M3000 travel blog: Phoenix Suns

Thursday

Oklahoma City - Past. Present! Future?

Nash Trip #10
March 7-8, 2012

Be gone month of February. You were seriously a pain in my lower abdominal area. For the past weeks, I had a day without heat, a crashed hard drive, a broken cell phone and an illness that I was almost certain was appendicitis. My Mercury wasn't in retrograde. It was disintegrating. But Mercury, you and I, must keep on. We will not let life make a dwarf planet out of us. We've got things to do.

This year the normal Nash/Mavs trip will be separated, but will have a theme all to its own as I'm visiting cities I once lived in, but do not recall. First up, a trip to Oklahoma City to see the Phoenix Suns. Ironically, the Mavs play the Thunder two days before. However, I know now that the decision to not attend that game was for the best for I had a follow-up doctor's appointment the day after that game.

I believe this season will be the last of my Nash/Mavs trips. I will have visited all but two cities on the list of U.S. I want to see. The last being New York and somewhere in Hawaii. (Yes, it's quite shocking that haven't been to New York, yet. ) Throughout the years, I feel like I have been my own Henry Higgins to Eliza Doolittle, and I transformed myself into a traveler leaving me to ask, "What am I to do?" "I'm not fit ~~to be a flower girl~~ for this lifestyle anymore." I've gone to a city on my own; I gone to multiple cities; I've left the country. So the only thing left is to leave the continent; and if I see the Mavs play in Germany next pre-season, my coursework will be complete. Am I certain this will be the last one? No. Although, it seems fitting at the moment.

So I grew up for a couple years in Oklahoma City. Those two years had a profound affect on me for two reasons: 1. We got our dog, Whiskers, here. He was great. 2. My parents enrolled me in a pre-school that taught French. I know only a few words of French now, but I think it helped me figure out how much I loved learning. My favorite story my mom tells of me is how much I loved puzzles when I was little. She said she would buy them, and I would figure them out so quickly. Then she started to buy harder ones, and then I would cry if I couldn't solve them. That sounds like me. I'm working on writing and illustrating some children's books now (terribly, manic pixie/anthropologie girl of me), and this place has something to do with that.

Speaking of children, it's completely heartbreaking when you go to the Oklahoma City Memorial and see the little chairs representing the kids that lost their lives during the bombing. It's so quiet, and the air feels different. If you ever go there, yes, you can walk on the lawn.

If I described Oklahoma City in one word, it would be community. A high school kid walking down the street said to my dad, "Hello, sir. How are you doing today?" What? Where are we? Oh, my dad is with me as my personal guide and chaperone in case I start to feel under the weather again. We went by the old house we used to live in and drove around the neighborhood.

The Oklahoma City Thunder would be my 3rd favorite team in the NBA if I believed in such things. But how can you have three favorite anythings? It seems ridiculous, and it dilutes the actual meaning of favorite. Regardless that team is simply hard not to like. They are also the team "Most Likely To Make Me Yell At My Own Team." "Give Serge Ibaka a head fake."; "You know Nick Collison takes charges."; "You can't leave James Harden alone."; "Don't let Russell Westbrook drive."; "Kevin Durant..." Well, never mind, there's no stopping Kevin Durant.

I definitely recommend seeing a game here. The Thunder fans are great. Things opposite from Dallas: 1. Hardly anyone left the game early 2. The women could talk to the boyfriends about the game (a wonderful change) I can't emphasize enough about how much I love going to road arenas. I'm like a little kid in Disneyland. I can't stop smiling and looking around. At this moment, I don't know how I'm going to break the habit of going to these games as stated earlier. You should have seen my giddiness when I made my Nerf Ball shot on the 1st attempt in the stands as Steve Nash was at pre-game shoot around. (That's right, Steve. You aren't the only sharp shooter in the building.) The rotation was a thing of beauty.

Oddly, the Dallas Mavericks played the Thunder on Monday, I'm here on Wednesday to see the Phoenix Suns play the Thunder and then the Suns go back home to play the Mavs on Thursday. My three favorite teams! Umm, correction, I'm mean my favorite team with one of my favorite players, a team with my other favorite player and then a team with a bunch of players I casually like. There's a difference. The Suns were ready to play. I thought they were going to come away with a victory, but not so much. The second unit couldn't keep up, and there were some costly turnovers and mistakes. Serge Ibaka, you're a man after my own heart with all those block shots and helping people out in the Congo. But I dare not call you my third favorite player, as my dance card is full.

I don't know if Steve will leave the Suns, but if he stays, there needs to be some changes. I don't think it's very fair to make the oldest players on the team do all the heavy lifting. It's not right to ask Steve to run the team, make sure people get their shots and have to compensate for any lack of offensive production. It's also not fair to make Grant Hill guard Kevin Durant, Dirk, Lebron, Blake Griffin and Kobe. Chip in young people. Don't make me have to go all Gisele up in here. Marcin Gortat is very good and much improved. However, Polish Hammer, put the ball in the basket with one blunt strike more instead of little finesse taps. And please don't ever use the zone against OKC again. Dallas has the parts that match up for it, but Phoenix does not. Kevin Durant shot right over the guards and that Blipster James Harden was even more wide open.

All this said, I want Steve to come back to Dallas. We've got young, athletic finishers, he can run the pick and roll with Dirk to his hearts content and our bench is kind of awesome. Not that I'm trying to get rid of anyone on my team. I'm just tired of giving all the Mavericks the evil eye (except for Dirk) when they do something against Steve. Because when Dirk and Steve are on the court together, everyone else comes in third place.

You're up next Mavs. See you on the road.

OKC playlist - (available on Spotify)
Window Are Rolled Down - Amos Lee
King of the World - First Aid
John Saw That Number - Neko Case
The Muse - Laura Marling
Love Interruption - Jack White
Creepin'In - Nora Jones w/Dolly Parton
Oh La La - Brigitte
Sin Wagon - Dixie Chicks
Just a Girl - No Doubt
Friend Crush - Friends
Cameo Lover - Kimbra
I Want You Back - Jackson 5
Every Teardrop is a Waterfall - Coldplay
I'll Take Care Of U - Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie from XX
Losing My Edge - LCD Soundsystem
Use Me - Bill Withers
Mercury - Bloc Party
Somebody That I Used to Know (Bibio Remix) - Gotye w/Kimbra
Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
Options - Gomez
3 R's - Jack Johnson

Saturday

Doing It East Coast Canadian Style - Toronto

Mavs/Nash Trip #9

February 24th - February 28th

Quantum Entanglement is a property of quantum mechanical state of system containing two or more objects where the objects that make up the system are linked in a way that one cannot describe.

I think about this theory from time to time. I always had an appreciation of science as a kid while maintaining a consistent loathing of science fair projects. Before this basketball season started, I thought about changing up my usual trip. I felt things had become a little too predictable and a little too expected. Then there it was on the schedule - a Suns/Mavs back to back in Toronto.

Most scientists would rather apply their theories to atoms and not humans. However, I think it would be cool to be a scientific philosopher. And in my eyes, Quantum Entanglement simply means “going with the flow” and not second guessing everything or looking for the all answers. Maybe that’s why I hated science projects. They’re always looking for the answer to the unknown. But where’s the fun in figuring out all the variables? Sometimes things are as they should be.

As I'm flying in the air on my way to Toronto, the NBA trade deadline is coming to an end, and I have no idea of what is going on. All I know is that Steve better be in Toronto when I wake up Friday morning and the Mavs better be the same as I left them Wednesday night. I was worried for a little bit about that rumors regarding Steve, but then I realized that the Sun's owner likes money and there's no money without Steve. Plus, his coach is his ally and if you trade him, Alvin Gentry would be so sad and depressed that he would stop showing up for practices and then all of a sudden Avery Johnson would be named the new coach of their team. So I figure nothing is going to happen.

On the plane, I got to watch the Parks and Recreation with Detlef Schrempf again. Leslie Knope is my new television role model. She is cute, smart, funny and a great problem solver. Plus, she has a picture of Larry Bird framed in her office. I would only substitute this picture for me.

A few things to recommend when visiting Toronto so far.

1. If you're staying downtown, use the airport express bus. It's a nice, cushy bus with free wi-fi that drops off at nine different locations. Taking a taxi round trip would cost you almost $100 (no kidding). Round trip on the airport express bus is $36.
2. Looking at this view from the condo I rented on airbnb.com is priceless. Hotels were starting around $200 a night with all the taxes here. For less than $100 a night, I got a spacious 700 square feet place downtown with a kitchen near the Air Canada Centre and Union Station.

3. Bags don't fly free to Canada. Sad face.

I've never seen a frozen lake before. Frozen or not a walk by the water is always peaceful. I love the crunching sound the snow makes when you step on it and the feel of my shoes when they make an imprint on the surface. I saw ducks frolicking in the cold water and heard the sound of my nemesis - The Canadian Seagull.

I made myself French toast with strawberries for dinner because when you are on vacation, you can do things like that. However, I forgot to pick up syrup - one of the most Canadian things ever - from the grocery store. I'm blaming that on being distracted by the chip aisle, which contained Onion Ring and Ketchup Doritos (not separate flavors, but mixed together on one chip).

My first basketball game featured Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. This season I have seen approximately 34 minutes of Steve Nash basketball. This will not do. I witnessed a non-competitive game pretty much from the start, which meant no Steve returning at the 7 or 6 minute mark in the 4th quarter. I don't even care if he doesn't score a lot. You should have seen some of his passes. A guy in front of me was yelling for the Raptors to play defense. Dear Sir, once a Steve Nash Pick and Roll is set in motion, the odds of you stopping it are stacked up against you. He's like a human drawing compass. He places the ball in a perfect spot for his teammates to have the best shot possible. Or maybe he's a basketball architect. Anyways, I'm taking this free hat back to the States in consolation that I had to suffer through a blow out game.

Today was a day of should of, could of, would of. I should have used my subway map instead of my printed directions, and I wouldn't have lost my sense of direction in the snowy 29-degree weather. I could of gone to a hockey game tonight, but tickets were sold out and the thought of watching two dudes punch each other in the face during a fight was a serious turnoff. I would of gone to Niagara Falls; however, my tour was canceled last evening due to the weather. Instead I went to Around Again - a vinyl record store and picked up an Art Blakely album and highlight of my day - going to the TIFF museum's Tim Burton exhibit. Drawings, claymation dolls, script ideas and more were on display. They had Johnny Depp's Edward Scissorhands costume along with one of his scissor hand gloves. The man is beyond talented. Sometimes I wish he would do an original movie from a woman's point of view. They are always the unsung heroes of his films especially in The Corpse Bride and Nightmare Before Christmas. He could keep the dynamic of the misunderstood, brooding man who meets and exceeds challenges the same, but make the woman the protagonist. Because let's face it, The Corpse Bride made Victor into the man he became and saved his life (literally and figuratively). Um, a horn just went off outside my window. I think the Maple Leafs just scored.

Every morning that I've waken up, there has been more snow on the ground than the night before. Dallas Michelle when reading the current temperature is 32 degrees would lock herself in her apartment, bundle up in her Snuggie and not leave even to check the mail. Toronto Michelle sees 32 degrees and decides it is warm enough to walk around town. There's things you can't see in the city if you take the subway all the time - the snow-covered sights, the street art in Chinatown and the ridiculously good-looking people of Toronto. Do facials, salon visits and super cool snow boots come with the free health care plan? If so, I'm writing my congressperson.

I went to a vintage store called Courage My Love. I'm guessing I was in the hippie-ish part of town because an Indian man said "Namaste" as I walked by. I picked up this recycled blanket sweater which I think I'm going to wear backwards as a long tunic with a skirt.

My Mavs game was interesting. In the 1st quarter, they were actually down 22 to 3. However, I knew patience was in order because they had a game last night, arrived in Toronto at 3am and had an early start time of 6pm today. Gradually, they found their way back and ended up winning by 18 points. Dirk finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds. (I feel like I should write nice things about Dirk, but trust me, I say them all the time.) Reading the box score you wouldn't know how impressive this win was. They had to be drained mentally and physically. And they toughed it out just like this Texas girl did in the Toronto snow.