Giving Thanks

Am I going for 100? Possibly. But it occurred to me that one of the posts I didn't write this year was my annual Thanksgiving Day post where I enumerate the things I'm thankful for.

These lists are a bit of a hodgepodge. The Mets are the driving force, but there's a mix of personal, professional, and musical stuff in there as well. What would such a list look like this year? Here's a quick crash course.

1. Saturdays at Citi Field

As disappointing as the 2010 season ultimately was, some of my fondest memories of going out to the ballpark come from 2010.

I probably went to 12-15 games this year, not a mind blowing total by any means, but a good number of those were Saturday games with large groups (there were a few Friday night games mixed in as well).

Group outings to Citi Field might be my favorite thing in the world. You get a group of people together who like to eat, drink, watch baseball (or not), and be merry, and you've got a killer combination in my mind.

For all the grief it takes from fans, it's Citi Field that makes these wonderful days possible. I loved Shea Stadium, but it wasn't the kind of place that a non-baseball lover would enjoy. Citi Field is.

When I think of the baseball season ahead, no small measure of my excitement is wrapped up in the vision of those sun-soaked days at the ballpark in the company of friends, food, drink, and the Mets.

2. Mike Pelfrey's Few Shining Months

I mean, obviously Pelfrey's early season dominance didn't last, but while it was going it was glorious. Go back to that game against San Diego in May or June when he tossed 9 innings of 1-run ball, and how awesome it was when he came out for the 9th.

It came crashing down pretty fast for the Pelf Man in the second half of the season, when he went 5-8 (finishing the year 15-9), but for the flashes of brilliance he showed in the early and late parts of the season, and the glimmer of hope it provides, I'm thankful.

3. HBS

I devoted an entire post to this recently, so I won't belabor the point. Suffice it to say that I couldn't be more thrilled with how the business school process concluded.
I devoted significant parts of two years to applying to b-school, and for better or worse I had to come to a point where none of the other schools were nearly as attractive to me as Harvard.

That's not because of the name or the ranking or any of the other superficial factors, that's because when I got there it just felt right, everything from the classroom environment to the surrounding campus. The feeling was a lot like when I first stepped foot in Williamstown some 10 years ago and I just knew that was the place for me.

4. The Giants and Rangers

Another one I won't belabor. All that needs to be said is THANK GOD we didn't have a redux of the Bad Meets Evil World Series (though it sure looks like "Bad" is on its way to another Fall Classic in 2011).

Also, though I'm sure the joke was done to death on the West Coast, the few times I saw "The Machine" I laughed pretty hysterically, so thank you, Brian Wilson, for that.

5. Sundays at Sidebar

Talk about a life-changer. Ever since we made the move from the Village Pourhouse to Sidebar for football, Sundays have become possibly my favorite day of the offseason.

Sidebar's this sports bar on 15th and Irving where the screens are too small but the atmosphere is just right. They always draw a big crowd but we have a table reserved each week so it's no problem from that perspective.

Perhaps the best part is the opportunity it provides to reconnect with Sip and this group of 22-23 year old bros (a friend's younger brother and his group of friends).

These days out at Sidebar, pricey as they are, are the winter equivalent of Saturdays at Citi Field. Good times, good people, good music and football. It's almost enough to make you not care that the Giants suck.

6. New Knicks!

Sure they've lost five of their last seven games after their torrid winning streak, but most of those losses have come against very good teams in games that were mostly competitive.

They lost to the Celtics at the buzzer and played the Heat and Magic relatively close (granted, the first game against Miami turned into a blowout, but it was a great game through the first half). It's a far cry from seasons past where the Knicks didn't even belong on the same court as the NBA's elite.

They seem a lock for a playoff spot, which will be fun to see for the first time in years. Beyond that, they're just such a likeable team. Amar'e Stoudemire, Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari (aka Birdman), @thereallandryfields, Wilson Chandler -- just a great group. Sometimes I love Ronny Turiaf so much it hurts.

Anyway, it's good to have 'em back. The city just has a different energy when the Knicks are good, and it's exciting to have that again.

7. "Phrazes for the Young" by Julian Casablancas; "Contra" by Vampire Weekend; "Life of Leisure" by Washed Out

The three albums that I rocked the shit out of this year, the first two of which are hardly a surprise. As longtime readers are aware, I sweat The Strokes pretty hard, so when their lead singer released his first solo album late last year, I was all over it.

Only 8 songs long, the album is short and sweet, but of those 8 songs, four are terrific, two ("11th Dimension", "Tourist") are very good, and two ("Ludlow Street" and "Four Chords of the Apocalypse") I go back and forth on.

The four standouts are "Left and Right in the Dark", "River of Brakelights", "Glass", and "Out of the Blue". Check it out.

Next up was Vampire Weekend's sophomore album, Contra. More dynamic and consistent than their (also excellent) debut, Contra is a pleasure virtually start to finish.

Aside from, of all things, the lead single ("Cousins"), this album delivers at all points -- "Giving Up the Gun", "Taxi Cab", "California English", "White Sky", and the terrific album close "I Think Ur a Contra" are my personal favorites, but virtually any song could take the cake on a given day.

The final album on the list above is the only truly "new" addition to my musical palette. Somewhere along the way I realized that any song that was broadly evocative of hot and hazy summer days was right up my alley.

Enter the Chillwave movement, of which Washed Out is my favorite act. "Life of Leisure" is an EP of only six songs, but put it on in the background of a warm summer day and try not to love life. Highlight tracks are "New Theory" and "Feel It All Around". Download them. I promise you you'll be glad you did.

(Other Chillwave songs to check out are "Hammocks" by Millionyoung, "Sunburn" by Pearl Harbor, and "Stilyagi" by Puro Instinct. The band names are weird, alright? Just go with it.)

8. Readers Like You

It's the same coda every year. Readers like you are a big part of the reason we're I'm still at this. Thanks for your continued support, and here's to another great year of following the Mets and life in 2011.

- A.F.O.M.G.