U2

Like most other people, I'm a big fan of music. I probably value my iPod more than my cell phone. I've been a fan of U2 for years and have always wanted to see them live. Some friends and I bought our tickets months ago and the day finally arrived to see them perform at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, home of the New England Patriots. Even though I have been a lifelong Patriots fan, this was my first time ever seeing Gillette Stadium, too! (or the old Foxboro Stadium, for that matter).

The traffic down to Foxboro was horrendous - the last 10 miles or so probably took us about an hour. After playing $40 (!!!) for parking and walking 15 minutes to the stadium, we arrived just before U2 came on stage. They played alot of their newer stuff to start, which, unfortunately, I didn't know that well, but towards the end of their performance they played more of there older (better?) songs. Unfortunately, the horror of the commute to the stadium was more than enough persuasion to prompt us to leave the concert early to avoid the gridlock that would inevitable follow. That said, we missed the last hour or so of the concert, but did avoid the frustration of post-concert traffic.

All in all it was a good concert even though much of the music sounded echoey (did I just make up that word?), but maybe that was just a result of our nose-bleed seats!

Some pictures:


Our tickets!


Anita, Carolina, and me.


Everybody, including random guy on the right.


Wendy, Rene, Lumina.


U2's 40 million dollar stage!

Red Sox game #3

Third time is a charm, right?

Way back in April (before that?) my friend Scott told me of a friend of his that has season tickets to the Red Sox. Even the most devoted fans have trouble attending all the Red Sox home games, so each year this season ticket holder sells some of his tickets to close friends and family for face value. Even "face value" can get pricey in these parts, but splurging once a year won't hurt, especially when showing your devotion to the Sox, right?

Accompanying Scott and I were our better half's (halves?) Carolina and Melissa. The seats were the best I ever had - just off of home plate about 10 rows back.

Oh, and for what it's worth...I have been to three Red Sox games this year and the Red Sox are 3-0 in those games! Maybe I should attend more games!


Carolina, me, Scott, Melissa.

Big Papi!

Family Trip to Japan (minus me)

While I took an earlier trip to Japan at the beginning of August, my three sisters (and their families) visited Japan in September when the weather would be slightly cooler and things wouldn't be so hectic at my grandfather's place. Originally, I was planning on going with my sisters, but after being asked to play tour guide a few months back, I decided to go a few weeks early, thus missing a rare opportunity to get the entire family together. My trip was more of the touristy/travel stuff, but I my sisters' trip was more family focused, although they did do their share of sightseeing as well.

Even though I was not there for this particular set of adventures, I thought it would be nice to share some photos of their excursions in Japan was well as general family time photos. Plus, I'm always looking for reasons to post pictures of my cute nieces, Maya and Lucy. Most of these pictures were taken directly from Elaine's blog, so I apologize if they are heavy towards the Elaine, Mike, and Maya.

Pictures, in no particular order:



Emily and Jared



Proud mothers: Elaine with Maya, Annie with Lucy.



Walking down the street in the little village of Nozumi.

Lucy

Elaine and Maya chatting through Skype with Dada (Mike) before he flew to Japan to meet up with them.

Where my parents are staying, my grandfather has one car. Since alot of the family would be in town for a few weeks, my grandfather bought another car for my parents so it would be easier to haul everyone around. Definitely not the biggest car on the lot, apparently.

My two nieces, Mayumi and Lucy.

Ojii-chan (My grandfather) in one of his rare trips outside the house these days.

(My) mom and baby Lucy.

Part of the Sturgis clan trying to find their way around Tokyo.

The Dayton Family (Annie, Brandon, and Lucy) on the Shinkansen on their way to visit my mom and dad.

My mom and Maya.

Forget the shrine, check out these pebbles!

Maya has a fascination with fish!

Maya at the fish market.

My mom cutting up some sashimi. Believe it or not, all three of my brother's in law love sushi and sashimi! Surprisingly, my mom who is 100% japanese doesn't like either one of them.

Maya helping Aunt Emily perpare dinner.

Lucy on the beach with Uncle Jared and Maya in the background.

Uncle Jared and Maya.

My dad teaches english part-time at a nearby high school and brought Elaine, Mike, and Maya in for a day. Here, Maya and Mike pass time in calligraphy class.

Proud mother Annie with Lucy.

When my dad brought Maya around the school, she was treated like celebrity. It's not too often you see a cute baby with blond hair and blue eyes in your school.

Maya tending to the gravesite of my grandmother who passed away some 11 years ago.

Great-grandfather and great-grand-daughter.

BYU vs. Oklahoma football game

After last season I've learned to be very cautious of what I say about BYU football in fear of jinxing their season. Of course, I could only hope that what I say or do had any bearing on the outcomes of their games.

It was hard to ignore the hype built around the BYU vs. Oklahoma football game. It was Saturday night's featured game on ESPN and one of a small handful of football games that kicked off the college football season. Oklahoma was favored by 22 points. That was enough to motivate BYU.

I was on a mini-vacation to Martha's Vineyard and dragged Carolina along with me to a few local hot spots that would show the game. She knew I was a fan of BYU football, but never realized to what extent until the game started. I tried my best to include her in my world during the duration of the game, but she quickly realized that her questions and comments would most likely have to wait for a commercial break if it elicited a response. Unfortunately, that will probably be the last time she watches a BYU football game with me. Sigh.

If you're not a college football fan, the details of the game won't matter. If you are a college football fan, you already know the outcome...BYU 14, Oklahoma 13.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/stewart_mandel/09/06/mandel.overtime/index.html?eref=sihpT1



Coach Bronco Mendenhall celebrates after a BYU goal-line stand.


Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford was knocked out of the game right before the second half, but BYU was already dominating statistically even before 2008's Heisman Trophy winner left with a sprained shoulder.


Max Hall ended up with Player of the Week honors and catapulted himself into Heisman contention after passing for 326 yards and 2 touchdowns.

BYU won despite 4 turnovers!

BYU celebrates it 4th quarter touchdown, giving them the edge, 14-13.

Martha's Vineyard

Of the two main islands that sit off of Cape Cod, I had been to Nantucket about 6 years ago with my good friend, Hayley, but I had yet to see Martha's Vineyard until last weekend. A group of six of us rented a room at a hostel for a night and ventured for much of the time without a plan. We rented scooters for the duration which made for easy (but not necessarily safe) travel throughout the island. We relaxed on the beach, ate at local restaurants/shops, and did alot of window shopping


On the 45 minute ferry ride to Martha's Vineyard



On the ferry.

Me and Joe showing off our bellies. Joe wins!

At a local sandwich shop. My hands were full so instead of carrying my moped helmet, it was just easier to wear it.

Not exactly tropical, but the water was actually pretty nice once you got in.

Our shared room in the hostel.

Trying to put on my sweatshirt, but forgetting to realize that I was still wearing my helmet.

Mopeds!

Carolina and I by the gingerbread houses.