I suppose I should blog one more time before Christmas

Not too much going on here. The Sincoff family is preparing for its' trek to Grandma's house in Pennsylvania. Should be fun to see my mother-in-law, and Vicki's side of the family for a few. It's a total "Over the river and thru the woods" kind of trip. So, it's season appropriate. Should be good fun to get out of Jerz for a few days, anyway.

Work has been crazy busy. Another reason why I have not been posting as much of late. Every person and their sister brought down some invoice or another that needed processing. Alas, that is exactly the kind of stuff that hits my desk. It has been keeping me on my toes!! Thankfully, work is shut for a few days. I'll be able to max and relax & recharge the ol' batteries!!

Couple of the highlights of the PA trip (in addition to seeing my very groovy mother-in-law) will be not only the chance to see the FANTABULOUS NEWCOMERS on a couple of different occasions, but the yearly visit home of M from Hamburg, Germany. She's a cool chick. It'll be good to see her!!

Other than that, I'm spending time w/ V and T, working on being happy, and enjoying the holiday season! I hope everyone else does too!

The Work Christmas or Holiday Party

My work (the "drugplace") had its' Holiday party today. I just got back from it. It was a not bad affair actually. It was over at the Chart House Restaurant on the Hudson River in Weehawken, NJ. Like 100 years ago, I used to work across the street at Qwest. Being back on Harbor Blvd. brought back alot of memories. Alot of fun times were had at Icon CMT/Qwest. A great group of talented people were there. Some jerks too. All in all a good place.

Anyway, back to the party. It went well. Usually at these types of shindigs, you have to take a breath, and figure that you need to just relax, and enjoy yourself. As such, I actually got myself out on the dance floor and shook my moneymaker!! I represented the uncoordinated, Nice Jewish Boy posse while dancing to such gems as "Oh What a Night (1964)" by The Four Seasons and "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson. I think I truly represented as a result!

The best part of the whole party was seeing one of the executives dancing mightily to The Rolling Stones "Start Me Up". That alone was not too crazy. However when I listened to Mick and Keith's lyrics, I realized that they sing about necrophilia at the end of the song ("...you gave a dead man c*nt..."). That makes you see your co-workers in an entirely different light, let me tell you. Especially when they are a power executive type!

Other than the party, I'm hanging in there. I got home a little early from work, so I can write this. I'm gonna go walk the doggies, and chill out w/ Vicki and T. I'm waiting to hear some news about a project I'm involved in. Waiting to hear news when you want feedback is the hardest wait ever!!! I wish you could know stuff instantly, but alas you can't. It's t one of the harder lessons of adulthood that you can't make people work on your schedule sometimes, but that sometimes you have to deal with everyone elses' time frame. Bummer!!

Another Turkey Day is Finito!!!

Well, I just had to write a little something while my Dad is here visiting Tobin, Vicki and I. To say that it has been a good visit has been an understatement. While I would not recommend always having an elderly parent hang around your house, asking for food and beverages, Dad has been a perfect gentleman.

We've totally just hung out, and had a good time. Dad flew in last Monday, and has been here the whole week. We haven't done anything too rock n' roll. However, we were really busy w/ the Thanksgiving preparations. With both the layout of the table, and the actual preparation of the bird, my gorgeous wife, Vicki totally outdid herself!!! It was an amazing day, it really was a day where I actually took some time, and was thankful for friends and family.

Our West Coast chill friends, Abi, Andy (of Boy's Night Out Fame!!) and Aidan came over for the day. Football was watched, Turkey was eaten and many, many laughs were had, big time. In fact, I think that the day really could not have gone much better. There were no arguments, there was a lot of laughter and delicious food was had. What more could you want? The only thing that is slightly lame is that it's back to work tomorrow!!! I originally had the whole day off to take Dad back to the airport as he is flying home tomorrow.

Dad's visit was quite memorable. He gave Tobin his Hanukkah/Birthday present, which was a train set!!! It's great to see Tobe say "Choo Choo Daddy, CHOO CHOO" all the time. Vicki put it together, and he is LOOOOOOOOVING playing the conductor. Right now, the train clang clang clang noises are reverberating in my head :) Aaaah the joys of parenthood!!!!! In all seriousness, it's great to see Tobin to have such joy on his face!!! It makes all the aggravation of everyday life all worthwhile.

It's going to be sad to say goodbye to Dad tomorrow. I'm not good w/ goodbyes as it is. As we both get older, the distance between Florida, and New Jersey seems deeper, longer, almost a continent away. Getting older, and time going bye is the name of the game, I guess. It does not make it any more easier to deal with, however!!!

Congrats go out to Juan Manual Marquez and Michael Katsidis who fought a GREAT fight on HBO last night from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. JMM came out on top, but Katsidis has nothing to be ashamed of, he showed alot of heart!!!!

Boys Night Out will rock and bring the Fury!

I'm sitting here at home decompressing for a few. I'm psyched for several reasons. Not only is it Friday, and the end of a grueling work week, but I've scheduled a rocking Boys Night Out w/ my buddy Andy (The Professor) Elliott! All sorts of shenanigans will be done at some point this evening. I do know we are going to shoot some pool, and maybe get a burger or something. The Village of Hackettstown will not know what hit it once these two hip guys hit that town.

The Womens (Abi and Vicki) and the Chillun's (Aiden and Tobin) have been put away for the evening! Dinners are being prepared, sheets are being turned down in their bedrooms. NW Morris County had better issue some sort of advisory warning for the metaphysical, thermodynamic event that is going to hit it in about 90 minutes!!! We are talking MASS PANDEMONIUM as Elliott and Sincoff have their Boys Night out!!! God Save the State of New Jersey tonight.

Lock up your valuables, Morris County!! Gird your loins!!! If you have fair haired daughters, hide them away! In all seriousness, I'm soooo looking forward to a night out. Haven't had one in like forever. It should be pretty fun. I'm gonna behave myself. I have to, as I'm driving. Besides, I don't want to party that much!

Anyone watching the UFC this weekend? Who you picking? Lyoto Machida, or Quinton "Rampage" Jackson? For me, I gotta go w/ karate over the Man who howls at the moon a la The Junkyard Dog!!!

Zombies Rule, and Tobin likes Caillou!!!

We had an as always interesting visit to Pennsylvania this past weekend. We got to spend some quality time w/ my mother-in-law, Shirley . She and Vicki and I took Tobin to the Harrisburg Mall for trick or treating. Tobin was dressed up as a puppy dog. I'm not sure if Tobe got the while trick or treat concept; but he did dig some of the twizzlers that he got, I can attest to that!

We also got to spend some time with our favorite peeps, The Newcomers! Shirley watched Tobin for us on Sunday and we met up w/ them in Harrisburg for a meal at an Italian place. We had a nice meal, some pasta and some wine. It's always relaxing, and fun to have a meal w/Kayly and Nate as they both really make me smile. So, we relaxed, laughed, had a great meal, and got ready to watch the Zombie apocalypse that is "The Walking Dead" on AMC TV.

What a great show! Basically (based on a graphic novel) this Sheriff's deputy gets shot in the line of duty. He walks up some period later in the hospital to find not only piles of dead bodies everywhere, but zombies walking the earth, yes, THE UNDEAD!!! I enjoyed the arc of the first episode, and I'm looking forward to the 2nd episode tomorrow night!!

It's been an ok week since last weekend. Tobin has decided he loves Sprout TV and Caillou.The show is basically about a precocious little kid who lives in Quebec! I don't get the big time allure of time, but then I'm not an almost 2 year old little boy. The show mellows him out however, and that's certainly a good thing!!

Tobin also has been watching "The Wiggles" alot on Sprout TV!! The Wiggles are basically the Monkeys, but for toddlers', and little kids. They don't even warrant a hyperlink as I SO don't get them, and find 'em insipid :)

Friday, Friday!!

This has been one of those weeks where nothing particularly bad, or stressful has happened. Thankfully, I can honestly say that getting to Friday has not been too much of a chore! I'm still trying to rock my lightbox as much as I can, and I'm getting some results. I'm working hard in therapy, and trying to stay positive. The change in seasons, and the days getting shorter has historically been disastrous on my good vibes!! I'm just trying to do the best I can to stay away from that negativity.

Vicki, Tobin and I went outside last night after I came home from work to play for a bit. It was fun to watch V and T draw pictures of pirates and pumpkins on the sidewalk w/ chalk. I think we have a junior pirate in training w/ our youngster in that he seems to love putting things on on his head that seem like hats to him, scowling, and saying "pirate"! It's very cute. I'm sure Captain Jack Sparrow would welcome the young apprentice. However, Mom and Dad Sincoff don't want to send our youngster off to sail the high seas just yet!!

Howsabout those UFC fights, huh? Was anyone else surprised to see Brock Lesnar get so dominated by Cain Velasquez? That cut that opened up under Brock's eye w as the grossest thing ever!! The rest of the card was ok, nothing too spectacular. I felt Jake Shields looked totally unspectacular in his UFC debut, but that's just me playing armchair sports guy!! In actuality, I think he lost to Martin Kampann in that one. I felt that Diego Sanchez looked fantastic in his return to form against Paulo Thiago!

We're off to PA this weekend. Off to the land of Chocolate and friendliness for a weekend of seeing my mother-in-law (hi shirley!) and the Newcomers (Hi Kayly and Nate!). It's also Halloween, so everyone have a safe and Spooktacular time!! We are dressing Tobin up as a Puppy Dog, which should be cute! I'll be sure to post some pictures when I get back.

My little boy got a haircut!!!

Look how gorgeous my favorite little boy looks:
That's right! Tobin got his first haircut yesterday! Being in the workforce means you have to miss pivotal "coming of age" stuff like this!! Tobin really knows how rock a new haircut!!! Look at how handsome my little guy looks. It makes me feel bad that I was working when this happened. But, what can you do? One has to pay the bills right?

In some of my fantasies, I totally do a Michael Keaton, "Mr. Mom" thing at some point. I'd love to stay at home and raise Tobe, while Vick goes back to work. I don't know if that will ever happen . I would love to put on "Twist And Shout" and just dance around while vacuuming!! I mean, if I could hit the lottery or something, THAT would totally rock. Alas, til that day when the money is literally raining @ Casa Del Sincoff, I will be a hard working, procurement professional!!

Who else is psyched for UFC 121? Will Brock Lesnar beat Cain Velasquez? What do you think?

I'm Beginning to See the Light

No, I haven't joined some reformed version of The Velvet Underground!!! (My subject title is also the title of a Velvet Underground song). I've started doing Light Therapy via a Light Box. For ages and ages, Ive dealt w Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Basically, when the days get shorter, and it's darker for longer periods of time; I get down in the dumps. My mood swings get just horrible. I have really low lows, and it's just sometimes really bad.

Well, cue a suggestion from my brilliant, gorgeous wife, Vicki. and I've started staring at this Lightbox device each morning before work. I can honestly say that my mood has been better, and I've been sleeping better as a result. I look forward to battling this seasonal scourge even more w/ this great device! Sometimes to feel better, you gotta put in some work. If working this this LightBox each day can make me deal w/ the change in seasons a little better, then I'm all for it.

Did anyone else catch UFC 120 last night for free on Spike TV? It was a mixed bag of fights. I thought that Alexander Gustaffson looked like a MONSTER in stopping the very experienced Cyril "The Snake" Diabate. Alexander displayed some great ground skills, and terrific stand up. His dedication to working for the rear naked choke was something to see!! With the punishment Diabate took, it really brings home how tough a business MMA/boxing/combat sports are. Cyril looked like he had been put through the ringer for sure.

The Mike Pyle vs. John Hathaway fight was ok, but nothing great. I DID dig the point when Pyle crucifixed Hathaway's arms, and was raining down punches!!! Other than that, the fight was kind of a snooserooni!! The Cheick Kongo fight vs Travis Browne was of note just because you had to say "What ever happened to Kongo!? There was no fierce display of GnP at all! He seemed to be sleepwalking through the fight.

Kudos have to go to the 2 Co-main event fights. Carlos Condit lived up to his nickname of "The Natural Born Killer"as he destroyed Dan Hardy by KO in the very first round!! He literally put him on ice as they say, and it was awesome to see as Hardy is a bit of a plonker . Not to mention the fact that I love it when the fights are in England (as last night's card was at the O2 Arena) and the hometown fighter loses!!!

Kudos to Michael "The Count" Bisping who won a very hard fought Unanimous decision against "Sexiyama" Yoshihiro Akiyama! It was a great back and forth affair. Bisping was just the better man last night. I was a good boy, I could have logged on and checked the fights to see who won (as we're like 5 hrs behind the UK), but I abstained, and was rewarded by some entertaining fights!!

I'd love to take some of my cool London friends (Do you hear me Natalie & Elliott? Rob & Amanda? Allison & Riord??!) to see the UFC the next time they are in the UK. It would be a blast!!

A whole lot of Non Shaking Goin' On!!

Boy oh Boy oh boy! Who woulda thunk that if you moved just 25 minutes down the road, there would be such a big difference?? While I was never the hyoooooogest Madison, NJ fan, it did have some positives. It was a walking town. There was a Main Street that you could walk down and check out the stores. There were lights, restaurants etc. People were out and about.

Rockaway, where we moved to is remote and isolated in my opinion. You can't walk ANYWHERE because you are at least 2 miles away from the "downtown" area. Hey, even if you stick your head out the door of your house, you get nothin'. Like total crickets chirping and stuff. I'm getting used to all of this... quiet.... it is kind of wack. I'm not the biggest fan. Since this is the place where I write my thoughts. I figured that I would put it out there.

It's one of the themes I wrestle with. I always, always, always have loved action. and people. Nature is great, but people are cooler, quite frankly. we had to make a move rather suddenly when our landlord felt like reclaiming our old apartment. It was cool to be able to see Neighbor Jones, and Mrs. Perriwinkle ( if you will) and give 'em a shout out & talk about landscaping, or the works of Proust. Out here, in Rockaway Township, there ain't a lot of literary criticism going on, sadly.

However, I'm trying to work through it. The Big Fella upstairs put us out here on Cherokee Avenue for a reason. I'm just working to find out why!!

Shout out to Kayly!!

Kayly S. Newcomer is such a groovy chick (How groovy is she, you ask?)! She has hipped The Sincoff's to the great BBC America show Law & Order/ UK. Vicki and I watched one episode, and we've immediately become hooked!! What a testament to a great formula that the original "Law & Order" was!!! You have tireless detectives trying to clear cases, and then you have the prosecutor's working on putting the bad guys away for good!! How can you go wrong w/ that?

Factor that in with the fact that w/ "L&O-UK", you are watching a foreign judicial system at work, and it makes it even more fascinating. I mean,, I was sitting there watching the episode going " that powdered wig is like, totally going to fall off any moment"!! Nonetheless, I love watching crime shows, when they are done well. We've totally set a series recording for "Law & Order-UK". Thanks Kayly!!! I (almost) can't wait for the first blizzard of the season so we can have a marathon of this show!!

While I'm talking about TV shows, I gotta give a nod to another show that looks great on BBC America. "Luther" , which about a detective (played by Idris Elba) who may or may not break the law to get his cases solved . It apparently shows a "dark side of humanity". Which for me, may spelled "Homicide: Life on the Street" in the past!! It looks irresistible! So, I can't wait to catch it!!

Work is going ok, can't really complain. I'm slooowly getting settled into my new home here in Rockaway. I really liked Madison in that it had a downtown, and you could walk to it. Unfortunately, it's a little different out here in the farther reaches of Morris County. It's taking some getting used to. However, that's just what I'm a gonna do!! I must say that I am looking forward to a boss free few days of work as my boss is going on vacation as of tomorrow!! WOO HOOOO!!! When Momma Cat is away, her kittens can play!! LOLOLOLOL

Finally the weekend (or Props to Shirley for coming to visit!)

I'm writing to you after a Friday night "Date Night"!! Shirley, my mother-in-law, has been visiting for the past few days. It has been great seeing Tobin chase after her calling her "Damaw" It's adorable actually. Anyway, Shirley was nice enough to volunteer her babysitting services. It's few and far between that V and I can enjoy a leisurely, solo dinner sans child!



We ended up going to a Spanish restaurant called Jai Alai in Dover. It actually gave the legendary Spanish restaurants in the Ironbound section of Newark a run for the money. The vibe of the place was very chill, w/ tons of Bullfighting posters and Jai Alai paraphernalia abounding. We shared this great mariscada salsa roja. It was basically a seafood casserole in this red wine brandy reduction. It was deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelish!! The Stuffed mushrooms for a starter were to die for.

It was not like the date nights of the Prehistoric Pre Tobin Era :) There was no imbibing in various East Village Watering holes. We were home to Shirley and Tobin by 9:30. We actually watched "The Soup" on E!, and we were in bed by 11:30pm. Rock n'roll right? I'm sure the members of Arcade Fire, and The Black Keys are very, very jealous!

It is gonna be a very social weekend as Vicki's sister, brother, and sister-in-law are coming today to pick up Shirley. One of the props of aging is that people come to pick you up from places. I can't wait til that happens to me in my golden years! And no, I'm not making fun, I actually think it's great!!! Also, Ernie, (who is my former middle school speech teacher) and his wife Eleanor are coming to visit tomorrow!! Should be a blast.

Now, if we could only get the Giants to beat the Bears tomorrow night on NBC, we would be batting 1000!!

Root Canals and UFC 119

I'd been having this really bad tooth ache of late. So much in fact, that I was totally getting the dull, throbbing ache throughout the right hand side of my mou(f)th. I figured that I'd chipped a tooth or something stoopid like that eating ice (as I'm won't to do). It had digressed to the point that I had started to swig whisky as a little Jack never hurt anyone.

I finally got fed up Thursday night, and went to the ER to hopefully get some painkillers to last me through the night til I could get to see my dentist. Thankfully, they were very brief at the hospital over there in Denville (in fact, to show you how focused I was on getting painkillers, I could not even tell you the name of the hospital!!LOL), they gave me a once over, and promptly gave me some Oxy. Thank You Easter Bunny, Buck buck!!!!

I wake up on a cloud Friday morning, and I promptly pop another pill on the way to work. I call the dentist, and they immediately say that they can see me in an hour. Thankfully, I can get to my dentist from work very quickly. I get over tehre, and it turns out that I need a root canal!! I'm already chilled from the Oxy I took, so it was the most pain free, comfortable root canal on record!! IN FACT, I almost fell asleep a couple of times in the middle of it, can you believe that?!?!?!

Having a great, mellow weekend here at the Sincoff ranch. We went to Lowes, and did some home shopping. Vicki actually purchased some hedge clippers, and a Shop Vac to help vaccum up the acorn problem that we have!! hard to believe that we have sooooooo many acorns, but alas, 'tis true. Sadly, we discovered that our electric lawn mower that was here in the shed does not work as it totally conked out in the middle of what we were doing :( we are gonna have to actually buy a lawn mower now, sad!

Just came back from taking Tobin to the local playground. I tell you, there were some high school girls there he was TOTALLY putting the mack on!! There were thousands of littl ekids his own age he could have hung out w/, but he totally made a bee line for these girls, and just sat right next to them. It was quite the performance!!!

Psyched for UFC 119 tonight. It's coming out of one of the most unhip places in America in Indianapolis, Indiana. I think there are very few places that I will never go to in life. Indianapolis, and Oklahoma City are just two towns for example that I can go to my grave w/o seeing. Sad, but true, right there. Anyway, they have a pretty good card coming out tonight.

As I've said previously, I buy a PPV card based on how deep it is, how many good fights are on the televised portion. You start out w/ Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens, and you got me hooked right there. Guillard has always been explosive, and always been flawed. However he has recussitated his career by starting to train w/ Greg Jackson. I Go with the Young Assassin in this one!

In Sean Sherk vs. Evan Dunham you get one of those classic Old Lions vs. Young Turk duels. I always go with the youngster. Even though Sherk needs a win big, I don't think the former lightweight champ will be able to turn back the clock and shock the world. I also think that you have to look at how Sherk did (not wel) against Frankie Edgar in his last fight. You so totally can not turn back the clock and beat Father time.

Matt Sera vs. Chris Lytle is a great fight. Just a fun popcorn fight. Both guys really fight from opening, to closing bell. They never give up. Lytle is often in fight of the night on the PPV's he is in. He does not always win, but he never gives up. In fact, this is a rematch. They fought each other like 5 years ago. I gotta go w/ "Lights Out" in this one!!!

Of course we have our main event in Frank Mir vs Mirko Cro Cop. Mirko was such a feared dude when he fought in Pride FC in Japan



Since that time, he's shown nothing in the UFC. Zero, zilch nada, niente!!! He looks like a boring, old man. Slow and just not into fighting at all. Frank Mir is coming off a loss to Shane Carwin. He's gotta come back strong, and hungry. I totally pick him to choke out Mirko in Round One!!

Birthday Party was a Success!!

Well, it can now be told how successful my awesome wife, Vicki was in pulling off "the party of the year" up here in Rockaway Township!! Not only did she hold her liquor well, she looked GORGEOUS doing it as well. Look at this groovy picture of my wife. She's drinking a glass of wine, and probably multi tasking at the same time!!!

All of her Hors D'Ouvres were amazing. Her fried ravioli was to die for. It was the perfect mixture of zesty and sweet. Her samosas that the made were awesome as well. So often you will go to a party, and there will be no food there but tons o' alcohol. Well, it certainly can be said that there was both food and drink at my shindig. Thanks Vick for all of your help

The cake was awesome, and very appropriately labelled I think since we just were at week 2 of the NFL Season!! If only the Giants had beaten the Colts in the battle of the Brothers (Peyton vs. Eli Manning) Alas, I think that if Eli and Peyton played each other 10 games in a row, Peyton would win each game. He's just that much better an athlete!! Doesn't make for a fun game to watch, though :( we had it turned off by 9pm, so we could watch the premier of the very awesome "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO!!!! Steve Buscemi has outdone himself again

There's something about the world of the gangster that still resonates, still fascinates. Martin Scorcese described it as the dark side of the American Dream. What if you lived your life as if the rules did not apply to you? It's a fascinating concept that's for sure !!!

Look how delicious this cake was. In fact, I had some helpers who were ready to blow out the candles in case I could not perform my duties in a decent manner.

Thanks to all friends like Rachel M. , Rollie Fingers Rockstar, Kayly N. Belynda and Jarrid, Mike C. and Mary for showing up for an awesome partay. It's great to have friends like you guys around!!

Home, this must be the place

Well, I made it through the birthday. Although we will be celebrating this weekend w/ an awesome shindig at our house. Friends from far and near will be coming to help me give myself a shout out!! The awesomely cool Mary Foy and Kayly S. Newcomer will be coming all the way from Pennsylvania. It's always awesome to see those 2 kids, and I promise that I will not be sooo belligerent about the State of Israel. In fact, I promise to Kayly that I will not even voice my opinion on the Israeli settlement issue (although, you'd be surprised), or anything like that !! I'm that magnamimous a party host!! :)

It's weird saying it, as I usually look for the hole in the silver lining, but this place here on Cherokee Ave. is starting to feel very home-like. Vicki has done a great job (and I'm sure that Tobin helped "manage" the tidying and unpacking!) of getting stuff done while I'm at work. She''s amazing. Just a great wife and Mom. I don't say thank you enough to her. She's the best; I'm just so lucky. Thanks for doing your thang, Vick!!

We've met a few people in the neighborhood also. I'm not saying I'm gonna invite them over for the next UFC PPV yet, however. People seem to go out of their way to say hello and talk to you, and they seem to really mean it. There are alot of little kids in the neighborhood. I plan on trying to get Tobin outside as much as possible so he can meet folks, and form his toddler posse out here. I don't want to diss Marcellus, however!! Belynda's little boy is his main man, and those kids are gonna remain BFFs!! They get on so well together! I hear it's very cute to watch.

Work is going ok. Nothing either too bad, or too great going on. Just one foot in front of the other, really. You can develop a way of just keeping your head down, and getting through tyour work day. I'm not saying I didn't wish that work was a bit mor fulfilling or whatever. It's called work, after all as my Dad would say!! It's a bitter pill to swallow, to realize that, but what can you do?

Well, what you can do, is blog to get your creativity out!! That's just what I'm doing here!!!

It's amazing how quickly UFC has put out a better product than boxing. I caught the last HBO "Boxing After Dark", and it was such a snoozer. I remember the days of Kennedy McKinney versus Marco Antonio Barrera on HBO. Sadly those days are gone . UFC knows how to market their fighters, make them stars, so they are the reason you watch/buy the fights. Somehow, boxing has seemed to get lost along the way.

I'm not sure if it if the lack of true personalities in boxing, or what.. However, it is evident. I dont know about you, but I'd gladly watch Frank Mir fight Mirko Cro Cop rather than Sugar Shane Mosely fight Sergio Mora!! I mean puhleeeeeze. Somebody give Bob Arum a smack, and wake him up. Bob, and Don King need to start working hard to catch up to MMA! They're totally getting left behind in the dust!

40 and still (Fairly) Fabulous!

Jesus Christ, guess I had a birthday yesterday, huh? I hit the big 4-0 yesterday. It was a very mellow, fun time. I'd had alot of trepidation in me as the date approached. However, what can you do, you can't escape it, right? I just have had issues, that I work on in therapy about just where all the time went. I love being a Dad, and a husband; but where did all the years go??

Vicki surprised me 2 days ago by saying "Hey, the diaper bag is really heavy, why don't you help me unload it". Well, dopey me, I thought it truly was heavy (which, hey, it was). So I found my bday present inside!! She got me one of those "Nook" eReaders. I love it!! I think it's so amazing to have a device where you can store up to 1500 books in one place! How about that!

I promptly downloaded my first book, and I'm in the middle of reading "The girl w/ the Dragon Tattoo". Pretty good Scandinavian thriller so far. That Larsson dude had alot of talent! He left us too soon (He died at 50!). In all seriousness, stuff like the Nook opens up reading to a whole different generation. Though I still feel reading is a visceral pleasure at the same time. So, we will see. As long as people keep reading, it's all good, right?

Yesterday at work, my co-workers got me a cake, and sang Happy Birthday. It was a nice touch. Not every workplace does that. So it is nice that they do that. Then Vicki took me to a local place here in Rockaway for dinner called "Potbelly's" Good food was had by all, And the adults had champagne.

So, as I have hit my 40Th year, I can ease back, and work on being a loving , open husband, and a giving Father as well. I will keep on trying to work on being a better human being to Vicki, Tobin and those around me!!!

So Far, So OK

What, you expected me to say everything was great? :) I'm a cynic, c'mon guys, you know me better than that. In all seriousness however, the move is going really ok. The new place is starting to feel like home (A LITTLE BIT). The move started on Wednesday at around 9 a.m. when the movers got to the Madison place. I was immediately put off a little bit when the boss mover told me that some of our stuff was not going to get moved as we had not packed it yet.

I don't know if you've tried moving with a toddler in tow, dear reader, but it's very tiresome and consuming. You just have to set reasonable expectations and just deal. Neither Vicki or I have parents that are right next door (and in some cases, Thank god for that as I would not want my dad next door! LOLOLOLOLOLOL) So you do the best you can.

And in our case, we asked the landlord if we could carry on moving out stuff out on 9/2 The Thursday. They were nice enough to say yes, so we did do that.. Finally, we are all moved out. We're a little stir crazy as we will have no TV or internet access til Thursday!!!! However, the place is starting to feel ok. I'm actually writing this to you from work, as I went in on Labor Day to empty out my email so I could start the work week tomorrow on a clean slate!!!

That's another thing about the move, I needed to take an extra day off (had originally taken Tues and Wed Off), as the move was a nightmare. So, I called out work here at the drug place emporium on Thursday. Needless to say, that did not go over too well w/ the big boss men and boss women. Suddenly, I'm a rebel all over again. Oh well, what can you do. Gotta do it rock n'roll style just Like I always do, that's for sure!!! I'll hang in there as always!

Can you believe that on 9/9, I'm gonna turn 40 years old?? Crazy. Never thought I'd get here. I find myself feeling a little scared, but fairly centered about it. Not too depressed or anything. We shall see how far that feeling continues!!!!

Moving Day!

So, I am sitting here awaiting the moving guys to move us to our new abode. Boxes are packed, trash is bagged, and we are just awaiting the dudes who do it for a living. I can't say that this is a pleasant experience all of our animal s are uptight and know something is up!! I wish I could tell 'em that they are ok. There is something unique about moving, and universal about the experience. No one likes it, no one enjoys it, and it bums everybody out!!

I must give a shout out to my dear wife Vicki for hanging in there and being such a great leader in this endeavor! She's the best. Where ever we end up is home as long as I'm with you and Tobin, babe!!

Grrr Anxiety!!!

I'm a twisting and a turning w/ anxiety right now. It's 12:50 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, and I'm wide awake, and so uncomfortable in my own skin right now. It's not that I'm depressed, because I'm not; I'm actually quite happy. I've just been really tense lately. Everything at home, and at work is going fine. Yet, I feel soooo uncomfortably awake and "UP" right now. It stinks. I don't now what I'm gonna do to get sleepy. This is why people self medicate. Something that I'm not going to do. That I do know.

I blogged about UFC being this past weekend. How incorrect I was! It's THIS weekend!! So, Mary Mary from Philly is coming up Saturday for fun and frolic and anaconda chokes. I soooooo hope Randy Couture decks James Toney!! Fingers crossed. It's truly amazing how MMA has surpassed boxing as a brand nowadays. I can only think of one or two boxers who can now make me watch HBO.

I remember back in the day, when HBO's "Boxing after Dark" started, there were some classic fights! Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Kennedy McKinney MADE me a boxing fan. What a friggin' classic that one was. If I still have my druthers, if we have another baby boy, we're naming him either Marco, or "The Baby Faced Assassin"!!!! I don't know if Vicki will be too happy with that, however.

Nowadays, HBO has a barren boxing scene. They had some boxer from Connecticut on last weekend, and he practically put me to sleep!! He was 'orrible as the British would mispronounce! At least the fighter he was fighting was Haitian, and now lived in Montreal. Now that's a great combo!! The Haitian Canuck actually won the fight, in his home territory too up in Montreal. So good for him, right?

UFC has managed to make their ppvs and specials an "event". I know that watching it live was so very special when we went back in 2007. I would love to go again as well. Maybe that will happen one day. Seeing Chuck Lidell vs. Wanderlei Silva just rocked my world. Still does!!!

Had a great, busy weekend w/ Vicki and Tobin. We are busily preparing for our forced Exodus (hey, we're Son's and Daughter's of Israel, right?) to Rockaway Township. I'm looking forward to the move being over on September first. I'm optimistic that it won't be that painful!!!! We went to a great garage sale that our friends' Amanda and Ray threw up in Passaic County. Even bought some Cd's and a Cat in the Hat doll for Mr. T!!!

So, we've made it to Tuesday, which is halfway to Wednesday, and then the week of work is pretty much done by that point, right??? That's what I keep telling myself!!! Congrats to Lisa and Caleb for their surprise nuptials. They're good kids and I wish 'em well!!!!

It's the weekend, Y'alls!!

I sit here writing this on Thursday night, but for me, 'tis the end of the week!! I have taken Friday off for various moving and shaking strategy type dealings. We're talking 007 type intrigue. Games of baccarat, martinis are gonna be shaken and most definitely not stirred, we are talking literal rock n'roll excitement for my long weekend. Actually, I hope to rest a little, and to go with Vick and Tobe to the playground to watch him run around a little bit. He is growing into SUCH a little young man right now, it's awesome, and scary :) where does all the time go???

We have had the mysterious Auditor dude "A" in from the corporate office. He is very Germanic and very demanding. His reputation preceded him, with his demand for outrageous documentation, and his blood curdling critiques of internal processes'. I had my first run in with him today (it is a good thing he did not see I was checking my gmail account when he walked up) I think I held my own with him in the grand discussion. I am not saying that I am gonna come out of the argument unscathed, but I think he left my desk with a respect that there is a Procurement process and presence at F Parsippany.

Occasionally, it feels good to know what you are talking about! Prior to my arrival 3 years ago (good grief), F had just failed an audit led by Mr. A. It was that failure that created my position, and then led to me getting hired at F. So, in a way I should have taken him out for a beer or something. However, I will merely accept the fact that my answers were good enough for him. It was onlly 15 minutes of discomfort, which in the grand scheme o'things is really nothing!! So Yay Team Ethan!!!!

I'm psyched for UFC 118 that is coming up this weekend for a few reason which I will decribe: First off, you have the rematch between NJ's own Frankie Edgar taking on BJ Penn for the Lightweight Title. While I did not watch Edgar - Penn 1 in Abu Dhabi, I heard it was a tight, close fight that Edgar used his wrestling skill to literally grind out a decision. Sounds like I'm a gonna root for the Jersey Boy against The Prodigy!!!

Also, we got Randy "The Natural" Couture vs. James "Lights Out" Toney. James is making his MMA debut after what sseems like 100,000 years as a boxer. I've had an issue w/ Mr. Lights Out since he beat one of my main men Vassili Jirov on HBO a few years ago. I hope Randy uses his GnP and literally rips James apart. I hope to report that just this happens!! You add Marcus Davis vs. Nate Diaz (who literally can NOT speak English, I swear he has marbles in his mouth! Nick, his brother, is the WORST, btw. Finally Ken Florian vs. Gray Maynard make the UFC entrance into Boston a card that you can not miss!!

Life has been going pretty good. I wish Tobe would get to bed a little earlier, but all in all, I'm very happy. Everyone is healthy, and everyone is working towards the future!! I should have some more news about the future stuff soon!!!!!

Forgot to tell you about the other action going on

It's funny. I usually use this blog as a platform to say "I hate Republicans". Or "professionally I could rock more" or " I love Nate and Kayly Newcomer"! I sometimes forget that real life stuff, not the imaginary life stuff of Coheed and Cambria songs actually happens!! Stuff that you actually could use a blog to vent with. Perhaps I am an airhead, I don't know.

For lack of dramatic buildup, I came down the stairs of our apartment last Saturday. I was gonna rock a bagel run. As The Sincoff's like to bring in breakfast on a groovy Saturday morning. I see this note left by our lovely landlord. In a nutshell, it says something along the lines of "there was a fire alarm that inadvertently went off the other day. The firemen and cops came, but there was nothing wrong. However, zoning laws we were made aware of make it impossible for you (us) to live here anymore".

So, we have to leave this apartment by the end of September! Can you believe those appples or what!!!!!???? If there is anything that I hate more than anything, it is moving. I hate the packing, the purging of stuff, the taping of boxes, the moving of boxes, the sweeping and the preparation. It all sucks. However, I know Bicki and I will pull it together, and make a good move possible. In fact, we are on our way to that already!

We even saw 4 apartments yesterday thru a realtor. 2 in Chatham, and 2 in Rockaway Township. The first (across from Towne Tavern) was a bit too small, and in too industrial an area (but nice). The 2nd Chatham one was an absolute dump. The first Rockaway one was a nice small 2 bedroom house w/ a fenced in yard, but only a washer/dryer, no dishwasher. the final place was a 3 bedroom house, w/a back yard, storage shed, laundry room area, and dishwasher w/ a washer dryer as well. We liked the space, there was even a play area for Tobin.

He kept on running around the place and clapping, saying "yay"!!!!!! I'll keep you posted, but that place looks good.

Having a good weekend otherwise as well. Got my hair cut, and I'm ready to rock the work force tomorrow as our auditor is coming over from Switzerland on Monday. Being the rocking, diligent employee I am, I'm going in on Sunday to prepare! Go me, right??

Other than that. Life is pretty ok. I'm trying some new variations of my meds out, and it seems to be evening out some of the valleys I seem to fall into emotionally. It's always a struggle for me to stay w/ my head above water emotionally. However, with going to weekly therapy appointments, it seems to help me deal w/ the real world, and my place in it a whole lot better!1

Monday Blahs

Well, at least another Monday is in the history books again. It's not that when Monday comes around, I get particularly more depressed than I do any other day of the week. However, I gotta say, there is a certain routine ness, a certain grim return to the norm after a weekend respite that makes it a bit of a bummer.

Factor that in w/ a work place scene that is a work place scene, and you have an equation for being somewhat bummed about Mondays. I'm not talking about being bummed like that girl in San Diego who shot up that school, and was immortalized in "I don't like Monday's" by the cBoomtown Rats. THAT'S a bit extreme!! I do wonder if she realized how famous she was gonna be when she uttered that line!?

Had a groovy weekend w/ the Newcomers and Vicki in Pennsyltucky. My Dad actually reprimanded me for calling the Newcomers "The Newcomers" in that he thought I was characterizing their friendship, and not just referencing their last name!! that's funny! Good one, there Dad!!

Had an "eh" da y at work, and now it's back into the bosom of the old family !! I gotta give a big shout out to the kids at Kashi Foods in that they make a great product! I had one of their frozen lunches today that was amazing, AND we had a pizza that they make for dinner that was awesome as well!! Good stuff!!! Sometimes life has some amazing moments, and you don't even expect it!!!

We are back from Flo-Rida!

The trip was a fantastic success!! Tobin had a blast getting to know his grandpa. His grandpa actually behaved himself!! Tobe ran around like crazy through Dad's apartment, moving everything all over the place. Even the broom and the plunger!! In all seriousness, the first day, we brought him over to the pool that is in my dad's complex. We put Tobin in the water (I'm holding him, of course) he literally goes "weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" w/ this big smile on his face :) He then leaned in to give me Eskimo Kisses. Made my day, man!!

Other highlights of the trip included a trip to the Brevard County Zoo. Tobin got to feed a white tailed deer, and some goats, and he fed Rafiki the Girafe as well!! What a blast!! Vicki is a fantastic groovy wife, and Tobin is becoming quite the little man already! Where is all of the time going ???!?!? The only semi negative thing about the trip (aside from Brock Lesnar getting off the canvas at UFC 116 to tap out Shane Carwin!) were the flights!!

Tobin did really well with certain portions of the flights, and others he just didn't. Luckily, on the flight home, there was a very attractive Indian lady sitting accross the aisle from us. he was very into her! Also, there were some high school girls going on a class trip (I think they were connecting to a flight to the UK out of Newark. He LOOOOOVED THEM!!

In the end, we did get home ok, thankfully. I think I'm just now getting my strength back!1

Finally before I get outta here, I gotta give a shout out to Degrassi on Teen Nick! Season 10 debuted toinght. They are calling it "The Boiling Point" They are gonna run a new episode every night Monday - Friday!! They started it off w/ a special 2 hr premier!! LOOOOVED every moment of it!!!! Spinner and Emma; how 'bout that!!?

Flo-Rida

So the Sincoff posse has been down in the land of the endless buffet since Thursday evening. It took forever to get down here. Continental did not let us have direct flights ( I won 2 gift certificates thru work @ our Christmast party). So, alas, we had to fly to Cleveland, and then transfer planes after waiting for 3 hours to get to Orlando. Poor Tobin was waaaaaaaaaaaaay wore out by the time we got here!!

He has charmed the pants off of everyone, however!!! He has been dishing out his killer smile, and making his eyes twinkle big time. Various young waitresses, old ladies and my Aunt Cynthi are all captivated by his come hither look!! In all seriousness, it's awesome to see him have so much fun. He reall enjoyed the pool as well!!

Dad and I took him to the park today to give Vicki some "down time". It was awesome to see Mr. T just run and run and run! He came home and promptly took a nap! He is a sweetie :) I love him soooooo much. I just wish he did better with his bedtime!!

Just got back from watching UFC 116 w/ the Daddy-o. Bummed that Shane Carwin did not win. However, he should have finished Brock off in the first round!! If you knock some one down, you gots to capitalize!!

Off to the zoo tomorrow!! They feed the alligators on Sundays (well I'm sure they feed them everyday, but tomorrow is open feeding for public viewing!! Can't wait.

Props to Lil' Old Me!

So we celebrated my 2nd Father's Day yesterday. I can honestly say that Vicki outdid herself the entire weekend! I could not ask for a better wife, and partner in crime!! The weekend started by some frantic cleaning on our part. We had our pals Caleb and Lisa over for brunch on Saturday.

I really think we fixed the place up decently. It was totally dealable! Vicki made this amazing breakfast tart that was just to die for!! All in all, it was a great brunch w/ great company. Tobin was quite the little host, and it's amazing to see him thrive!

It's funny, as Sunday was "my day", I got this great card from Vicki and Tobin, time to take a nap, and time to read in peace!! Could you ask for more?? I don't think so!! I try really hard to be a good husband to Vick, and a good dad to Tobin. I hope that I do well. I'm very self conscious of trying to be a good Dad, and it's something i strive for. Tobin certainly seems to have fun with me, so I must be doing something right!!!

I adore that little boy. I would do anything for him, and I just love being his his dad! I look forward to many more Father's Day celebrations w/ V&T down the road!!

What don't kill a nigga, MAKE a nigga

So said the late, great, rather hefty Notorious B.I.G. It's a lyric. Don't think I'm being all racial as Ali G would say. I think it's a appropriate lyric for those of use out there, dealing with ups and downs in life. For with every up, there seems to be a down too. Seems to be a lot of struggles out there!

Things are great at home. I've been taking Tobin to the playground alot and he is loving it!! He had the run of the sandbox yesterday all to himself!! He was sooooooo psyched. I was pretty psyched to watch him! I was also glad to give Vicki some time to herself!! We have also been doing bath time at night, and we're having a blast establishing these Daddy/Son rituals. It's amazing how these things bring a smile to my face.

Yet at the same time, I do struggle w/ dark moments. In fact I was just talking to my therapist about this today. I have a great wife, who is awesome, and sexy and funny... I have this amazing little boy, who can light up my world, and I am amazed at how he is growing... yet there are moments of real depression that I have to surf through.... Crazy, huh?

Crazy stuff has been happening @ the old drug workplace. The Grand Poo Bah of my area, the one who once said I was not a good employee, and gave me a horrible performance review, and made sure I got no bonus for the year suddenly got fired last week for poor performance!!!! Yup. You read it right, and yes, Ma'am that is irony dripping off of this paragraph!!

The Big Big Poo Bah from Europe said so eloquently "this is the last day of the _____" Inserting Grand Poo Bah's name into the space there. I thought it was a weird, and anti climactic end for a guy I could have told 'em was an empty suit some 2.5 years ago when he interviewed me! When you walk into a Poo Bah's office, and he stares (no joke) at your resume w/o saying anything for 4 minutes, and you, the candidate have to begin to interview yourself; you know he's a little meshuggeneh.

I also have to mention my old friend, let's call her S that I have known for a long time. She is a dear, close friend. In fact, I jokingly say that S is my favorite person that I never, ever see! LOL Anyways, I got a call from her the other day. She sadly told me that her husband, let's call him B of several years (10?Plus some dating in college before that) had decided to leave out of the blue.

I will simply say that B's actions have left me really saddened, in a multitude of ways. I don't know what he is looking for... I totally don't dig how he handled it. I KNOW that he can not be looking for someone else more sassier or better looking or kind, for S is all of those attributes and then some. In fact, I quoted the lyric from the title of the blog post to S today! She is hanging tough in the Pacific NW, and I know she will bounce back and overcome this, and be resilient because that is what she is all about!

It wouldn't be a blog post of mine if I did not reference MMA. Does anyone really even care about UFC 115!? What a horrible card! I mean Rich Franklin vs. Chuck Liddell??!? What is this, 2004??? Both of those guys are dinosaurs. Adding Mirko Cro Cop to the card would be great if it were 6 years ago as well. Alas those ships have long since sailed!! Suffice to say, I do not think I will be getting this PPV.

Tobin Sincoff is a rock star!!

Tobin was the center of attention for both Saturday and Sunday. It was such a blast!! Saturday we drove out to Brooklyn for the day. We saw my Aunt Eileen and Uncle Joe. They hadn't seen Tobin since his welcome home party in January of 2009. He loved running around (and around and around) their house!!! Non Stop he was, from the living room, to the dining room to the kitchen, and even up some of the stairs

Now, Joe & Eileen are the 2 closest relatives to my family on my Mom's side. Joe & Mom were 1st cousins, but always acted like brother and sister. Hence Uncle Joe, & Aunt Eileen. I've always been close to them, and their kids. It was Joe being a professor of History that encouraged me to major in History, he really made the subject approachable. Eileen was a life long teacher in the elementary school system of New York City. 2 great people.

Did Tobin love them!! :) He totally rocked Ocean Parkway, and then he had a blast @ Marine Park which was just down the road. He ran around from the moment he got there, til the moment we dragged him out of there (where does he get his energy). As I watched Tobin scale a foam octopuss; It got me thinking,

How come adults search near and far for that kind of elusive happiness?

We never seem to quite grab it, no matter how much good stuff (family, love, wealth, iPad) we have.

We try therapy, medication (legal and illegal), some of us drink, some of us abuse ourselves in other ways. It's fascinating, and makes you think. Perhaps it's the work thing coupled w/ the aging thing; but as we get more stressed in life, it becomes harder for us as adults to find that spiritual foam octopuss. Perhaps we can get back to that state of glee somehow.

Uncle Joe kept on going to Tobin; "Boy, would your Grandma have been crazy about you". Of course, that got me thinking about my Mom, who has been gone a long time. It's true, she would be soooooooooo in love w/ Tobin as her grandson, I smile now thinking of it! She would have made such a fuss over him. I get a kick out of that :)

Sunday was spent brunching w/ Rachel M., Rock Star Rollie & the lovely Susannah in Jersey City. Again, Tobin had the flashbulbs popping, and was the star of the meal!! Susannah and Rachel had their cameras going so fast, it was like some sort of movie premier or something! We laughed, caught up, and no one counted any calories :) Topped that off with a great evening w/ a killer episode of "Breaking Bad"!!!! Life is pretty good.

UFC 113 Results - Ethan doesn't do too badly at picking the winners!!

So, I'm thinking that if I ever decide to leave the purchasing world , I can get one of those jobs on ESPN.com or one of the plethora of MMA website where I can prognosticate my face off!! I think I can go Mens Wearhouse, get myself some suits, and some French Cuff Shirts, and put one of those headset microphone thingys on my face and just rock it!! No one speaks w/ passion on boxing and mma like I do! I think I can just really speak well on the topic. Until Dana White calls , I can only feel confident in my ability while waxing philosphical here!!

I'm soooo ready for my closeup, Mr. Demille!! When is the UFC or Strikeforce gonna call me??? Will it ever happen????? I could so call a fight, and interview the particpants!! Can't you just see me joking w/ Frank Mir, and joshing Jose Aldo??!??!

I picked 2 of the PPV fights correctly, so that was a good thing! Josh Koschek did indeed beat Paul Daley w/ his superior wrestling skills (not to mention Daley's sucker punch after the fight which cost him a job w/ the UFC), and Matt Mitrione did beat the farce (and ratings grabber) named Kimbo Slice. Dana White, being the gangster that he is, immediately fired Kimbo after his losing effort!

Of course, I was way way way waaaaaaaaay wrong in my prediction of the main event!

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua totally dominated and KTFO'd Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida in the very first round!!! It's funny how quickly the tide can turn in the fight game! Just a few weeks ago, people were talking about "The era of the Dragon"!! Now, of course, it's Shogun's Time!!

On the home front, things are groovy. Tobin is just amazing(even though he got cranky at Rob's Bistro last night!)Vicki is one amazing wife, let me tell you, I always have to give her major, major shoutouts all the time!! She is the greatest Mom too. Just the best

Lulu and Fred Sincoff are still 2 dogs w/ attitude!!! They are groovy puppy dogs. They have been under the weather lately in that they got into the garbage, and they ate some bad turkey breast! Poor Lulu has been wimpering for a couple days. She is just now starting to feel like her sassy puppy dog girl self :) At least she is back on the mend. Fred must be a little younger in that he was under the weather for just 24 hrs!

In other fights/MMA news; we have "Strikeforce Heavy Artillery" coming up on Saturday night on Showtime!! It's a fairly okish card w/ some interesting fights/fighters. Andrei Arlovski is fighting, which should be fun (although Vicki said "I could fucking beat him now! Fang mouthpiece or no fang mouthpiece!!") as is Holland's favorite son, Mr. Alistair Overeem. Who, not only is Dutch, but he's black! Which totally rocks! Here's hoping he passes the pre and post fight urinalysis (big steroid rumors) and that he beats the former Sam's Club worker in Bret Rogers!!!

I'd be remiss to not mention we had a rocking picnic w/ Caleb and Lisa!!!!! :) Two groovy new friends! The Sincoff's are rolling "nothin' but 7's!!!"

Shout out to the Mom's!

Well it's been a gorgeous week here in the Lovely Jerz! There's nothing that gets the ol' serotonin pumping like a few days of nothing but sunshine! Vick, Tobin and I were at a wedding in Pennsyltucky last weekend. It was a fun, interesting time. I'm fascinated by this whole line dancing craze, don't get it... cowboy hats... in Pennsylvania..... kerazy. However, Vicki's niece and her hubby are good people so it was groovy to see them and do that. Although I did not agree w/ the pastor preacher dude saying that marriage is only between a man and a woman.... what can ya do? It wouldn't have been my choice of rhetoric in the middle of a fun, joyous moment :)


We have a very special weekend coming up here. Of course, it's Mother's Day on Sunday. It's holidays like these that of course make me very sentimental for my Mom. I can't believe she has been gone for over a decade. At the same time, I'm moving onto a stage in my life where I have a family of my own. She would have been proud to see how great Vicki is (and she is amazing) as a Mom. As they say "the kid can pick 'em"! I certainly picked the Greatest woman in the world to have a child with, and to raise a family with. Vicki, you are my rock, and the anchor of this family!! I love you babes :)

In honor of Mom's Day, I'm gonna let Vicki pick out a menu, and I'm going to cook on Saturday night!! Should be fun. Maybe Mr. T will even go to bed at a reasonable time so we can have a glass of red wine or 7! I'm totally looking forward to Mother's Day. Should be a blast!

Not only is is Mother's Day weekend, but there is a UFC Card, UFC 113 up in one of my favorite towns, Montreal, Quebec Canada. It's a pretty groovy MMA card. Now, I judge a card by how "deep" it is. For example, ok, the headline fight is good, perhaps the co-main event is good, however, are any of the prelim fights on the card good? That is often the deciding factor if I get a PPV or not.

Even though Vicki's boyfriend, Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida is fighting, we will not be getting this PPV as it will interfere w/ the Mom's Day festivities. I just thought I would give you a break down of who I thought would win:


I just thought I'd break down the big fights on the card really quickly:

Lyoto is fighting Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a rematch of their controversial first fight from October of last year.

I thought it wasn't as controversial as they made it out to be. Yes, it was a close decision, and it could have gone either way, however it went to Lyoto. I see Shogun as being the better aggressor, but Machida is the better chess player, point counterpoint. He's a brilliant tactician. So I pick him to win a decision.


As for Josh Koscheck vs. Paul Daley.... two guys who can bang.. and of course, Daley is Black AND British which is a rocking combination...However Koscheck is an excellent wrestler. Kos will win in the 2ND round via Ref stoppage due to GnP.


As for Mr. Kimbo Slice....

Who cares? He seems like a nice, humble guy, but he is the MMA equivalent of car crash material! He has no skill, just charisma and a punch!! So, let him and Matt Mitrione slug it out and go crazy. I'm sure it will be fun, and fascinating in the same way a horror film is cool!

Happy Mother's Day to all the great Moms' out there! Vicki, you are the greatest wife and Mom a guy could ask for!!

Watch out Gina Carano!!!!!

Vicki and Kayly never break their submission holds until the Ref pries 'em off you!!

Never get Kicked by Jose Aldo!!

I have to write about the WEC ppv extravganza. They did a great job in offering their first PPV event. However, the one thing I have issues with, is that they did not do any justice to the brand! WEC was not referenced at all on the PPV. It was only billed as "ALDO vs. FABER"... Now, Dana White can talk all he wants about how he was able to get stuff on Spike and stuff w/o having to piss the Versus Network off.... However, I don't buy it. You don't do your brand justice by burying it like that.


The fights were great!! Mike Brown lost his 2nd fight in a row. He got KTFO'd by Manny Gamburian of all people! Perhaps Mr. Brown should think about doing some nuclear fision research as Manny was never known as a big puncher. Scrappy yes, tough, yes.. but KO puncher no!!!


Aren't you glad you did not have to fight Jose Aldo?! You coulda been Uriajh Faber, and your leg would have looked like this!!



What can be said about Jose Aldo's performance except that who can beat this guy. Especially when Uriajh Faber was considered a world beater, and Aldo went thru him and made it look easy. Take a look at this leg picture:


Vicki was having a girl's weekend in Harrisburg, PA as this event was going on Tobin and I got to spend the entire Saturday into Sunday together!! He's an amazing little boy, so handsome and he makes me proud! He was a very well behaved boy, even though he tried to steal everone's shoes at the sandbox at the playground!!

Genki Sudo not only is the Man in the ring, but he rocks as well!!

Hooray for the weekend, and stuff!

What a banner Friday we've had so far here at the workplace! To begin, Thursdays are the new Fridays. There is nothing better than getting Indian food, and then watching "The First 48" on TV. Man, do I love that show. It's weird, sad, and frustrating to see how easily we kill each other w/ not a thought at all. Check the show out, and see how doggedly these homicide detectives pursue each case.

I had the Tandoori mixed grill and Vicki had a delicious Botti Kebab. We had 2 different kinds of Nan which rocked! Great meal. I even got to take Tobin on a little walk. It's a blast to bond with him like that. I love seeing him stick his bare feets up in the air, and letting the wind hit them, he shrieks w/ glee. It's pretty awesome.

It was a very special lunch time here at the drug place as Vicki and Tobin met me for lunch, and then I showed them off to my office :) THAT was alot of fun! Tobin had a blast running around so much that he passed out when he got home!! I love the attached pic:

It's another big milestone event as we are heading to synagogue for Tobin's naming ceremony. it's a big event, a milestone in any young Jewish boy/girl's life. I'm getting teary eyed thinking about it! I will make sure that you guys get a full report for sure!!

There is a UFC PPV this weekend, but the card does not do wonders for me. BJ Penn, and Anderson Silva are fighting (in separate fights) and they totally dominate their oponents, always. They are such skilled athletes that no one can even come close to them. As a result, I'm gonna abstain from watching this one, and I will get the updates online from one of the MMA websites.

The cool(ish) thing is that this is the first card in Abu Dhabi! How cool is it that the UFC has come to the Middle East?!?! Pretty groovy stuff seeing this sport grow so much. AAAAH, I remember when no one was into mma! Hey, it's cool sometimes when stuff you dig catches on, y'know?

Before I sign off I have to wish a Happy Soon to be Birthday for my gorgeous wife, Vicki. Honey, you are the most amazing, gorgeous, kind, funny, fierce Wife and Mom! I love you tons xoxooxo

Gorgeous Weekend

Has been had here El Casa de Sincoff!! We had 3 full days of sunshine!! How can you beat that? It was just awesome to get Tobin to the playground for 3 full days in a row where he could run around like crazy and just flip out. It was awesome to see him enjoying the sunshine, smiling, and trying to climb the jungle gym!! He gets this great look on his face, where he is totally over whelmed with joy and he is just bursting w/happiness. It makes everything worthwhile when I see that.

It was great to have such a nice weekend after a truly rainy, yucky week; and the horrible stuff that happened the week before that. Sadly, Galen, my father-in-law passed away. He had fought esophageal cancer for 2.5 years or so. He was such a good guy, he always made me laugh. He and Shirley sure made a great daughter, one that I love very much. I'm very thankful to him and his role and shaping Vicki's view of the world! He will be sorely missed!!

It's funny, about my current workplace :) I will not name it anymore, either forwards, or backwards. There seem to be a few co-workers that read my blog, as my address counter tells me. One of my favorite co-workers who is very talky, walked past me the other day and said "Hey one guy talking" or something to that sort..... Hmmmmmmm

It's not that I'm working on anything too crazy here, y'know??

All in all, this weekend ended up being the kind that makes you happy, reaffirms your belief that life is ok, and keeps you hanging on!!

Rain Rain, go away!I

I'm sitting here in Central Pennsylvania listening to the rain come a crashin' down. The wind is howling, and the is shaking. To put it mildly, the weather really sucks outside!! However that will not deter Vicki and I from going to H'Burg tonight, and hanging out w/ the Newcomers!! They are our amigos in crime, and a trip to Vicki's parents is not complete w/o seeing them!!

Hopefully the wind will not blow our car off of the road tonight! I think we're gonna be ok, though!! I'm psyched for some good Pan Asian/Vietnamese cuisine tonight!! Should be a good time. I need the talk to the Newcomers aside from eating dinner w/them. I need 'em to roll up their sleeves, and give me real "war room" like advice!! It'll be much appreciated!

For my friends who follow boxing, you know it is the night of "The Event" I'm a big Manny Pacquiao fan. Joshua Clottey is a tough, durable fighter from Ghana. I've never seen him hurt. However, he's not a spectacular fighter. Manny Pacquiao is a spectacular fighter, one who is truly special to watch!! I think you will see a late round stoppage victory for Manny tonight at the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.

Man, it's raining so much outside that one would think that Captain Ahab, and Moby Dick are gonna float by any moment now!! This "land lubber" is gonna go now, and begin to get ready for tonight!!

So, from Negative Stuff comes positive Stuff

I originally was going to make this post about how certain things suck at the old place of business. However, I'm working on not being so bummed.

There were all these open sales positions opening up at my company. And I was encouraged to apply. I really put myself out there, studied our products, I went out in the field for a day w/ a sales rep and everything. I know I could do that job. I was getting psyched for the interviews for the rep positions. I truly felt that I was an expert in our product knowledge.

Lo and behold, I get the word that they were not interested in pursuing me further! I had spent time a way from my family, trying to make a career transition. I did everything I was encouraged to do; I networked, I schmoozed, and I hustled (and flowed) . Then, they decided "to go in a different direction". My aggressive nature had "turned pepole off". Can ya believe that?? We're talking about sales here!!

However, things are looking up. I'm not only embracing my current role (cos hey, what am I gonna do, right?) things are looking up outside of the place as well, for reasons I can go into later. All is all, I can say that it takes guts to try and make a career change; and it sucks to be rejected by the same people who encouraged you to apply in the first place.

I took a deep breath, looked at Vicki, Tobin and the rest of my family. Everyone is hanging in there. Maybe things are not perfect from a life perspective, but they are pretty darned good. Hey, there's a new UFC next week too!! So things are looking groovy. I still know that I could be the #1 sales guy in the country, btw. I'd would never buy my suits off the rack, either!!

So did everyone have a good Valentines Day????

I had a great one, thanks. It was awesome because Mr. T got to say home for once :) Aunt Susannah came over from Brooklyn, and actually babysat for us!! We went to the new(ish) place, Rob's Bistro that's on Main Street in Madison. The food is just great. Really enjoyed the ambiance. We both had a lamb shank that was just the best!

Not only was the food great, but it was really a great time w/ Vick. Truly romantic. What a wonderful gal I have in my life. 10 years in a relationship, and married for six, and I still get giddy when I think about her!! She still brings the sass, and keeps me in line. Not to mention that it's hot when she references Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira in a joke! I just think it's sexy that my sweet wife can make jokes about an "Anaconda Choke"!!!! That rocks!!!

In all seriousness, to make this a little like a love letter to Vicki, because she deserves it. Seeing how she lights up around Tobin, is just amazing. Her eyes light up when he walks/crawls into the room. She's the most amazing wife/mom/friend that I am very lucky It's been a great long weekend. I'm sad to go back to work tomorrow :(

We watched a ton of great movies this weekend. Albeit, they were ones that Tobin had to be asleep first for us to watch 'em!! There's these 3 films called The Red Riding Trilogy which is sort of about the Yorkshire Ripper case in the UK in the 1970's and 80's. The 3 films intertwine characters and basically tell the story not only of The Ripper, but the decline of England in the 1970's and 80's due to Margaret Thatcher. Truly compelling film making. Gotta give them a shout out for that!!

Anyway, I'm off to get my beauty sleep! I could post something about the Drug place of work, but I'll save that for another time!

It's the Day after the Nor'Easter!

I'm so glad I took the day off. The office did not even have a delayed opening!! They ended up shutting at noon, which is like, stupid. I kept my slippers on all day, watched bad tv, and played w/ Tobin (and Vicki!). It's hard to believe that he is over 14 months old now! My son is getting so big. He has the best smile, and impeccable comedic timing!!

It was good to take the day off, I wasn't really missed here at the old drug place. As it turns out, only 20 people or so showed up for work!! After all, it was a state of emergency!! I mean, you're not supposed to go out when that is the case. The thing about yesterdays' snowstorm was that it got worse as the day went on!! Great day to be watching movies and playing w/ an incredible little boy. Just perfect!

Gotta give a quick shout out to an incredible trio of movies Vick and I just discovered. We're big serial killer genre fans. We discovered the Red Riding Trilogy Films about the Yorkshire Ripper in England in the 1970's and 1980's. Of course, we discovered that the 3 films are based on a quartet of books by David Peace, so we gotta check them out next!! Great films. They are more "faction" then true fact. However they are incredible portraits of an England gasping as the era of Thatcher approaches and consumes itself.

I'll write more later, but I gotta tell you that I got myself a pair of new eyeglasses that are SO awesome!! I look like Elvis Costello with them!!!

London is Burning, And I Live by the River!!

I was having an ordinary sort of Tuesday today. Nothing major happening. Just at work, staring at the old computer screen, making sure time was moving forward, and not backward. I was thinking that nothing out of the ordinary was gonna happen. Then, I made the great decision to go out for lunch. Not only was it a good idea because it broke up the work day a bit, and I had some delicious soup at Atlanta Bread Company (I wonder if Braves Star Chipper Jones has ever eaten at one such establishment?). I heard something about todays date, and how special it is to those of us kids who like the punk rock.

To Begin, The Sex Pistols played their first concert in the USA on this date back in1978. Was it in LA? Boston? Some other major metropolis like Philadelphia you may ask? Nope. It was at some joint called the Great American Music Hall of the South. It was like some shit kicker country place. Way to go Malcolm McClaren w/ booking that concert tour!!

I kid a bit, of course. That "Never Mind the Bollocks" album STILL has a big hold on me. It literally rocks as an album from beginning to end. Of course, things did not end too well for Mr. Sid Vicious, but hey; that truly is punk rock in a way, I guess. hearing that this was the anniversary of the US Tour (Until they had multiple reunion rent show tours in the 90's and 200s, it was THE Pistols Tour), really brought me back to 7th Grade, sitting in my bedroom (and this was 1983/84 mind you), and listening to a dubbed copy of that album on a cassette player.

The other big anniversary today is that "London Calling" by The Clash was released today in 1980. What a great album! I'm not gonna go through the entire track listing or anything. But from the Title Song, to "Jimmy Jazz", to Mick Jones warbling about The Crimean War in a song where he manages to encapsulate The entire fall of the British Empire from a military standpoint, to the hidden gem "Train in Vain"; this album is one of those albums that critics rightfully go crazy for.

I may come off as some old fuddy duddy, but I don't thing very many albums in the past 29 or so years have been as good. (Some Replacements stuff, GnR's debut, Arctic Monkeys debut, maybe). "London Calling" taught me that punk doesn't have to be ALL anger, there can be melody and emotion, and humor (I mean Koka Kola!!) in it as well.

So, Kudos to the late, great Joe Strummer, and the boys, as well as Johnny and Gang!!! Thanks for some great music that still holds up!!!

2010!!

Well Good afternoon, Dear Readers, I'm baaaaaack!

I've taken some time off from writing the old blog, just did not feel all that creatively inspired. However, my therapist, Dr. Dave,has strongly suggested that I return to the creative out put no matter what. So, you will see my posting on here a bit more frequently than once every 4 months!!

Tobin turned 1 on December 4th. It was pretty wild and emotional. We had a little party for him at the indoor playground at the Madison YMCA. Lot's of little kids running and screaming and climbing on things! It was a blast. My Dad flew up from Florida and we did not even fight that much :) He kept his distance, and I kept mine!!

Special shout outs to Rock Star Rollie and Rachel for staying until the "after party" was over!!

Young Mr. Sincoff has matured and developed at an amazing rate. I'm not saying my son is a genius or anything, but he's developed quite the sense of humor!!! It's pretty amazing to come home from a day at work at gnirreF to see my little boy giggling and jumping up an down when he sees me!! It's pretty wonderful.

We celebrated New Years at the lovely Newcomer residence just a couple days ago (I write this blog posting from the in-laws in PA) . A rocking time was had by all. I needed yesterday to recover. I'm feeling slightly better today, more human and less hung overish. Kayly and Nate really know how to throw a party, and are great hosts. Kudos to them, and even thanks to Ethan Newcomer for letting us crash in his room!!

So, all eyes are on the prize so to speak. It's the beginning of 2010. What does the year hold? Well, The Sincoff family machine will struggle on, and we are hanging in there. I plan on sticking to blogging alot more. It is refreshing to be back on here again.