Trans-Atlantic Hopper

If I could revert back a moment to mention some recent activities - in a sense, return to the ways of my former blog. But this instance is worth it.

Recently I had the good fortune to go to Europe, and travel to the self of England, France, Brussels, and London. The trip was amazing, a once in a lifetime deal. I think i functioned on three hours of sleep during the day, when I was working (sorry, this wasn't a personal trip, but the office did pay for it). I'll spare the debauchery of the earlier stages of the trip, and will instead focus on the London jaunt.

After a great dinner at Goucho's, which ended at 12:00 in the night, I managed to ditch my coworker, and set out reach Fabric - which is supposed to be the best electronic club in England, and which supposedly has one of the best systems in the world. Only problem, when I arrived there, there was no line, and nobody eager to get in. So I went across the street where all of the people were waiting to go into a place, and after twenty minutes and twenty pounds, I was in. Turns out, this place was Turnmills, one of the most famous clubs in the world. Its closing in March because they lost their lease, which makes it even all the more cool that I went there.

There were eight rooms with different DJs, and needless to say, the "recreational" activity was out in plain sight. The music was fantastic, and I took probably close to hundred pictures, and meant some great people. My grand plan was to stay up all night, because we (my coworker and I) had a 9:00 AM flight from Heathrow, which meant we had to leave our hotel at 6:00 AM. The people who came to the club were amazing, and as a guy I can say the girls were great. Nothing like Pacha or Crobar in New York, or even Cielo or Stereo. I was totally shocked, and when I told my friends the next day about it, after a neverending flight I slept through while sweating, they were like, yeah dude, duh. On the way to the airport that morning, my coworker noted I looked sick, and asked if I had slept. My ears were ringing still, and would for the next few days. Even though I was miserable on the flight, that night in London amazing, and I'll never forget it.

Why relay this? Because when I returned from this trip, everything that had transpired in the news -election, sports, media - had not registered. Moreover, it felt like everything had occured months ago. The only news I noticed was that Keith Ledger died while I was gone. I felt very disconnected when I returned.

But watching the Giants win the Superbowl, at an amazing apartment on 5th Avenue, and then going out in the Village with 10 friends was just amazing. I haven't seen the city like that since the Yankees last won in 2000. My favorite part about it - watching the Patriots lose. I hope Brady is fined for refusing to shake hands with the Giants. What a $*&@#*#. I went to school in Maine, and for four years I had to hear about how great the Patriots were. Not only did they lose in the second biggest upset in Super Bowl history (only the Jets beating the Steelers surpasses last night), but its also come out that they were taping the walkthrough of the St. Louis Rams before the Super Bowl 6 years ago. They've been cheating the whole time, and Brady can now wipe that grin off of his face, as can the "family oriented" owner of the Patriots. Now if only the Jets can do the same thin...Not. It was then that I knew I was back in my hometown.

Though, some interesting developments have occured recently. UCONN knocked off Marquette, Cincinatti, Indiana, Louiville, and Pitt all in a row, ensuring a birth to the tournament and demonstrating they can beat anyone when they are firing on all cylinders.

David Beckett was denied his 100th start for England, by virtue of his former Real Madrid manager, Fabio Capello, excluding him from the national team. History repeats itself, as it was the same manager who benched him at Real.

Manchester United sits on top of the Premier table, though their February showdown with Aresnal for the 5th round of the FA Cup will be the match of that tournament, given they tied in the 91st minute of their last matchup.

Roger Clemens changed defense strategies, and decided is agent should release pages of statments detailing why his performance improved after age 40. Among the facts included - "less travel time with the teams," and "decreased spring training time." No mention was made of his "injections of B-12," according to him.

Talk about blowing one's foot off, the Twins blew their leg off, by dealing away Santana to the New York Mets (???) for four prospects. If they had acted last month, they could have picked up Phil Hughes and Milky Cabrera. Ouch.

On a related note, its been so much fun listening to Mets fans like Joey from Queens rant and rave in the Deli each monrning about they have the World Series won already.