I hate to lose. No I really mean it, I really hate to lose. You know the saying from the great Ricky Bobby. If you ain’t first, you’re last! Words to live by.

I know this is a common theme amongst competitive people roaming the Earth but I am a first class, sore loser. I’m not a total degenerate here as I will not do anything to win. I am not the person who will cheat against his kids on board games, peek during hide and seek and have the proverbial card up my sleeve. I will try and out work and out think any opponent, in my way between victory or defeat. Why? Because the sting of losing is unbelievably painful to me and I think it gets more painful for me as I get older.

It totally makes sense to me that I hate to lose in games where I am playing in. I still play sports to win and don’t lose well. (Here’s my footnote where I disclose that my men’s league basketball team has lost close to 80% of its games in the past 7 years and although it still sucks to lose, you get a little used to it) Here are my Mount Rushmore of things that still surprise me about how hard I take losing (of all kinds):

1. Losing games my kids play in.

I am so invested in these games and ride the ups and downs more heavily than the boys certainly do. The car ride home is particularly bad for me where I am replaying the final moments of any game, trying to learn something that I can teach them from the defeat. The truth is I am only consoling myself as invariably the boys are already over it and are more adjusted to the loss than I am.

2. Losing games my favourite teams play in

God forbid the Steelers, Celtics or BlueJays are playing for a championship, as this only ramps up the pressure and emotions for me. I have zero control over what happens not matter how hard I cheer. That doesn’t stop me from riding the rollercoaster of emotions as the game turns on me. I know there are worse fans than I am (like the dude who punches his TV after a loss. TV’s don’t like that much) but I am no fun to be around after a loss.

3. Losing my mind in a situation

I love confrontation in any form. I really do love it and enjoy the moment but every once in a while it lose it. I love the art of sparring verbally with someone and arguing your point vs mine. My worst nightmare is someone who calmly just stares at you and won’t spar with you. They want you to lose your mind over the silence of it all. Those are the moments when I blow my stack and it makes for an ugly scene. I have lots to learn from those who can master the art of the negotiation without snapping.

4. Losing something that matters to me

We have all lost our keys at some point in life. Nothing pisses me off more when I lose something that I really should be mindful of. When it happens to me, I am overcome with a phenomenon I call “Panic blindness”. I can’t tell you how many times I have ranted over something that I think should be right in front of my nose, only to have Mary point out that it really is under my nose. She does it in such a gloriously calm way as if to say, “here it is dumbass!” Nothing brings you down to Earth faster than a humbling experience searching for your keys, wallet, phone, etc with my Mary.

Losing comes in various forms, all of which are painful and educational, if you chose to embrace the moment. If I didn’t love the thrill of the victory so much, I would run and hide from the losing and the kick in the nuts it represents.

Marco

This was supposed to be the day that we recouperated from NYE. A light morning with some sleep and food and real liquids was in the plans. We had a nice morning relaxing and made our way to the World Trade Center site for some somber reflection. I have been to the site many times and am always grounded from the experience. I was there a few years after the attack and have seen the site grow over the years. Finally in this visit the new WTC tower 1 is complete and the site, although still under construction, feels restored. 

Mary and I booked tickets to enter the WTC 9/11 museum. I had seen this museum in the past and never wanted to fight the crowds to get in. That was a mistake as this place is remarkable to behold. Let alone the salvaged portions of the WTC buildings and the artifacts from the NYPD and NYFD it was the personal artifacts that were donated from the victim families that made this so moving. So many of the 2,977 souls were represented with personal belongings and stories throughout the museum. You could spend days in this place to fully absorb the impact of that day. 

I found myself lost in the section of the hall where video and audio recollections of the day, minute by minute, were recounted. The flight plan of the hijacked planes, the voices of the pilots and terrorists, the terror on the streets had me gripped. Everyone knows where you were that day and this brought me back to that moment.  They even had the voice recordings of the victims calling their loved ones, from the planes, the towers and the ground. Some of those people made it and many did not. The horror in their voice chills you to hear what was going on at that moment. If you haven’t been to the WTC site, you need to go and give yourself time to fully immerse yourself in it.

The day was spectacular and we chose to take a long walk in Central Park for the afternoon. The park is beautiful in any time of the year and a worthy place to spend any day that you can afford the time. We enjoyed a great lunch on the Upper East side of the city and walked the Park to the Upper West side and back to the city. It was a warm day and we enjoyed the hours of solitude together in contrast to the frenzy of the night prior.

The highlight of the day came in the evening with tickets to the Rockettes Christmas spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. One of my colleagues from work has 3 daughters who have been in the Rockettes over the years and they too were in town for the weekend to see their daughter Allison perform that night. Clark and Lorrie met us at the show and we were captivated for the next 90 minutes. You would think that after doing this show since 1933 that it would get stale but the dancing and choreography is mind blowing. The consistency in which they perform and hit every mark is  still phenomenal today. Allison was kind enough to invite us all back stage after the show for a tour and look at how the show happens. We had a chance to ask questions to the cast and stand at centre stage for some pictures of the grand ole hall. Someone reminded me that Radio City hosts the NFL draft every year and I was standing on that same stage. Just the perfect capper on a great week.

Some late dinner allowed Mary and I to reflect on these few days and all that we have seen and done. New York is a grand old city with so much history and energy. The people make the city for me. They are crude, and passionate; forceful yet worldly; angry and kind in their own different ways. It all comes together to form this cauldron of fire which encompasses the American and national dream. Go once in your life and you will want to go again.

We are fortunate to be able to visit this city from time to time. It’s energy pulls me back whenever I reflect on it’s charms. Thanks for sharing it with us this week.

Marco

It was always on our bucket list and today was the day. This crazy idea that a couple of 40 somethings should tough it out and stand for a whole day waiting for a giant ball to drop from the sky seemed like it was never going to happen. We had spent 3 days getting ready for it and went to bed last night determined to do this right. We were ready mentally now whether we could persevere physically, we were on our way.
We discussed a strategy to try and get ourselves into the best possible position to ring in the year. I took a walk down from the hotel around 9 to see who was crazy enough to be positioned already for the day. I was blown away with the thousands who were already in place and hunkered down. I brought breakfast back and told Mary that our plan for a 3pm arrival wasn’t going to cut it. We ramped up for a 1pm plan and started to execute operation “Zero Pee”.

You see, this was the biggest hurdle of the day. There are no bathrooms and no way to exit if you needed one. The NYPD make the rules pretty clear to everyone. Once you are security checked into the secured area, you are in or you’re out. We had a strategy that we would get near the stage after trying to dehydrate ourselves for the day. It was going to be no fun being penned in 25 blocks from the action so off we went, bundled like we were climbing Everest and hoping our bladders wouldn’t sink us.

The throng of people was insane. Thousands of people had now flooded the streets of 7th and Broadway. The security process was holding up but was going to take hours to pat down everyone.They  were trying to force us back 6 blocks to control the group. This led to one of our better decisions of the day which was to ignore the NYPD. They were doing the right thing forcing us back to control the crowds but that wasn’t our plan. We turned around and forced ourselves into an area where we had a chance to get closer to the action. After some jostling, we were in and we ended up in a great spot, right in the centre of the stage area and in great view of the ball. Now could we sustain the 12 hours?

Fortunately, the weather was clear and We were dressed for the duration. It was 3 degrees but no rain or wind so that would help us. We hadn’t eaten or had much to drink either. We tried to watch some movies on our phones but soon decided that the right thing was to simply revel in the moment and get to know those of us who were as committed. We met some nice people from Florida and a couple from Cold Lake who formed the main source of entertainment for the night. We were all of the same age and similar bucket lists and therefor we needed to stay firm on the plan. 

Amazingly, we ended up only 100 yards from, the street that our hotel was on. Around 6 it was clear that 3 of the crew were not going to make it until midnight without taking a wizz. We started a plan to negotiate their ability to be escorted to the hotel and back and with the help of a joyful NYPD officer, we pulled it off. Mary and the 2 others got back in when many others were sent packing. It was like a Survivor scene where you are voted off.  We were back and into the back 6 hours of the night.

The entertainment started and it certainly moved the time by quickly. The acts kept getting bigger and bigger too. We even saw the dude with the one hit wonder song “the whip”. It suddenly became fun and alive and everything you came for. It was a party of epic proportions and we were in the middle of it. We didn’t have to pee, or eat (although we did have McDonald’s sell us some fries for $8) or sit. We partied our asses off without a drop of anything.

Crazy hats came out, balloon swords were swung and new friends were made for the night. Even a Mariah Carey on stage meltdown with lip syncing couldn’t derail us now. (By the way, her meltdown was 10x better as she left the stage in full diva mode!) The countdown was on. 59..58..57..56

I spent a lot of time reflecting in those 60 seconds. It was a great year for me. So much promise for the future all wrapped in the past 365 days. Family challenges but lots of upsides, our health and we are engaged. Mary stood next to me reflecting the same and we counted this down 5..4..3..2..1

Happy New Year!

Tons of hugs and kisses to strangers far and wide and the city exploded into a celebration that you can’t believe with your eyes. There were 2 million people in the streets that night and every one of us was cherishing the moment. We revelled for another 15 minutes and all headed off towards our parts of the cement jungle we owned for the night. In a flash we were in the room and watching the masses pour out of the area for the next hours all the while we celebrated our check off the bucket list. Happy New Year to all of you!

Oh yeah, and I had a glorious wizz the minute I opened the door to the room…

Another amazing day today with Mary on our NYC adventure. We spent the day Walking and touring the sites of lower Manhattan and the city was buzzing today. There is an incredible amount of foot traffic this week which is annoying to some, but really adds something to the day for me. People are genuinely thrilled to be here and although tours and events are packed, everything works out for all. Here are my highlights of today:

1. The Statue of Liberty is cool but Ellis Island is better

We spent the afternoon on both islands after navigating the throngs of people at Battery Park. Lady Liberty really is a “have to see”when 

I thought it was good enough to see her from shore in past trips. Wrongo! The sheer size of the statue is enough reason to pay your respects but the views of lower Manhattan are even better. The hidden gem of the trip is the ferry stop at Ellis Island where every immigrant entered the US though that building for 50 years. The exhibits are chilling and moving, especially if your family came through those gates. See it.

2. The 5th Avenue window displays are mind blowing

I have been up and down 5th Ave several times in the summer and it’s a retailers dream. Beautiful stores and unbelievable traffic make this a wonder I of the world to me. The amount of time and money put into the Christmas windows are over the top and make you stop for long stretches wondering “how?”Macy’s is really cool and the shops of Rockerfeller are amazing but Saks 5th ave is eye popping.

3. The security around Trump Tower was startling

Mary and I stumbled across the tower on the way to the Nike store. I have never had to be patted down and metal dectectored to buy shoes before. There were less Uzi machine guns in Rambo than I saw in front of the building. Security is at an all time high this weekend anyway, but wow. It was the most entertaining moment of the day watching these dudes guard this clown.

Tomorrow is the big night. There will be an incredible energy on the streets all day tomorrow and we will soak it up. We got a preview of the ball drop today and the whole scene is hard to process. Hang onto your hats 2016.

Marco

Rough nite of drinks and and an early start to the day was not the optimal combo for a kick start this morning. Mary and I were dragging our asses this morning. We pulled it together by 10am and headed out to brave the suddenly rainy weather of the day.

The first challenge of the day was finding gluten free food that would work with Mary’s diet, We would have thought that NYC would be a progressive food network but we have struggled today to solve this puzzle. There are literally thousands of breakfast places in Manhattan, all of which have never heard of gluten free. It may become the mission of the week to answer this puzzle.

The second challenge was the rain. It certainly takes the fun out of a stroll around Midtown but it didn’t deter us from seeing the sites of the city. With dual umbrellas in hand, we forged our way through the crowds.

My best three observations of the day:

1. I was amazed at the sheer size of the Rockerfeller Christmas tree.

This tree is imported in to the city annually to be lit up in early November and stays lit until NYE. It’s presence and importance to the people here is significant. Even those New Yorkers who avoid the tourist areas like the plague will come here to celebrate the season. It really is a marvel to see it.

2. The Diamond district of the city is under appreciated.

We took a stroll through this area this morning and the jewellery in the windows is staggering. Ring after ring after ring at $40K and beyond. It is the jewellery capital of the country for a reason and you have to see it to believe it.

3. The Empire State Building is more amazing beside it than inside it.

It is an architectural masterpiece and has been for years. It hangs over the city (all lit in Chrsitmas colours to boot) and it’s visible as far as you want to see. We had a nice dinner in a sushi place underneath the tower and enjoyed the views to the sky.

On that note, The funniest thing we saw all day was the drinking games that groups of NYU students were playing in this sushi bar. These dudes were challenging another group of dudes to out drink them in Sake-bombs and these guys could pound booze. Mary and I laughed that this was likely what our university aged son does with his buddies but nonetheless these guys made us laugh with their frat house games. I’m sure the sushi bar staff were less pleased as they took over the place.

We have another jam packed day ahead, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street and my first visit to the ole girl herself, the Statue of Liberty. Hopefully the weather stays clear as it was tonight. Stay tuned.

Marco

The dreaded travel day. Get up early, rush around, probably forget something on the counter and get to the airport early enough to sit and wait. No fun but a necessary evil to getting to somewhere that is more fun than here. After a long day of watching Westjet entertainment, we landed at JFK airport and the NYC experiences begins.

The fun began after we landed. We had to navigate our way from JFK airport to Midtown Manhattan through the train and subway system. Not such the easy task all the way from Queens. We asked a few questions to newsstand operators and people who looked like they knew where they were going and we made it. The subway system of this city has always amazed me. I have never taken a cab in all my trips here and don’t intend to now.

We checked in at the Kimpton Muse hotel which to my surprise it literally 50 yards from the big stage used for NYE and likely close to where we will settle in on Dec 31. We went for a walk in the evening and we took a look at the marvel that it Times Square. The amount of people on the streets tonight was impressive enough that I can’t imagine what this will look like in a few days. We found an Irish pub named O’Malley’s where we walked up the steepest set of stairs I have been on to get to the 3rd floor bar. We sampled some comfort food and one too many Dark and Stormy’s while we had some laughs and cries and watched the place fill up with strangers from across the land. It was amazing how the staff managed those stairs up and down with food and drinks and we wondered how many drinks had fallen down them. We would soon find out as the comedy was yet to come for us. The ensuing short walk home was interesting as two tipsy jokers navigated the big city, but we made it safe.

Onto day 1 and night 2, The Top of the Rock at sunset is on the agenda tomorrow.

Marco



Calgary is a great city. It has everything you could want in a metropolitan centre including scenery, people, architecture and commerce. There aren’t many better places to be in this world but Calgary plays in the minor league of cities compared to my favourite, New York City. Tomorrow, Mary will make her first trip to NYC and I will make my umpteenth. New York is a fantastic city.

This trip is special for me in a few ways. Firstly, I get to share the experience with Mary and see, feel and smell the city through her perspective. I have done almost everything you should do in that city but I haven’t done it from a romantic perspective. I can’t think of a greater backdrop for romance than there. Secondly, I get to see the big city in the winter and through the holidays. This city is electric at the best of times and even more so at Christmas. Lastly, Mary and I get to knock one off the ole’ bucket list. We get to stand with a million of our closest friends and bring in the New Year under the giant ball in Times Square. There are things you do in your life that you look back on and think, “Holy shit, we actually did that!” This is surely going to be one of the those moments that we tell people about for a lifetime. It won’t come without it’s interesting scenarios though.

If you have ever read anything about this experience, it is not an easy day. A million plus people jammed into a small space creates it’s own challenges. If you hate crowds, being jostled and shoved, conversing with strangers and frankly standing on your feet for 9-12 hours, this is torture for you. That would explain why “only” 40+ million people have ever taken on the experience from across the globe over the years. To my eyes, those experiences are what make this so interesting to me. I will be completely enthralled with the mass of humanity who have come from everywhere to celebrate a new beginning. I want to enjoy as many of their stories as possible because we all have our reasons for being there. Mine is just less interesting. I want to see it with my eyes and ring in the year hanging out with Dick Clark’s ghost.

We have some challenges to overcome though. The cold will be a factor as NYC is not exactly balmy this time of year. Try packing a suitcase that ranges from boots to suits to everything in between. We will stay warm no matter what. The real issue is surviving the day without being able to use the bathroom. You have little choice as there are no public restrooms (nor could there be even enough) for the million people. The rule is simple. With all the security that exists and the masses, if you leave to pee, you are gone for the night with your spot taken by some dude with a bad hat from some country you have never heard of. No point complaining about it. Either dehydrate your bladder or get creative with your ability to whizz in a bottle in the middle of a crowd. I know Mary is worried about it and I am too. My bladder isn’t what it used to be. Stay tuned for the sordid details.

We are going to have a great time. We don’t get to enjoy holidays often where it is just the two of us so I plan to enjoy the time. We will see some of the greatest historical sites in the world and do it all within this concrete jungle. Stay tuned for daily updates from our adventures around the city, the people we meet and the moments that only New York, New York can offer.

Marco

I made it through High School and University pretty unscathed. It was no walk in the park at times but I fared out pretty well. Decent grades, lots of beer, worked full time throughout and the occasional all-nighter. There could be no greater pressure in my life to be balancing all of these pressures as a young adult. The working world combined with parenthood seemed easy compared to that. So why the hell am I so overwhelmed with the amount of homework that I am trying to help my boys with!

Mary and I are good parents. We ask the kids to do their homework and put in the time to study. Often this occurs at the kitchen table, all at the same time. Thankfully, we have very different and balanced post-secondary backgrounds and can tackle these issues deftly. My business and writing background meshes with Mary’s science and math savvy and we are almost all covered. It should be smooth sailing except this stuff seems so much harder than it did when we were less wrinkled and had better eyesight.

I am not ashamed to say that I am baffled by high school math, let alone the math my university aged son is taking. The shameful part is I took all the same stuff 20 years ago and don’t remember jack shit. Mary has to tackle that greek scribble and she has a remarkable ability to recollect it. She takes it as a personal challenge to solve the problem, even if it takes her 45 minutes and Nic’s eyes are rolling back in his head. I will hear a random “AH HA!” from the kitchen and she high fives herself for a job well done. She is a pro.

I get to help tackle the writing assignments. Last night I was lucky enough to spend 4 quality hours with one of my sons researching and structuring a project. Nothing I would rather have wanted to do between the hours of 11pm and 3am than do that! We could pull this out of our asses! He had to get a plan in a hurry last night as we started with selecting a topic, creating a framework and I stepped back as he managed to write, edit and reference the whole damn thing. The juices were flowing and I was young again! In typical flying by the ass of his pants fashion, it was due this morning and I’m sure he proudly ran this across campus to hand it in, thinking he had just pulled of a Christmas miracle. I did my best to not nod off at my office this afternoon as the thrill of the moment had long worn off on my old body.

It’s not going to end anytime soon either. We have more kids coming through the system and I suspect I have not formulated my last term paper nor studied subjects that I have never seen in my life. They talk about career students but I didn’t see this one coming when these kids were born. Be warned, parents of the future.

Marco