Twentysomething in Buffalo

PARK THIS!

I live downtown. As I've mentioned before, it has its pluses and minuses.

One of the biggest minuses has been parking. When I lived in a situation where parking on the street was the only option, I had my car stolen (three times, seriously), broken into (twice, though that was in a lot) and, most costly, gotten ticketed numerous times. And I'm not joking about that being the most costly - after adding up the fees, parking tickets have cost me more money than having my car repaired three times and the inconvenience of being without a vehicle for a few days.

And I'm not the only one with problems - almost everyone I know who lives downtown (with the exception of those with lot access, which I have now) has had a little orange envelope on their window at least once.

I used to think those were just the breaks with living in an urban neighborhood, but according to my buddy and regular Twentysomething commenter Sean the Archer, City of Buffalo tickets are more like a ticket for admission than an admonishment for breaking the rules.

Check this tip:

I have been a resident here for 3 years since the Holling Press building was converted into living spaces.

I am writing in concern to the recent ticketing practices of the Buffalo Police Department along Washington Street and Huron Street, respectively. Since the first week of December, many of the residents of my building, as well as adjacent buildings, have been getting parking violation tickets in the evening and early mornings (when the meters are off). The violation expressed on the tickets is that it is BUS ROUTE (No Parking 1:30am-7am 11/15-4/1). There are absolutely NO signs that express this information anywhere along either street. The only signs visible are the standard green parking signs stating the cost per time and the operating hours. I was out this morning and counted over 10 cars ticketed for this violation on both sides of the street along Washington St. and Huron St. These tickets are generally issued on Thursday and Friday in the early morning (12am-6am).

I have to agree with Sean - it is sometimes impossible to know if you're parking in an illegal spot. Sure, fire hydrants, bus stops and meters are obviously marked, but outside of that, where can you park?

I've been ticketed on curb spaces with no signs, driveways, meter, hydrants or any other obstacles anywhere near me. I've been ticketed at a broken meters where, no joke, the adjacent meters on BOTH sides were busted. I understand there are rules, but where are they? A cursory look at the city website contained no parking rules, and the seasonal rules Sean mentions aren't marked anywhere either.

What can we do? I think the City parking office needs to do a better job informing downtown parkers as to where is safe, and where it isn't safe, to park.

Anyone else have these problems?

~Evan Parker Pierce

Don't be SAD, it's all relative.

Take a peak at the weather forecast for the next week or so. Pretty bleak and soggy, right?

Well don't let Seasonal Affective Disorder get you down. After a year when we saw Florida get socked (again) by hurricanes, New Orleans (still) recovering from Katrina and Southern California burn, I can't help but welcome our grey, wet weather. My heart goes out to those who lost everything, seriously. But I welcome them to rethink their relocation - I wouldn't trade my hometown (okay...region) for their sunny, warm, oceanfront climes.

Big tip of the hat to the Buffalo News archives via  Bill Rapaport's Buffalo Restaurant Guide

~Evan Parker Pierce

Rehabilitating Major League Baseball

Last night while out with friends, I got into a conversation about the New York Yankees (one of my absolute favorite topics) with a Boston Red Sox fan. There is very little that BoSox and Bombers fans agree on, but I found myself focusing more on the total mess the sport is in.

  I am disappointed, disgusted, disgruntled, and discouraged at just how disgraceful some of these "professional" athletes are. Not only do I think steroid use is equivalent to cheating, I also think most of these players are spoiled brats.

A few years ago, I got wrapped into the hysteria of Jose Canseco's book "Juiced." The book was a page-turner, and I recommend it to any baseball fan. Reading the list of Major League players recently named in the Mitchell Report felt like deja vu.

Looking at players like Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds, they might as well have "steroids" tattooed to their forehead. But Eric Gagne? Roger Clemens? David Justice? What a let down!

I also am fed up with the whining. After his antics during the World Series, I look at A-Rod like a money-hungry, selfish baby. His performance on "60 Minutes" with Katie Couric should be nominated for an Oscar.

It seems like the entire sport could use rehab.

Even though I feel like totally giving up on Major League Baseball, I look at players like Ichiro Suzuki, David Wright, Jorge Posada, and my personal favorite, Hideki Matsui, and I realize that maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel, or at least some players out there who rely on actual talent and love of game over paychecks and publicity.

- Kelly Boquard

To-Do List: Holiday Lull-breakers

When you're making your weekend (and Post-Holiday!) plans, it's easy to fall back on the typical Buffalo Twentysomething stand-by of going out and getting smashed at some bar, but here are some quick tips of stuff that's worth checking out this weekend.

Polar Bear Club
w/ Sakes Alive!!
Heavy Hearted
White York
Dec. 26 (TONIGHT!), 8pm, Mohawk Place. $8

Polar Bear Club is from my hometown, Rochester. No I don't know them. I honestly didn't know where they were from when I heard them, so imagine my pride when I realized a band I really like knows what a garbage plate is. I mean, look at that picture - I MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN THAT SAME KITCHEN AT SOME POINT DRINKING BEERS MAYBE!

As for their sound? Hot Water Music is the most common comparison based on their vocals, but they're rough enough to fit in with Buffalo's excellent hardcore scene.

stacy*clark
w/ Standing Audition
Michael DeSanto
Thursday, Dec. 27, 8pm, Staples on Allen. $5

I know hardcore isn't everyone's cup, but stacy*clark is a show EVERYONE should check out. Stacy grew up in Buffalo (I think she's a Grand Island alum), but aside from supporting a homegrown product, you need to listen to her music. She's a singer song-writer in the vein of Feist or Regina Spektor, but I think she's a bit more varied - some songs play with production and electronics to sound like Phoenix, but she's got excellent straight-up rock tracks too. She's got pipes and good songs, and for those of you that won't get off the couch for a show unless they've been on TV, she's been a VJ on MTV Hits and MTV uses her songs on "engaged and underaged."

Really, go to this show.

-- Evan Parker Pierce

Listen to Frosty

In the last-minute shopping frenzy, it's easy to forget what the Christmas season is really about. As cheesy as it sounds, we could all benefit from watching a few of the Original Television Christmas Classics like "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" or "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town." The cartoon snowman with the top hat always gives the best advice and get this - it's free.

For most people, the task of filling floor space underneath the tree does little to help spread happiness and holiday cheer. If anything, standing in long lines at the mall, fighting for a parking space, and depleting one's bank account only creates more Scrooges.

For those of you whose parents were the ones fighting for that Christmas toy, like Tickle-Me-Elmo or a Furby pet, you might need to watch a few more Christmas movies to remind yourself what Christmas really means.

A relative of mine celebrates Christmas a little bit different than most of us. On Christmas morning, the children wake up to find only one gift underneath the tree. This is not a family that is financially challenged. They say their twin boys, 7 years old now, have never complained about a one-gift Christmas because they have been taught that Christmas about more than presents.

So while you rip open the presents on Christmas morning, take a break to appreciate the cousins who come home for the holidays, the moms and dads who stress over getting YOU the perfect gifts, and especially the grandparents who always succeed at buying the WRONG gifts. Remember that the most important things in life don't sit under the tree, they sit around it.

-Lauren Mariacher 

Don't drink egg nog and wine at the same time

Today's post title is only a warning that I found to be exceedingly true when my roommate and I threw our "turtlenecks and wine" (here's a link to the flyer) holiday party. Let's just say the experience was....curdling.

But that brings me to this: go to any good holiday parties this year? I know there's still a weekend left for proper Christmas parties, but I'm sure many of you have been to a few this year. I've already had one office party and then my own party at my apartment (like I said before, a Turtlenecks & Wine Party, though no one rocked it quite like these folks)

After the holiday, however I still have my other job's holiday party - we're doing karaoke at King's Court. We're having a competition for best performance. I have a feeling my version of Neil Diamond's "Cracklin' Rose" will go over real well, especially when I dedicate it to my friend Deb.

But how were/are some of your holiday parties/New Year's parties? Are you doing the theme thing?

Canadians prefer tailgating to luxury suites

Sorry this is up a day later than it should, but it took me a day to recover from my Bills-victory induced hangover.

Anyway, I went to Sunday's Bills-Dolphins game - my first of the year - and of course had a blast. Even though I - and my colleagues - have voiced concern over Bills fan behavior, I'm pleased to say that from tailgating in the Fieldhouse lot to hollerin' and high-fiving in section 126, I saw no one do anything particularly heinous. Outside of seeing a bunch of green security jackets converge on a 300-level section from a distance and the sad-sack Miami fan behind me puke a pile of hot dogs and beer, it was appropriately and safely rowdy.

One of my favorite parts of tailgating and the game is wandering and meeting people - you meet a lot of fun people that way. At this particular game, however, I met a large number Canadian fans, and not just St. Catharine's and Niagara Falls folk. Many, and I mean at least 20 or so that I talked to, were from Toronto, which invariably led to me asking an obvious question: Are they hoping the Bills move to Toronto?

The answer to my unscientific and informal poll surprised me - not a single Torontonian wants the Bills to move to Toronto. In fact, several don't want the Bills to even split home games between the two cities.

The common explanation? Practicality.

Here are some of the comments they made:
"Where can you tailgate in Toronto?"
"Where are they gonna play, the Skydome?"
"All you'll be able to do is take the train to the game, blow your money at the bars, then go home."
"I am not going to Scarborough for a game."

Now, I'm not going to pretend the above unattributed comments are the voice of all Torontonians, as these are folk clearly willing to drive to Buffalo, but it makes you think: would moving to Toronto really save a team like the Bills?

Consider:
A) The Skydome is too small to be a regular NFL host.
B) Like densely populated New York City, there's no real reasonable place to build an NFL-sized stadium within the city.
C) Tailgating = Heaven
D) Look at this list. It's rankings of team brand success - basically how successful individual teams are in their markets. Look where the Toronto Raptors (who are good) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (who are terrible) rank. Look where the Buffalo teams (both currently mediocre) rank. Well-run teams can succeed in smallish markets. Poorly (LEAFS) run (LEAFS) teams (LEAFS) in big-money cities live off a cornered market

And anyway, why would any NFL team build a stadium in a place like Scarborough, a sprawl-created suburb away from their city's central core? That would be a mistake, right? (MULLIGAN!)

PS- I know, Scarborough is technically a part of Toronto proper, but they have a regional government. If Buffalo played by their rules, UB's North Campus, the Galleria Mall and yes, the Ralph would be technically within the City of Buffalo.

The Slippery Slope of Talking Politics

If you've been reading my previous blogs, you may know that I am a recent registered voter, which has opened my eyes a bit more to the pros and cons of politics and political candidates.

By "opened my eyes" I mean that I'm paying more attention to the news, and when engaging in political conversations, I'm putting my two cents in.

Lately, though, I've been keeping my two cents to myself. It's not because I don't want to add my opinions on what I think of the war in Iraq, or of our newly elected county executive, or my opinion on illegal immigrants. Trust me, I'm not exactly the kind of person who usually bites their tongue on these types of matters.

But I've been keeping quiet because it seems that no matter what side you're on, any sort of "friendly debate" turns completely sour almost immediately. I feel like the gap on open-minded political issues is getting smaller and smaller as campaigning and war issues progress further and further.

I am a very liberal person, but that certainly doesn't mean I don't have some conservative views. I have friends and family members who are just the opposite. Trying to engage in conversation about current affairs almost always leads to eye rolling, verbal bullying and frustration.

In the end I realize that not only have I had no impact whatsoever on anyone's opinion, but that everyone (including me) is left feeling annoyed. This seems to be coming from every side.

This is discouraging because I think political debates can be fun and can really open your eyes to different perspectives on issues. Now I feel like I need to walk on eggshells whenever I hear an issue come up, which contradicts the purpose of politics to begin with.

I realize that liberals and conservatives won't always see eye to eye, but I'm getting a little sick of dealing with the thin-ice conversation downers, petty stereotyping, and the "you shouldn't talk politics" excuse.

- Kelly Boquard

The winter spirit

Saturday night on Chippewa looked like any other Saturday night on Chippewa.

Buffalo is known for its "hard core" winter attitude, but it's not until you see girls slipping around in their high heels and miniskirts to various bars on the Chip Strip that you realize the statement holds true for the Buffalo party crowd as well. You can call them unwise, under-dressed and unprepared, but they are troopers all the same.

They don't let blizzards change their attitude or their outfits; Saturdays serve one purpose: enjoying youth, whether you're in it or past it.

Not even the frigid walk to and from the Franklin Street parking ramp stops these girls from covering up. I've heard it all too many times, "You don't need a jacket. Who wants to dance in a jacket? Besides, no one gets sick from the cold." And the jacket-less girls kept on coming Saturday, just like the snowflakes that coated the streets of downtown Buffalo.

They may not be weather-wise, but they're fun. They don't let the cold keep them in or the bouncers keep them out. They can't bring themselves to pull an all-nighter for a term paper, but they'd gladly sacrifice sleep for a night of dancing. They're illogical and unreasonable, but they've earned their right as Buffalo's party girls.

-- Lauren Mariacher

Keep Alert During the Holidays

Think about it.: how many personal items do you keep in your purse or wallet? License, credit cards, bank cards, Social Security card, health insurance cards, etc. etc. Well, take it from me, think twice about what you're actually carrying around with you.

On Friday night I had my purse stolen by another female downtown. I didn't leave the purse somewhere carelessly; it was sitting right in front of me. Along with the purse, she took all my identification, along with my cell phone.

Not only is canceling my accounts, running around from town to town and making a ridiculous number of phone calls a huge pain in the neck, I feel completely violated by the person who had the nerve to do this. My first reaction was to flip out and start using every curse word I could think of, but that was getting me nowhere.

Now that I have calmed down a bit, I have taken all the steps necessary to protect myself. I have red flagged my accounts for fraud, filed a police report, and filled out numerous forms.

When talking to people about what happened to me, it's astonishing ti find out how many of them carry most of their confidential paperwork and I.D. cards with them - everything they need for daily tasks all kept in one place.

As I go through this grueling process of getting things back to normal, if I could offer any advice it would be to carry with you only what you absolutely need. If this ever happens to you, file a police report, red flag your accounts (Equifax), and try to maintain some sanity.

- Kelly Boquard