Home for the Holidays

Since we can never make things simple, we made two stops on our most recent US trip. The first stop was in New Orleans where we were able to hang out with lots of friends and family members. It's not often that my entire family is together with all the siblings and their children. It's also nice being there that time of year, when so many other family members and friends are in town. As always, it was a quick, but very busy trip.

WIA: We ate a lot, as we generally do on our trips to New Orleans. We had beignets at Morning Call, po-boys at Mother's, burgers at Bud's Broiler, charbroiled oysters at Drago's and it was all delicious. The family that owns Drago's is from Croatia, so we talked with the owner about our trip to Dubrovnik. He had a picture on the wall and we talked about some of the restaurants we ate at there. It's a small world.

WIS: We slept in my bedroom at my parents' house. It was a full house. It hasn't been this way in a while, but all the bedrooms were being used. Judith and Brian were in Jud's room, Ella, our niece, was in my sister Rachel's room, and Ben and Josh, our nephews, were in Gary's room. We had the pleasure of sharing a bathroom with Ben and Josh.

WID: There was a lot of hanging out since there were so many people in town. We played football on the levee, just like we used to do when we were kids, only now we're much older and slower. It was really fun actually, and probably very funny to watch. Gary, Brian, and I went to the Saints game with the Preis boys, the Goodman kids, and the Bursteins. We watched the Saints destroy the Falcons. I really hate the Falcons. It was special seeing Drew break Marino's passing yardage record at the end. I have to give it to Saints fans because they went crazy for Drew and it really seemed like it was about being happy for him and his accomplishment. Drew means so much to the team and to the people of New Orleans. There is no chance that they let him go in free agency. I'd really like to think that Drew understands the economics and will want there to be money leftover to keep a strong team around him, but he also has an enormous chip on his shoulder. This leads me to believe that he is going to want the richest contract in football. He deserves it, but I worry about what it'll do to the franchise. 

WAM: We had the entire extended family over to our house for a big family Chanukah party. Having everyone in town and together at the same time makes no one happier than my mother. Unfortunately, she came down with something and was confined to her bed all day and evening. She missed the whole thing. Everyone stepped up and helped with preparing dinner. Not that we didn't appreciate Mom before, but it took 5 to 7 of us to do what she normally would do on her own.

WTF: I think there is something wrong with my ears. I went to the mall and bought my 3rd pair of earphones. The regular iPod ones do not work well before me I can't hear them well. I wonder if it's just me, because I genuinely do think I have a hearing problem, or if other people experience the same problem. There are a lot of iPods out there and I can't be the only one that needs to increase the volume all the way up just to hear. I also like having a decent pair for the plane since the ones they give you are horrible. Anyway, one pair I had broke and then I left the 2nd pair on a plane at some point. I stared at the wall of earphones at the Apple store and besides price, I couldn't distinguish one pair from another. One of the hipster dudes that works there tried to help and I ended up buying the ones he told me to. They have skulls on them. I don't think I'm really a guy that should be wearing earphones with skulls on them, but whatever. I didn't want to buy the cheapest ones they had, but I also wasn't going to spend a couple hundred dollars either. So, I went in between. I'll see how they do for a while, but the point is, there is going to be a time when I need a hearing aid, and I don't think that time is too far away.

View more pictures here.

Airplane Reviews - to the United States in December

We flew British Airways back to the US in December between Christmas and New Years to visit family and friends in . It also gave me the needed remaining mileage to qualify as an Executive Platinum member of the frequent flyer program for American Airlines. 100,000 miles is a lot to fly in one year. I probably had another 20,000 or so on other airlines. I think the reward programs are overrated. Most of my travel is for work, so I'm more than happy to accumulate the miles and hotel points, but the whole thing is overblown. The convenience is definitely appreciated and valued when I do travel. I like skipping to the front of the security line, not waiting for my bag, and even knocking back a drink or two in the airport lounge, but the reward isn't worth the price. If I worked for a company that paid for me to travel in business class, I would probably feel differently, but after flying 100K miles around the world sitting in coach, I can unequivocally say it is not worth it. Regardless, I am Executive Platinum now and it's at least cool to carry the card around.

We watched Jenn's choice, Friends With Benefits, with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. The charm and attractiveness of the two leads couldn't save this atrocity. The premise is two people attempt to have a physical relationship without any of the stress or unpleasantness of being together in an actual relationship. Stupidity and some of the worst dialogue you'll even hear in a movie then ensues. I would have been better off staring at the back of seat for two hours.