Are You Down With NYC.. Ya You Know Me

About three weeks ago I received an email that I never expected to get. No it wasn’t spam or pornographic material… because I always expect that stuff. Instead it was a notification from ABC’s hit show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The show had contacted me, after weeks of applying online, to come to New York City and tryout for the show. I considered this city visit to be a chance of a life time thing. Little did YOU know that I would blog about my entire experience. Enjoy…


10:00AM: Arrived at Albany-Renn Train Station one hour before my train was set to depart for NYC. I grabbed myself an energy bar and Arnold Palmer (Half & Half) and waited for my train.

11:05AM: Sat down on the train (window seat of course), grabbed my Trivial Pursuit Questions & Answers book and started to read page after page after page after page after page.

11:50AM: Train decides to stop so that another train heading in the opposite direction on a different track can pass our train. I really don’t know what to say about this.

2:30PM: After a meaningless stop and reading about 7 board games worth of Trivial Pursuit questions, I finally arrived at Penn Station.

2:32PM: I have seen my first NYC Prostitute. I set the bar at 10 minutes and took the under… dammit.

2:45PM: I tried to not look like a tourist but it was quite hard while I was snapping pictures with my camera every 2 minutes.

3:00PM: I find myself standing at Times Square and can’t believe how many flipping advertisements there are. It was like living in a magazine.

3:05PM: Just been handed 15 different place cards with more advertisements for stores and shows. Now I really feel like a magazine.

3:10-3:45PM: Walked down Broadway and through a tiny part of Central Park. People are really enjoying the sun. Everyone is laying around in bikinis and shorts. Unfortunately, I mean EVERYONE. You know… like girls… and guys. For more visual disturbance, there was a 300lb man in his bikini.

Moving on… you have to share my pain, it’s only fair.

4:00PM: Just passed a four way softball complex. Oh men’s softball. How I love softball. (Batting .775 in 3 games in my league back home. Not to brag, O.K. I’m bragging.)

4:05PM: Stopped off at a bar for a drink before heading to the studio.

4:25PM: Drink was free since the wait staff was upset and bummed because they just found out their bar was closing in a few days. (WIN/WIN for me… LOSE/LOSE for them)

4:45PM: Arrived at the studio right on time only to find about 100 or so people standing in line ready to go inside. (Dammit)

4:50PM: Headed on in through the medal detector and continued to be harassed by the security guard about my metal belt buckle. I’m here to take a test not… you know what, never mind.

5:00PM: Answered 30 of the hardest questions I have ever been asked in my life. Probably answered 10 of them that I knew and guessed on the other 20. Not my finest moment.

5:20PM: Walked out of the studio kind of disappointed but at the same time not really. I did get a free Who Wants to be a Millionaire magnet so… WIN/LOSE.

5:21PM: So I failed at my chance on Millionaire, now time to find the Cash Cab.

5:22PM: There’s a cab, maybe… no.
5:23PM: There’s a cab, how bout that one…no.
5:24PM: There’s a cab, no.
5:25PM: There’s a cab, OMG THAT’S HIM… no wait never mind.
5:26PM: There’s a cab, nope, forget it.
5:27PM: There’s a… Hooters! Well since I’m here.

5:31PM: Feeling two different emotions right now. Sketchy and Lonely. Sketchy because I just asked the waitress for a table for one at Hooters, and lonely because they sat me at a table for four. Oh well, I’ll have the chicken sandwich.

5:32PM: Sports Center continues to talk about where LeBron James will end up next year.

5:40PM: For the sake of this blog, I asked my waitress (Tiffany) who she thought LeBron James should sign with. Her response: “Isn’t that that black guy that plays basketball.” Good thing I KNOW what I’m asking.

6:30PM: Started to make my way back down Broadway and 8th Avenue to Penn Station to wait for my train.

6:31PM: Hailed my first ever taxi. Go me! Asked my taxi driver who he thought LeBron James should sign with. I’m pretty sure he made a up language to answer me with.

6:35PM: Arrived at Penn Station. (Yes, I was unaware that I was 5 blocks away)

6:36PM: Paid the fare and saw my ump-teenth NYC Hooker Lady. Not sure if this one was a he or a she. Again for the sake of this blog, I asked her/him who LeBron James should sign with. Her response: “Oh he’ll be a Knick by August 1st for sure.” Synopsis: 1 out of 1 prostitutes think LeBron will be a Knick.

6:40PM: Saw a group of pigeons cross paths with another group of pigeons. Thought I was watching a pigeon reenactment of West Side Story.

6:41PM: Would really like to know if pigeons are either constantly thinking of techno music beats or continually suffer from epilepsy.

6:45PM: PLANET SMOOTHIE!!!!!

6:45PM: Mango is delicious.

6:50-8:50PM: Wrote this blog.

8:50PM: Boarded my train to Albany.

That was basically my trip in a nut shell or rather a long blog.
Here is now a synopsis/rules I learned on my trip.

1. Didn’t make it on Millionaire but I did get a free refrigerator magnet.

2. Realized that if you walk behind two people holding hand, no one will run into you.

3. Foreign Business men are the perfect people to follow if you can’t find that fast walking couple. These guy’s walk with purpose. No one touched them.

4. PLANET SMOOTHIE IS AWESOME!!!

5. Wear Sunglasses to avoid awkward eye contact with hundreds of thousands of people you don’t know.

6. Intercom systems at Penn Station now say every 10 minutes. “Remember to report any suspicious activity and unattended baggage. See something… Say Something.” Where would we be without T-Shirt Vender guy!

Pencils Down!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been addicted to one thing. The bad part is, that I’m not really good at this one thing, in fact I’m pretty bad at it. However I do get lucky sometimes depending on the situation. Before I move on, let’s all get our mind’s out of the gutters.


That one thing is trivia. I love trivia but like I said before, I’m not really that good at it, but I do love to participate in it. For years I’ve been watching game shows and playing games like Trivial Pursuit. And I’d say if I were to witness 10,000 questions, I may have gotten 500 right, which isn’t that bad but let’s face it, that’s a horrible average.

But I love it so much. I go to bar trivia whenever I can, I religiously watch the game show network, and I’m also involved in a Facebook group created by one of my friends who posts a new trivia question every day. Hell, I even have a box of Trivial Pursuit trivia cards in my car for road trips.

A little obsessed, maybe, but I love trivia so much because I like to challenge myself. It’s the same reason why everyone else participates in it. Simply to see how much smarter you are then your friends and competitors. However, when I play, it’s more like Slumdog Millionaire, where my life just so happens to revolve around the question or I just get lucky.

Trivia Pursuit is probably one of my favorite games and I’ve been playing it since I was a little kid. My brother and I would always team up with my parents and we’d compete. My brother would always be with my dad because for some odd reason my dad’s the smartest man never to compete on a game show. The man is an encyclopedia of random facts and pop culture. And I don’t mean those little pocket reference guides, I mean like a full on 35 pound, break my back encyclopedia. It’s disgustingly amazing.

However, my mother and I did win occasionally, less times then Jennifer Lopez has been married but we did have one up on my father and brother. DISNEY TRIVIA!!! Disney trivia was the greatest addition that Trivia Pursuit could have issued. There was no team that could defeat us. (Fun Fact: first movie watched was The Little Mermaid; Last movie watched was D2 The Mighty Ducks… Do the math!)

Now a days I simply meet up with friends at the bar a weekly basis and play team trivia against other groups at the bar. To me, this is just as fun, mainly because my dad’s not there to answer every freaking question correctly.

But now it’s time to put my trivia luck to the test. In less than two weeks, I will be traveling to New York City to try out… for Who Wants to be a Millionaire. My visit will consist of a 30 multiple choice question test with an interview to follow if I pass.

I finally have a chance to see if I’m meant to compete on a trivia game show. It’s a life-long dream finally coming true.

So now I ask all of you, if you see me online, pass me at work, or scroll by my name on your address book on your phone. I ask of you to ask me anything. Text me, email me, call me, ask me, Facebook wall post me…I have less than two weeks to prepare and what better time to start then late rather than never.

While I need to get through a 30 question test, one on one interview, and answer 15 questions to win a million dollars. The one question that has me absolutely puzzled, how the heck do I get to New York City without getting lost??

Home Town Trifecta!!!

On the night of May 3rd, one great event after another was scheduled on television. No it wasn’t Dancing with the Stars or the next embarrassing performance from the amateurs on American Idol. This was a “Paul Snyder Dream Come True.” This was something that many sports fans appreciate but rarely have the chance to witness first hand. A Trifecta of Home town sporting events including two, count em, two playoff games. The Bruins and Red Sox start off at 7:00 while the Celtics tip off at 8:00, the following article is devoted to every reaction I encounter while watching the HomeTown Trifecta. Enjoy.


7:06 Setup Television for picture and picture (Bruins on the big screen, sox on the little screen) no offense to the Red Sox but Bruins started on time.

7:11 Bruins win first face off and get 3 straight shots on goal and there’s a scrum after the first whistle (instantly glued to my TV screen.)

7:12 Dustin Pedroia makes a gold glove stop going away from first. This man will have more hardware than any athlete under 5’7’’ with the exception Scott Hamilton.

7:16 Top of the first over, Clay Bucholtz 24 outs away from his second no hitter.

7:20 Bruins score!!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL! I can’t say it enough. I love playoff hockey, it’s like watching sudden death on crack.

7:24 3 up 3 down, no hitters intact for both sides… what a game!

7:27 ESPN shows ALDS from last year when Angels are celebrating… switched back to Bruins.

7:27:30 ESPN GODS pissed off for me turning channel…Bucholtz gets nailed with a line drive. Switch back to please them. Bye bye no-no.

7:35 Just realizing for the first time this season that Bucholtz is wearing number 11. It’s like watching Bill Mueller pitch. Heck with this Umpire’s strike zone which seems to be anything the catcher catches, Bill Mueller could pitch.

7:43 GA GA GA GA GOOOOOD BYE!! Youkilis with a solo shot into the Monstah seats. Didn’t know he had it in him, neither did the third base coach apparently after sending Varitek from second to home last night during the eigth inning of a tie game with Baltimore. Still upset that they sent one of the slowest guys on our team from second to home… Papi has more steals for Christ Sakes.

7:45 DAMMIT… Flyers score on a cheap goal. There wasn’t no athletic skill, plan, or play involved. (read the sentence again and it does make sense.)

7:47 ESPN analysts mention that tonight the Bruins, Celtics and Red Sox are playing tonight. NO WAY!!! YOU’RE JOKING!!

7:49 1st Period over, 1-1… time to watch the Red Sox for the next 15 minutes.

7:52 BILL HALL YA…. BILL HALL…. HOME RUN BILL HALL!!! Who the &%$# is Bill Hall?? 3-0 Sox.

7:54 HAHAHA McDonald hits a grounder to first. First baseman dives and misses, second baseman gets the ball and throws to the pitcher who never catches it, McDonald leaps over the pitcher’s legs, which are on the bag, missing first base in the process. Umpire calls McDonald safe… Try again BLUE… I saw that without replay from New York… time to get the eyes checked. He never touched the bag. If the catcher who backed it up throws to first base… McDonald is out by 15 feet because he was too far up the baseline.

8:09 ESPN shows Varitek sitting on the bench. Yea I’m not sure why he’s sitting either. The guy’s only offensively hot for the first time in his &$%#ing career.

8:10 Switched to TNT only to see Charles Barkley struggling to compose a sentence. Dude looks more comfortable on a golf course.

8:12 Now here’s comes the tricky part… time to make the sacrifice. I’m going to go with the Red Sox. They have the lead and basketball and hockey is harder to follow if you’re not watching it as it happens. Plus I’m still a little pissed after the Sox lost 3 straight to Baltimore.

8:14 Watched King James spread his fairy dust to the crowd. Weirdest tradition… You’d think after 7 years of doing it and never winning a championship, he’d drop the stupid tradition.

8:21 OH OH OH OH OH… OH… OH OH OH OH OH OH OH… OH OH… OH OH!!! SATAN SCORES!!!! 2-1 Bruins

8:30 Switched to ESPN for Sox update 5-0 Sox… feeling pretty comfortable about not watching this game, especially with them winning at home.

8:31 Upset that Rasheed Wallace has entered the game. I’d rather play 5 on 4, same end result with fewer missed shots.

8:38 Rasheed has 5 points and James has 1…. Something wrong with this picture… never mind… James just dunked.

8:41 Sox up now 5-3, may have spoke too soon. These aren’t the Sox of Christmas past.

8:44 Flyers score again… He wasn’t fancy… he went stick side…My Gordon Bombay fans know what I mean.

8:47 ATTENTION V-MART SHOPPERS… WE HAVE A SALE ON GROUND RULE DOUBLES TO RIGHT FIELD. AGAIN THAT’S GROUND RULE DOUBLES TO RIGHT FIELD.

9:00 Just realized that Aaron Boone is doing commentary for the Sox Game. I either can A) watch it anyway B) MLB Audio Gameday. I went with B. Ah the voice of Joe Castiglione… how I miss thee.

9:04 Tony Allen steals the ball and runs down the court… Lebron following him like a five o’clock shadow… wait for it… wait for it… OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Block from behind by Lebron… gee I didn’t see that coming. Everyone but Tony Allen saw that coming.

9:15 BLOCK BLOCK… BUILDING KICK… EXPLOSION!!! I Love Terry Crews.

9:25 Cameras found a San Jose fan at the Fleet with a Washington Nationals hat… I don’t even know where to begin.

9:32 Just said to myself… Bruins are really controlling the puck tonig…. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL LUCIC BABY!! I love watching an entire arena throw their hands up in the air… great visual.

9:34 Empty Net… HERE WE GO!!

9:35 WOW A MISSED OPEN NET GOAL… really, there’s still 34 seconds left. Not a fan.

9:38 SHIPPING OFF TO PHILLY WOAH OH OH! Up 2-0 in the series and Part 1 of the Trifecta is complete. Two to go.

9:44 Finally turned back to the Sox game. Haven’t forgiven Boone, the TV is just muted.

9:51 Silent treatment for Beltre’s first home run. Well worth it… 11-4 Sox. Turning off the Picture-in-picture. It’s all Celtics now.

9:59 Switched back on Celtics commercial…Pedroia must have grabbed his Dunkin’s Ice Coffee today… HOMERUN TO LEFT!! 14-4.

10:06 After a Big Baby Free Throw… Celtics hand Cleveland their largest deficit of the year at home. (22 points)

10:10 Repeat after me. I WILL NOT BE SUCKERED INTO A FOURTH QUARTER LEAD. I WILL NOT BE SUCKERED INTO A FOURTH QUARTER LEAD. I WILL NOT BE SUCKERED INTO A FOURTH QUARTER LEAD.

10:15 I’d love to know how the planets are aligned tonight… Because something has got into Rasheed Wallace. 17 points??

10:19 Sox up 17-4 save some for tomorrow boys!

10:35 11-0 run by the Cavs… I repeat, I WILL NOT BE SUCKERED INTO A FOURTH QUARTER LEAD.

10:40 The crowds on their feet and chanting pretty loud… I hate a visual like this. Good thing I’m not suckered in yet.

10:50 Dirty Water plays again! Sox win 17-8. Lebron WALKS (Like he’s been doing all night) his whinny self back to the locker room, Celtics beat the Cavs tie the series up at one game apiece.

After 3 hours and 50 minutes, a bowl of ice cream, and 3 bathroom breaks later, I have successfully watched, enjoyed, and blogged about the Home Town Trifecta. I also witnessed the ultimate outcome… A PERFECT 3 FOR 3! I’M GOING TO ENJOY WATCHING SPORTSCENTER TOMORROW!!!