#81 Go to 3 Museums I Have Not Yet Been to

Museum #1: MOMA

The Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY

Al, Aaron, Melissa, & I spent only an hour and a half or so of a Saturday afternoon at MOMA as Al & I had to get to the Meadowlands. I spent most of my time in with the impressionists, mostly Picasso, my favorite.

Here I am admiring one of his more famous works: Three Musicians. Good thing Al was there to catch me pondering on film. What a great list assistant.

And here we have one of

Picasso's bronze goat statues. He sure loved sculpting goats.

Here we have an early depiction of a Lyger. Obviously. Gosh.

And here, in the architecture room, Al said,

"Let's be serious."

Here is some really cool photography. It goes frame by frame, some guy catching stuff.

There was a lot of pretty cool photography.

All & all, I loved MoMA. Delightful. I can't wait to go back and not be rushed to get to Jersey.

Museum #2: New Orleans Voodoo Museum, New Orleans, LA

It was a small and creepy museum, but very New Orleans. It was amusing to see all of the gifts people have left the spirits, gifts that consisted of whatever people carry with them in New Orleans. I left a pen and Beth Spitelli left an Australian coin.

Here I am with a Ju-Ju, who sticks out his tongue at evil spirits. Seemed appropriate.

Our stay in the 3 rooms and a hallway was short and sweet. Museum #2, so that's pretty much all I have to say.

Museum #3: National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL

This was the most unexpected of my museum trips. I thought I was going to be at the NASPA regional conference in Evanston all day, but apparently it only went through

noon. I got a last-minute message from Nader Elmasri saying he was heading down to the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen - always keeping his head up looking to keep that lead

.

This was actually a cool little museum in a neighborhood that I've been to but only for an occasional softball game. They had a Dia de Muertos exhibit that reminded me a lot of the Voodoo Museum except the colors were much brighter and all of the religious imagery was pretty Catholic instead of a weird mix. There were still lots of candles and pictures of people I didn't know. And skulls. But happy skulls.

Then we had some tacos.

I'm pretty happy I hit at least 1 Chicago museum I hadn't been to yet because that was my original goal with this list item. But gotta jump at an interesting museum every chance I get!

Just so...

I needed 2 "check" tags so my count stays correct. #3 & #4 are chronicled together.

#3 Learn to Make a Killer Mac and Cheese and #4 Learn to Make a Killer Soup

I grouped these together because I made them together. I decided I needed to try at least 3 recipes, including at least one spectacular one, to claim I can make a killer mac and cheese or soup. I hit killer on attempt number 2 for both, but attempt number 3 for the mac and cheese was also killer.

Attempt #1

Shrimp and Mushroom Laska and Macaroni and Cheese, both from Jane Hornby's What to Cook and How to Cook It, a cookbook given to me my my dad for Christmas this year. The laska looked awesome in the pictures but then a little scary in the pan. The mac & cheese looked awesome all around. Looks can be deceiving. The laska, a curry-type soup, was really good but could have used a little more spice. The mac & cheese was baked and a bit dry. Soup #1 = killer. Mac & chese #1 = not. My testers for this round were Ed Cruz and Beth Spitelli. From my memory, Beth & I both liked the soup, esp if it had a little more spice - even though Beth didn't remind me she doesn't like shrimp and just ate around them - and Ed was neutral.

Attempt #2

French Onion Soup and Macaroni and Cheese, soup from an online recipe given to me by Lisa Morrison, and the mac & cheese from a Rachel Ray cookbook given to me by my Momma. I don't think my house has ever known a smell as lovely as the onions sauteing. Amazing. Now I saute onions regularly. Just for the smell. Okay, I eat them too. The soup was more of an onion soup because I didn't have the proper bowls, so I couldn't melt the cheese on top. We just put it in the soup. Then I baked some croutons, some with cheese on top. The biggest problem was that I figured I only needed about half an hour to make the soup - which was true - but I didn't read the last step which read, "saute for 2 hours." So while Ed & I watched the Oscars, we ate the soup, but it wasn't quite as amazing as it should have been. After Ed left, Chris Zann and Holly Munk stopped by, and by then, the soup was really good. The mac and cheese went a little smoother and was quite killer. I wasn't what I had envisioned as it had tomatoes and mushrooms in it, but it was really, really good. Soup #2 = killer (eventually). Mac & cheese #2 = killer. My samplers were Ed Cruz, Chris Zann, Holly Munk, and we think Beth Spitelli, but our memories are confusing us as she wasn't there to watch the Oscars but she and I remember her trying the mac & cheese. Weird.

Attempt #3

Tomato & Spinach Soup and K Rob's Portobella-Stuffed Mac & Cheese. The soup was a simple Rachel Ray and was actually quite good. I would make it instead of canned tomato soup. I'll probably mess with it and try other things in it too. Then I got an originial K Rob recipe, actually convincing him to write one down. It was awesome. Beth & my favorite mac & cheese, and I love portobellas. The only issue I had was that most of the mushrooms collapsed, so I only had a few pretty, truly stuffed mushrooms. I'll have to ask him what I did wrong and try again because it was a really nice touch without being too complicated. Yum. Soup #3 = good. Mac & cheese #3 = killer. My samplers this time were Ed Cruz, Beth Spitelli, Chris Zann, and Holly Munk.

I'm happily becoming a much better cook!

#9 Go to a State I've Never Been to

I went big for this one... or at least NIRSA did! This year's National - Intramural Recreational Sports Association Conference was in New Orleans, Louisiana, a state I have never been to.

I'm not sure I have more to say than "Wow, New Orleans is a really cool town." (But I'll try.)

Great food everywhere. I ate fried pickles, a crawfish po boy, crawfish etoufee, seared scallops with watermelon carpaccio, a BLT (at a Best Thing I Ever Ate Place where I was supposed to have boudin but didn't realize it until later), a fried soft-shell crab po boy & fries, bread pudding, fried shrimp salad, crawfish-cheese bread, steak sandwich, poached eggs with crawfish sauce, fried alligator, fried mushrooms, more fried pickles, Mother's breakfast with fried eggs, grits, housemade sausage, and a biscuit with housemade rasberry jam, 3 beignets, half a dozen oysters, red beans and rice, and a crawfish boil. Yes, I remember all of that. I may be forgetting one meal. Such good food. I must have gained at least 5 pounds. We did notice that the only people don't don't seem to be loving life there are the food service workers though. We did not figure out why.

Beautiful weather. We were told it was freakishly nice, that it's usually warmer and stickier, but the whole week it was just beautiful upper 70's or lower 80's. I even got a little "tan."

Live music all over the place. It reminded me of Austin, Texas, in that way, but it was jazz and blues everywhere. Just lovely.

The architecture. We stayed in the Warehosue District, which was kinda cool. The French Quarter was just beautiful, particularly the little streets with those ornate balconies. Just really cool.

The shopping. The French Quarter was filled with little shops. Really neat little shops.

The art. There were local artists and street artists everywhere. I love that about some cities. I don't know why why don't have it in Chicago. There were some boring paintings, just NO scenes, and then there were quirky pieces that had a touch of voodoo to them. Here is a guy who painted doors. Loved it.

Bourbon Street. That place went from zero to hot mess in about... well, the time it takes for the sun to set. What a good time. Just smiling people drinking and dancing in the streets. It made for a disastrous first night for me but the other nights were late and just fun. 4am there felt like 1am here. I wouldn't say there were any really crazy stories, but then again, I have a lot of mysterious cuts and bruises, so who knows. Once place I really enjoyed was the Blacksmith Shop, built in 1712. What a cool place.

Lovely people. Go to New Orleans. Yearly if possible. It is amazing how this city has recovered from Katrina. It's just full of life and grit. The people there just seem to love everything about the place (except maybe ALL the tourists) and will talk your ear off about everything... if you ask. It was weird to get used to having people greet me everywhere. Once a pair of chatty homeless guys stopped Claudio & I just to say hello. People there were so friendly but had that toughness they would have needed to survive there.

The pictures here are just of people I know but they all contributed to a great week as did many, many others!

UPDATE: I managed to hit a few more new states, mainly Colorado. When Nader Elmasri and I drove to San Diego, Dan Lynch was nice enough to host us in Denver. (David Frantom tried but we didn't quite time the trip back correctly.) Denver was nice but smaller than I anticipated. The 16th Street Mall was quirky and fun... and I swear I can play at least a few songs on a piano! It's just harder when it's not my main instrument and it's completely out of tune. Boulder was full of hippies, just as I anticipated. Nader got to slackline there for some fledgling hippies who had just moved to Boulder from Battle Creek. Also, western Colorado is BEAUTIFUL.

#14 See all of the academy-award-nominated movies for the year before the awards.

In order (as best I can remember...): "Inception:" with Nicki Proulx in July 2010. We had a little girl date in Skokie and ended up sitting behind Tim, one of my former students, and his wife. It was a trippy movie and we both liked it. I'm not sure it's Oscar worthy though. "The Social Network:" with Nicole Devin in... early fall 2010? Sorry, buddy, I don't remember exactly when but it was our first man date together. We had a lovely dinner at The Daily and skipped over to the Davis. This movie was really witty and quick paced. The acting was good. Again, worth watching, but not quite Oscar worthy. "The Fighter:" December 2010 with my parents, Jerry & Kathy Krone. We tried to go see "The King's Speech," but it was sold out. I'm glad. I loved it. Marky Mark and Christian Bale were incredible. And I LOVED the sisters. Hilarious. Really well done. Christian Bale deserves that Supporting Actor Oscar. "Black Swan:" with JennaLee Sanok in February 2011 in Skokie after a lovely dinner at Whole Foods with Beth Spitelli. It was not what I was expecting. This is my favorite to win so far, as is Natalie Portman for Best Actress. It's complex but everything flows and it's really beautiful. I don't understand why Mila Kunis was not nominated. She was lovely and played her role beautifully. "Winter's Bone:" February 2011. Thanks to Clint, I learned it was On Demand. It was a really interesting movie, well cast and well acted. I really didn't like the ending though. It was a really tough story and didn't end tough enough. "The King's Speech:" in February 2011, alone. I went to the Landmark in the middle of the afternoon on one of the snow days (just before dinner & "Les Mis"). This movie was superbly acted and just a great story. I found it most interesting because I had just finished reading a book of famous speeches and several of those speeches were in the movie. It was nice to have context and learn just how powerful and meaningful those speeches were in history. Colin Firth was amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if he won Best Actor. While I think the acting and story were great, I don't think it was as good of a film as "Black Swan." "The Kids Are All Right:" in February 2011 in my office (during Liga; it's cool.) The acting was great. The story was intriguing. It wrapped up strangely. I'm not sure I either got or agreed with the message. I'm not sure. It felt more like a politcal piece than a film. "True Grit:" in February 2011, again with Nicole Devin at the Davis. I really didn't want to go to this one. I don't like westerns. It was great. Great story. Fast paced. Really funny at parts. I was concerned about all 3 characters all the time. Jeff Bridges could win. I like Hailee Steinfield to win Best Supporting Actress, mostly because I thought she was the lead actress. I cared about her most. She's in most of the scenes. I don't get it. All of the other supporting actresses were great in their supporting roles, but Hailee really carried this film. "Toy Story 3:" in February 2011... alone in my apartment. Beth Spitelli and Edmund Cruz watched the first half of "Toy Story 2" with me after some mac and cheese and soup. Thanks, guys. I swore I wasn't going to cry like everyone said I was for "3." I even found myself at several moments thinking, this is where those suckers cried... Not me. But the end got me. How could it not? I was skeptical that it was nominated but it was a really, really great movie. "127 Hours:" in February 2011 with Beth Spitelli and Mark Mocarski at Piper's Alley. I had wanted to get the NEIU Adventure Program together for awhile to see this and failed. But I got at least Beth and Mark. It was really interesting. I feel like Colin Firth is going to win but James Franco should. He was great. He is the only character in 90% of the movie and it doesn't ever get boring just watching him stuck in a canyon. He plays the role well, being a little unlikeable, annoying, and arrogant, but yet you want him to be okay. You really see him struggle, not only during the gruesome 3 minutes of arm carving. He was great. Thank you SO much to everyone who helped me accomplish this goal! I had fun doing it and I'm excited to see the Oscars tomorrow. I'll leave a few comments if they don't go along exactly with my opinions :)

#78 - Snowboard down an entire hill without falling, including the stop at the end, and not including the bunny hill.

Well, it's a good thing that I kept at it because by 6pm on Sat, Jan 29, I was ready to count the bunny hill as a huge success.

Masters, Beth, JennaLee, & I joined the legendary ski / snowboard trip organized by Chris Ogden and Brent Belt up to Devil's Head Resort in Wisconsin. It was quite an adventurous day / night / morning. I'm just going to tell the snowboard stuff here. You can ask about the water shots and roving pantless guy in the bathroom some other time.

We had some delays in getting up there. I still can't figure out why the drive up was so long, except that we had to take 94 and make a stop to drop off a certain someone's wallet. But somehow we left Beth's place before 9am and didn't arrive until after noon. It took us awhile to figure out where to go (feeling especially confused after stumbling upon a floor in the Inn that looked unmistakeably like a dorm floor, complete with decorated doors and a room with a kiddie pool). Eventually we got our boards - Masters her skis - we took some adorable pictures, and we were off.

It was terrible.

JennaLee cruised a third to a half of the bunny hill at a time while Beth and I struggled to go more than five feet without falling. It hurt. It was frustrating. After three choppy trips down the hill, I was ready to give up. Or at least switch to skis. Which I did.

Masters and I took a couple green runs that went swimmingly. That is, until they told us that it was last run of the day and we had to go back even though we were ready for bigger and better hills now that I had my footing. We found Beth and JennaLee making their way slowly down a green run themselves. I offered to take pictures now that I was confident I wouldn't bite it with the camera. My favorite part of the day came when I was zoomed in on Beth as she careened down the hill and I said to her approaching image on the digital camera, "Beth, are you going to run into me?" I looked past the camera to find that, she, indeed, was going to run into me. Slame into me, more like it. We were a pile of skis and boards and giggles. It was lovely.

We went back to the Inn to get some dinner before night skiing. We had some drinks and met the neighbors we didn't know. Then, it was time to head back out.

Masters and I were both braving snowboards now. The next trip down the bunny hill was also a big fail. But then... I got it. I went all the way down without falling. I waited at the bottom for Masters, but she couldn't get up. We later found out this was because she fractured her wrist. Ouch.

Coincidentally, Beth and JennaLee were getting ready to ride up a lift next to us, so I joined them. We struggled down the long hill but halfway, I got it again, and I went the rest of the way. I waited for them at the bottom. And waited. And waited and waited. And gave up and went back up the lift. I fell getting off the lift and then made it all the way to the last part of the hill where I saw them walking their boards. I fell once, cursing, and then made it all the way to them and even stopped.

They, however, were done. Sore and tired.

So I went one more run, trying my best not to fall. (I don't count the fall of the lift. That's really hard to do!) The rest of the run went spectacularly. There was a moment when I went toe side and momentarily panicked because I don't really know how to do that yet, but I was determined to accomplish my first list item and turned myself around. I cruised to the bottom and even stopped.

Mission accomplished.

I loved snowboarding and I'm very excited to go again. The night that followed was also pretty epic and I'll be prepared to be in 387 again next year!