered all over it. I guess I should have expected that, but I didn't. Ate it anyway, but it was kind of a pain.

We went around the table playing the movie game - you have to name a movie, and the next person names a movie that begins with (a) the same letter if the previous movie was one word or (b) the last letter of the last word of the previous movie name. Then we made some permutations that using the letter twice (e.g. Wayne's World) would switch the order of play. Then if the movie title had four words or more, you got to pick the next player and the letter they were on. A little bizarre, but it was kind of fun. One guy lost a lot of man points for naming Sleepless in Seattle and Miss Congeniality, but I think I lost a few for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days ... I panicked!

Then we came back to the hotel and broke up into smaller groups. A few of us walked to this Irish pub, walking along the same street on which we wandered by the Banc so many years ago, and I could see the two-tier Whataburger looming in the distance. No Whataburger on this night, however - we watched the end of the Stanley Cup finals at the pub, then I walked one of the girls back so she felt safe and I went back to my room.

Game tomorrow, then a long ride back to Houston, then the World Cup in the morning, then RBG arrive at night, and US-England on Saturday. Heck of a week.

A Tale of Two Coasts

Tis a far, far better game that I hope for, than I just saw on Wednesday.

OK, it’s a bit of a stretch, but I had to make some literary reference to back up my title.

I’m in LA as part of probably our worst road trip of the year in terms of travel – although Houston-Miami-Toronto-Houston could come close if it happens – but it’s nearing an end.

The team began its trip on Tuesday, but I flew home the previous Sunday, making this trip a full one week long for me. Here are some notables from the week:

Home … I do love Morristown, and spending a few stress-free days at home with no appointments, sporting events, church events, social functions, etc. is always a good way to relax. I read an enjoyable but probably not profound page-turner, worked on a few soccer highlights, watched some HD TV, hung out with my parents and grandmother, and even watched a minor league game without keeping score. It was a very nice couple of days. Turns out I like vacation.

Skype … I was reluctant to get started, but at RBG’s urging, I tried out Skype. It was so freaking simple (although it still wreaks havoc with my email signature) that I suggested it to my parents, and I got to witness their first online interaction with their granddaughter, my niece.

The W Hoboken … always a great place to stay, with a sweet view of Manhattan, easy access to the trendy parts of Hoboken, and unbeatable nightclub-style lighting in the lobby.



Red Bull Arena … very nice! As advertised, the new soccer stadium in New Jersey – finally! – was a great place. It was so hyped, though, that I will say it did not exceed the hype. But I was still impressed. When you walk in, the roof over the stands really makes it feel isolated from the outside world. It reminded me a lot of Estadio Hidalgo in Pachuca, Mexico, except a lot more modern and with a lot more amenities. The outdoor press section - located pretty much where the Red Bulls logo is in the picture, but on the near side, seemed really cool.

My biggest problem is that the broadcast booths were set back from the railing (to stay in line with the suites that had seats up to the railing), thereby limiting one’s view of the near sideline. How are you supposed to call a game without seeing the near sideline, the benches (which have sweet first-class chairs and stadium seating), or one of the corners? I put a table outside the booth and broadcasted the game sitting on the window ledge, which worked out well.

Wednesday’s result … we lost on a last-minute free kick that bounced off the post, then our goalie’s back, then went in. A great shot, but still a tough way to lose. The broadcast went fine, and I felt pretty good about how I called all the big plays, including their game-winning goal. Not a fun one for us, but an exciting moment to call.

Bagel Smashery … This was recommended by one of my colleagues who used to work in the area and lived in Hoboken. LG and I went on Thursday morning and greatly enjoyed ourselves, although it was fortunate I had cash on me so we didn’t have to use the ATM. I never expect places to not take credit cards! It's an average, very small, walk-in bagel place (not to be underestimated - nobody makes a good bagel in Texas), but the unique part is that their specialty is 'smashing' your bagel. It doesn't sound good, but it really just means they squish it all together, and that flattens it all together. The combination of a good bagel and smashing it down into a sandwich worked very well. Anyway, we will definitely go back on any future Hoboken visits.

Jetlag … OK, I’m not really struggling with my sleep habits, especially since I WANT to get up at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time tomorrow for the U.S. friendly, but it’s just tiring (and confusing) being in three time zones in such a short period of time. I left my computer on Houston time so I can know what time it is where my co-workers are, but it’s been a bit of a challenge to keep track of everything.

Family … After seeing my parents and grandmother last week, I get to have dinner with my brother tonight, which should be awesome. Haven’t seen him since the winter holidays. My sister isn’t coming down until next weekend, but thanks to the magic of Skype, this will be my whole nucleic family in less than a week. Not too shabby.

So that's a brief synopsis of what's been going on. No real unforgettable stories just yet, but we've still got about 36 hours left in the trip, so I'll see what kind of trouble I can rouse.