unexpect'd maverick

As I lamented two weeks ago, Cedar Point's newest roller coaster, Maverick, was not operating on opening day. Amazingly, they were able to replace several pieces of track and have it ready for today. The Landeses and I had already planned to go up to CP on Monday, and were pleasantly surprised when CP announced this past Thursday that the ride would open today. We figured we had already waited this long for Maverick and could suffer an extra two days.

Then Stu's friend called and said the crowds today had thinned out due to the rain, and that Maverick was awesome. Laurie suggested Stu and I go give it our inaugural ride. Being young*, spontaneous season passholders with nothing better to do at 3:30 on an overcast Satuday afternoon, we obliged.

*disregard Stu's gray hairs (qxxahhhhh)

We only waited an hour and 15 minutes for Maverick, which is assuredly less than we would have waited had it opened two weeks ago. The ride is great. The thrill just never stops. It doesn't break any records, but it is a genuinely fun ride. It gives people more reason to visit Frontiertown, and presents many unique elements to CP's coaster collection, such as the theming, second launch, and various turns and rolls.

I still haven't decided where it fits into the Raptor-Millennium Force continuum of my favorite coasters, but it certainly ranks up there and gives them a run for their money.

And yes, we still plan to go again on Monday, at which point I will have gotten my money's worth from said season pass.

cleveflight

Greater Cleveland flight

Greater Cleveland lost about 60,000 people and $2 billion in annual income to moves outside the region in 2000-05. This map shows places outside Northeast Ohio which gained the most residents from Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage, and Summit counties from 2000-05.

OK, Columbus I kind of understand. But what's with all the Cleveburgers moving to Phoenix?!

how many of me

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 34 people with my name in the U.S.A. (as of 1990). How many have your name?

Only 34. However, there are 118 Bryan Byrds, 134 Brian Birds, and 456 Brian Byrds.

a saturday birthday

The year 2004 presented my first birthday while having a single, full-time job. As fate had it, the weather was a beautiful, temperate 74 degrees with nary a cloud in the sky. At least, that's what I remember from my lunch break since I was stuck in a windowless warehouse all day. I vowed from that day forth always to request a vacation day for my birthday.

It has rained every May 19th since. Including today, even though it was on a Saturday.

Normally I would just sleep in and kick back, but that didn't seem special enough for a weekend birthday. I started out at Jim's Coffeehouse in downtown Elyria, which is quickly becoming my place for coffee and a bagel on Saturday mornings. They recently expanded their weekday hours to 5:00 p.m., but I see the website hasn't been updated yet. A cup of coffee is only $1.50 and they offer free refills. They generally have two flavors of coffee (including my favorite, Blue Moon) plus a decaf. They get their beans from Cleveland-area roaster Phoenix Coffee. Good stuff.

Jim's Coffeehouse occupies a very cool space, on the lower level of the Flowers By Sharon store. In proper local coffeehouse style, work by area artists adorns the walls. Jim's has the unfortunate address of 2 Lake Avenue; I say unfortunate because it's on a stretch of road that, in a former life, connected with what is today known as Lake Avenue but has since been chopped off by a police station parking lot. Google Maps and GPS can probably get you there, but heaven help you if you're just looking at building addresses. Just know that it's on the corner of Broad Street and the road that's labeled there as Lake Avenue (not West Avenue). The entrance is along the side of the building.

I then stopped for a quick walk through Cascade Park in a vain attempt to find the new observational bridge. I never did find it, although I didn't walk all the way to the falls since it was starting to rain (see previous note regarding rain on May 19th). I also saw at least five families of ducks near the river.

Then I was off to Dave & Buster's, which opened just as I arrived. I probably shouldn't mention this, but an employee offered to sell me some of his free Power Combo™ cards, so I effectively got $50 worth of chips for $25. And if any Dave & Buster's authorities are reading this, I assure you I later purchased more chips at the kiosk, so don't feel as though you were cheated. What you should feel cheated about is my new favorite game I discovered, Spin 'n' Win, at which I won over 2,000 tickets today. This contributed to the approximately 4,000 tickets I earned today, bringing my total winnings over the past four years to over 21,000. I'm still not sure how to spend them. If I ever move out on my own, I may furnish my kitchen entirely with Dave & Buster's merchandise, including a blender, coffeemaker, and drinking glasses.

Speaking of the past four years, it has taken almost that long for me to get enough stamps on my bagel card at Panera, so I decided to get my free dozen bagels today. Then I hopped over to Kohl's to spend an old gift card there. I had lunch at the J.J. BBQ at Midway Mall, then headed home.

Later, I had dinner followed by cake and ice cream with the family. All in all, it was a day well-spent.

small updates

Just a few things of note:

• I've been cast as the butler and one of the brothers in ESTA's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which runs July 26-29. This will be the first time I've been on stage in a non-pianist role since Oklahoma! in 1997.
  
• I have agreed to music direct Clague Playhouse's A Christmas Survival Guide, which runs November 16 - December 9. There is also apparently a small speaking part involved with this.
  
• Cedar Point opens tomorrow! Unfortunately, their new roller coaster, Maverick, which Stu and I have been anticipating since, oh, last June (just ask Laurie), will not be in operation. Maver...DOH!
  
• I got a Cedar Fair Maxx Pass, so I will probably be going to Geauga Lake more often, and Kings Island at least once this summer. Unfortunately, gas prices are on the rise. :-\
  
• Why has it taken this long for me to be aware of the TV show Heroes? Now I'm trying to get caught up on this season's episodes.
  
• I'll be turning 27 next Saturday. When I was 23, people I met thought I was 25; when I was 25, they thought I was 27. Someone tell me; do I look 29 now?

That is all.

lego bible

In my opinion, more books need to be reproduced in LEGO®©™ form.

The LEGO Bible

Speaking of Biblical things, I had my audition for Joseph today. I was worried because I developed a scratchy throat last night, and I wasn't able to sing my audition song when I woke up this morning. Fortunately, I had a backup song that still shows my tenor range, but I really really wanted to do the other one ("Into the Fire" from The Scarlet Pimpernel).

With the help of some vocalizing and some pseudoephedrine, my voice gradually got better, and I ended up doing "Into the Fire" after all. It wasn't my best performance, but it was worlds better than what I was creaking out earlier this morning. Unfortunately, my voice will probably be worse by Tuesday's callbacks, since I'm likely coming down with a cold. Knock on Zicam RapidMelts™.

cleveland+

Cleveland+ is both the new marketing campaign for Northeast Ohio and the topic du jour for us local bloggers.

From a recent post at Brewed Fresh Daily:

But the research shows that 61% of the national respondents had a "neutral" opinion of Cleveland, and an additional 21% had a "positive" impression.

The other 18% already live here. Zing!

Seriously though, I addressed this a few months ago: I don't think this region is going to improve until we get over our self-esteem issues. Did you know the Indians are currently in first place in the American League? Or were you too busy joking about the Cuyahoga River fire to notice? (That was 38 years ago this June, for those keeping track. Nixon had just started his first term. Woodstock was still two months away. Get over it.)

Will this new campaign be the answer? I don't know. I still think "Cleveland Plus" and its corresponding logo look and sound like a dietary supplement, a pregnancy test, or a drink from A Clockwork Orange. But, at least someone's trying.

another subway lunch

I now eat at Subway once a week, on purpose, whereas before I only did if I was too lazy to pack a lunch that day. Why?

Apples.

Yes, I'm serious. Subway recently began offering raisins or apples as a side option when buying a meal combo (previously, the only choices were chips or cookies). The small bag has a mix of sweet red and tart green apple slices, in a "specially designed bag to lock in their juicy apple crunch."

These apples are so perfect, I swear they must be grown in a lab. They have the perfect flavor and crispness, and I like the variety of sweet and tart. I like them so much, I now crave these apples, hence my weekly trip to Subway. (Insert references to So I Married an Axe Murderer here.)

I've also developed a taste for Diet Coke from a soda fountain, which is the only zero-calorie soft drink I like besides Diet Dr Pepper. As it happens, Subway serves Diet Coke of the fountain variety.

What's with all this talk of healthy food and drink? Well, I have been eating healthier lately, for several reasons. The initial reason was that I decided to audition for Elyria Summer Theatre's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I felt I needed to lose as much of the gut as possible if I wanted a shot at playing Joseph. However, I wasn't going to kill myself over it, so I didn't join a gym or start running five miles a day. I decided to follow the "energy in/energy out" formula and just reduce my caloric intake. None of this low-fat/low-carb/low-taste stuff.

The results came quickly. I lost 20 pounds in two months, and it has remained steady at that weight. Some of the gut is still there, but that has always been true, even dating back to my near-anorexic days in 7th grade. That likely won't change unless I start working out, but I'm not really worried about it as far as auditions are concerned.

One of my co-workers is taking the opposite approach: eating the same as he does now, but adding exercise to his daily routine. I'm not only too lazy for that, but hate the vast consumptive black hole of time that exercise is; that's a fancy way of saying I have better things to do with my 3 - 4 free hours each night. I'd rather just change what I eat, since I'm going to be eating anyway.

What did I change? Instead of Pop Tarts for breakfast, I have cinnamon toast on whole grain bread, using Splenda instead of sugar. My lunches already involved carrot sticks and an apple, but I stopped including a bag of chips, and drank bottled water instead of pop. That's when I realized my lunches were rather bland and boring without the chips and pop, so I started mixing it up with kiwi and strawberries instead of the apple, for example. (The strawberries are also dusted with Splenda rather than sugar.)

Things that did not change: I still have my one mug of coffee per day, sweetened with sugar. Splenda just doesn't cut it for coffee, for my taste. But coffee has negligible calories, and even with sugar and half & half, this is only about 100 calories total. Still less than a can of pop.

I also eat the same dinners I always have, i.e. whatever my mommy makes.

I stopped snacking almost entirely. This was probably the hardest maneuver, because it was like removing several small meals from the day. At least with breakfast and lunch, I was eating something in place of something else. But after the first week, I got out of the habit of running to the cupboard every time I had a slight twinge of hunger.

I also don't buy into that "if you want a snack, eat an apple instead of cookies" nonsense. First off, eating a lone apple outside the context of a meal often leaves me more hungry than when I started -- Justin says this happens to him too. Secondly, chances are good that when I want a snack, I'm craving a specific flavor or sweetness, which a bland old apple won't fulfill (Subway's apple slices being an exception). And lastly, choosing an apple over cookies won't solve the underlying problem of rewarding every twinge of hunger with a trip to the fridge. That's my view, anyway.

So what was the second reason for this adventure? I simply wanted to see if I could do it. I want to know how much control I can exert over my weight and appearance. Everyone's body is different, so I certainly wouldn't claim that my methods are appropriate for everyone.

I don't know that these changes in my eating habits will be permanent -- in related news, auditions are this weekend -- but it's nice to know that I seem to have a choice in the matter. What's funny is that I don't think I look as skinny as I did when I was this weight in college, which is nice. That may just be mental, though.

Isn't it ridiculous that I had more trouble gaining weight than losing it? Trust me, that's not always a blessing. Exhibit A, ages puberty through senior year of college. QED.