Who doesn’t love pho? Each time I go to Vietnam I buy another variation of the classic I Love Pho shirt. Well thanks to Teespring I’m going to love pho some mo’.
If you love Pho then click here and check out this fun design. 
I’m Leaving Today…
Start spreading the news, I’m leaving today…
Leaving NYC that is, if and only if this crazy taxi driver doesn’t kill me first. For those in need of immediate Hotel Reviews on where to stay in New York, here’s a quick summary:
Sheraton Times Square: terrible
Four Points Soho: recommended
Sheraton Tribeca: delightful
Le Parker Meridien: When can I move in permanently?
Maybe I should’ve used Uber for the first time in life instead of Mr. Yellow Cab, but like my Blackberry, I’m stuck in the past.
Till next time New York!
The Burger Joint Le Parker Meridien
This is part of the Trip Report New York, New York, New York (March 2015) which is an SPG tour of 4 NYC hotels I stayed at last time I was in the Big Apple. Note: none compare to the St. Regis New York City.
Yum. Burgers. The Burger Joint Le Parker Meridien is the cure for your NYC blues. Too much partying? Too much wandering? Too much spending? Then check-in to the Le Parker Meridien, use a platinum suite upgrade, and make a call down to The Burger Joint.
Sure you can wait in the line that wraps around the hotel lobby but as a guest you have the privilege of placing a carry-out order and returning to the safety of your abode.
All that’s left is to find CBS for some March Madness.
Burgers. Yum.
I Hate Central Islip
You ever go to Central Islip? You ever hear of it? Neither had I till today when a major oversight in trial preparation had me scrambling to figure out where Central Islip is located. It isn’t in Brooklyn!
$230 taxi ride and an hour later than scheduled, I begged the court for mercy for not knowing that there is more than one federal court in the Eastern District of New York.
Now I’m on the $12.75 train back to Penn Station lucky to still be a practicing attorney.
This is an important lesson for all travelers who do not double-check the name of their departing airport and end up with a lot of stress as they arrive at the wrong terminal (see AirAsia terminal Malaysia).
That stress lingers even if you do manage to catch your flight or in this case make a court appearance.
Attention to detail is not my strong suit but I hope my error will not become yours.
Check and re-check! Central Islip!
Simply The Best: ThePointsOfLife 1 Year Anniversary
It’s official. Today is the one year anniversary of ThePointsOfLife. What started off as a book promotion has turned into a full-time hobby.
The necessary thanks for the supporters are in order as is my gratitude for the commentators angry and otherwise who keep me accountable for my posts.
While I’ve yet to hit the 10k per day mark for readership, I continue to see growth in the daily numbers so at least I’m not always talking to myself.
Thank you very much. Here’s to at least another month of pointless points posts.
St. Patrick’s Excuse
My excuse for not posting yesterday was the day long flight to New York and of course the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. After walking by Irish bar after Irish bar the question I have is whether there are more Irish pubs in NYC or Starbucks.
Every place was the official headquarters for St. Patrick’s Day taking away from the charm of the holiday. Even Bud Light changed their bottles to green to commemorate the day. Think about that: it’s worth Bud Light changing its production line in time for a holiday because people buy green.
The after effects of my St. Patrick’s outing is this rambling hopefully coherent post. The only regret is not posting this yesterday to maintain my blogging streak.
Can anyone guess what celebratory day tomorrow March 19th is?
It’s Up to You New York
Finally, ThePointsOfLife is back a-live. Wow, for a minute I thought I’d never see an airplane again. Bond has been set and I’ve been released on my own recognizance. Next stop, New York City for a few days of SPG stays to get going on requalifying for platinum.
This Trip Report called New York, New York, New York is a sampling of various SPG hotels throughout NYC. The trip was supposed to conclude at the critically acclaimed Park Hyatt NYC but their pool is closed. Luckily, its replacement, Le Parker Méridien New York, has its own rooftop pool and a stellar burger joint.
Here is the list of the hotels I will be staying at and reviewing one day in the far distant future:
- Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel
- Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan SoHo Village
- Sheraton Tribeca New York Hotel
- Four Points by Sheraton Manhattan SoHo Village (Gotta get those stays!)
- Le Parker Méridien New York
See you tomorrow St. Patrick.
Cancelled Park Hyatt New York
I’ve been looking forward to going to the Park Hyatt New York ever since it opened last year. Park Hyatt is one of my favorite hotel brands, so the opportunity to stay at the flagship hotel had my excited. Along with the 20% points promotion rebate for using Gold Passport points, my upcoming stay was going to be perfect.
Then I received this email:
Thank you for choosing Park Hyatt New York for your upcoming stay. We are delighted to have you joining us. We would like to make you aware that beginning March16 th, 2015 the swimming pool area will be closed for urgent necessary maintenance. The pool is scheduled to re-open March 24th, 2015. Spa Nalai, the fitness center and locker rooms, will remain open and offering a full range of services. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Please be sure to let us know if there is anything else we may further assist with. We are excited to welcome you and wish you safe travels.
For $300 and 15,000 points a night, I want all the amenities to be functional. I’m sure the rooms and service are great but the highlight of of my stay was the pool which somehow already needs ‘urgent necessary maintenance’. So I cancelled.
Anyone have an inside guy that know the answer to this mystery?
Mediocre Race Time? Blame Enrique Iglesias
St. Patrick’s Day Race 3 Mile Time 24:12. Quite the tortoise trek I took getting through this horrible race. Dehydrated, unmotivated, I looked to my playlist to bail me out. I strategically configured the following list believing it would take me to the Holy Land of a sub 20 time.
It did not and for that I blame Enrique Iglesias.
Yup, that eclectic playlist is what I put together for this one. Noticeably absent is Ricky Martin, a must for marathon runners. The Pointer Sisters were on point when I needed them though I still had too far to go.
As bad as I did, others did a lost worse:
Final numbers: #7/27 Male Age 30-39, #52/658 overall.
Less running, more green beer drinking.
St. Patrick’s Day Race! A Marathon Running Guide
Tomorrow is the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Race in Anytown, USA. I’ve signed up for the quick 3 mile sprint because my marathon day (not days) are over. I ran a marathon in August 2012 in Anchorage, Alaska and finished with a time of 3:54:13 (glute injury notwithstanding).
Training for tomorrow’s walk in the park started with my repatration diet after too much BBQ in Mongolia. The running came by way of treadmill something I advise against for serious marathon training but it hopefully did the job. My goal tomorrow is to finish in 21 minutes though the town doesn’t have Sprint service rendering my Runmeter app useless and my ability to pace myself impossible.
In preparation for the race, I consulted a Google Doc that details all the lessons I learned from running a marathon and decided to share the knowledge with you.
Consult a physician, dietician, someone who actually knows about running instead of following this hogwash.
Pre-Race Diet for a Sunday AM Race:
- Thursday: Caesar salad lite with 2 bags of fake crab and a box of pasta and tomato sauce
- Friday: 3 cups of brown rice (didn’t finish) and 1lb of beef
- Saturday:
- 1PM: pasta feed till 2:30PM;
- 6PM: 6 packages of flavored oatmeal
- Race Day: 1 Clif bar before race. 4 bottles of water.
Race Day Supplies:
- Racing Socks
- Racing Shoes
- Long sleeve Under Armour shirt.
- iPhone + iPhone extra battery case: The case top part didn’t let the headphones screw in.
Annoyances During the Race:
- shorts kept falling off
- armband was not tight enough
- stuff in my pockets: never again, no gloves either
Poppin Pills:
- Mile 6: 4 aleve, 3 non caffeine bloks: water
- Mile 8: 3 non caffeine bloks
- Mile 16: 6 caffeine bloks
- Mile 20: 6 caffeine bloks
- Mile 22: gu and Gatorade
*I may have drank a little more water along the way but minimal amounts. Each time I did I would feel horrible and have to wait to recover my pace and form.
Changes:
- Maybe i should’ve saved the gu for mile 24 but mile 22 was my fastest mile
- Mile 24-26.2 were the worst because the course stayed in the woods.
- Mile 20-24 were the best as i saved myself till then to actually go fast.
- Music also needs more power songs for last 3 miles: Black Eyed Peas weren’t cutting it.
Looking at all that makes me wonder how and why I ever would run a marathon. Tomorrow, I have no strategy and haven’t run outside. That could backfire but I guess I’ll find out.
