The Yellow Duck Effect

We're on day 6 of an 8-day cruise through the Caribbean, and we've managed to wander into a previously undiscovered part of the ship. It's a small arcade where we pass the time by playing a handful of games.

As we are leaving, I notice a claw machine in the corner filled with rubber duckies. Unlike most claw machines, this one is designed so everyone is a winner. You scan your key card to deduct a dollar from your account and get as many attempts as you need to pull out a duck.

M and P went first, each pulling out souvenir duckies. Before I started my turn, I made a pronouncement: given the variety of ducks in the machine, my goal was to make sure I didn't pull out a plain yellow duck. A ninja, baseball, or two-toned duck would all be fine. Just not the vanilla version.

Given the variety of ducks in the machine, this wasn't a hard ask.

I scanned my stateroom card, and the machine came to life. As I tried to position the claw to pick up an interesting specimen, my turn timed out and the claw dropped. You guessed it; it snagged a yellow duck.

I found myself annoyed: how could I snag defeat from the jaws of victory? The game was rigged in my favor, and yet I'd lost. I briefly thought about going back for another, but that seemed wrong; the universe had spoken. I left the arcade (very) mildly annoyed. Thankfully, on a cruise there's always cake around to take my mind off such matters.

The next day, I had a realization: maybe the yellow duck's lack of pizzazz was a feature. Unlike many colored ducks, the basic yellow could serve as a canvas for a Sharpie. In short, a yellow duck was perfect for adding my own customizations. Now I was excited!

Chilling in the observation lounge, I polled our group on what phrases I could add to my previously unloved mallard. They needed to be terse enough to fit, yet meaningful enough to capture our adventure.

After narrowing down the list, we arrived at the following:

Oh, how I love my little yellow ducky; I wouldn't trade it for the most exotic of faux creatures.

I've tried to take this experience to heart. When I get exactly the outcome I was avoiding, I try to delay my dissatisfaction. Give it time; perhaps I've pulled a Yellow Duck.

You might be thinking: wait, that's just looking on the bright side. Not quite. There's nothing active about the Yellow Duck Effect. You don't do anything. You just suspend disappointment and wait. The universe will take care of the rest.

Citi Open 2024 - 3 Hour Edition

[Composed 7/29/2024]

We had no business going to the Citi Open yesterday. Sure, it's our local tournament, and an amazing way to be up close to professional tennis action. Still, we're leaving for a week long adventure with our nieces and nephew today, and we should have been home packing. But, the pull of tennis and a day out with friends was just too much not to at least take in some of the action.

With our niece C in town, there was another level of complication to consider. Would she have the patience to sit through tennis? Would she endure the heat? What about the crowds?

We met our friends Sara and Joe at the venue. Joe, like Shira, is a true fan of the game. Between Shira and Joe, they seem to have an endless appetite for the game. It was Joe who suggested we catch the Paul Jubb vs. Seong Chan Hong match. Joe had seen a memorable Jubb match during Wimbledon, and hoped he'd put on an equally good display against Hong.

Sara, on the other hand, falls into the Ben Simon school of tennis appreciation. Sure, watching a little tennis is nice. But I'm equally happy wandering the grounds, snapping pictures and catching action on the practice courts.

Sarah and Joe also immediately put C at ease. It took me a few extra minutes to arrive at the Jubb/Hong court because I was on parking duty. When I did arrive, I was surprised to see only Shira and Joe there. Turns out, Sara and C were off getting drinks. C's not quick to warm to folks, and I took this as a very good sign.

The Jubb vs Hong match turned out to be C's ideal inauguration to professional tennis. Sitting just a few rows from the action, she could see that there was far more going on than two automatons bashing a ball back and forth. For nearly the entire match, Jubb played from behind, so he had to manage his emotions as he dealt with frustration, missed opportunities and the joy of a few mini-comebacks.

The game turned out to be chalked full of teachable moments for C, and Jubb was the perfect professor. He bashed a tennis ball into the woods out of frustration. He acknowledged his opponent's well played points. He pumped his fist when he had success. Perhaps most importantly, C got to see the final handshake between the two, and that their battle ended after the last point. It was a microcosm a teen was well equipped to appreciate.

Because the matches being played were qualifiers, the crowds were dialed down. Still though, there were plenty of people on the grounds and the excitement of tennis tournament was palpable.

After the Jubb/Hong match, we went in search of ice cream. C and I got two delightful scoops of frozen perfection at the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream truck. At nearly $11 per ice cream, the price was steep. But the quality, quantity and heat of the day made it all a bargain. Shira's single scoop, while cheaper, was tiny and failed this value test.

In the food court tent area, we enjoyed fries and A/C, as Sara, C and I ate. Shira and Joe, no surprise, opted to cook and watch tennis. Good for them.

While on the grounds, we managed to catch Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe and Aryna Sabalenka practicing. Sabelenka's encounter was especially unique as she was being mobbed walking between the court and the player's lounge. She patiently stopped to sign autographs and take selfies with fans. The intimate nature of it all is what makes the Citi Open such a unique and beloved tournament.

We closed out our day by catching most of the first set of Zachary Svajda vs Mitchell Krueger in the main stadium. I nudged Shira that it was time to go, and she reluctantly agreed. Though not before She and Joe had a strategy session about which match to see next. They decided the smart play was to leave the Svajda vs. Krueger match and make their way to court 4. The court 4 match would soon be ending, and that would put Joe in prime position to get whatever seats he wanted for the next match.

Shira lives for this sort of strategic court hopping, and I know it killed her to leave Joe alone to it.

All in all, the 2024 Citi Open was a home run (oh wait, wrong sport). Joe and Shira got a dose of tennis. Sarah and I enjoyed exploring a unique world and C got the perfect introduction to the sport.

10 Things I Learned from A Reunion, Fam Time and 18 Hours of Driving

This past weekend, we hit up Shira's college reunion at the University of Pennsylvania. As we were leaving town, we got word that Shira's Mom had a health emergency, and so we decided to detour to Rochester on our way home to spend some time with her. All told, we completed an 825 mile driving circuit. Shira, to her credit, drove the entire way.

The reunion was great, and it was fun catching up with Shira's college buddies. We saw my Brother, Sister-in-Law and Niece on Saturday night, which was delightful. Shira's Mom is stable after going through a serious procedure. And last night, Shira and I both thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in our own bed.

Here's 10 things I learned from this whirlwind weekend:

1. Do not mess with Taylor Swift. The drive from DC to Philly is usually a sub-3 hour affair. As I type this Google tells me that I can be to Philadelphia in 2 hours and 40 minutes. It took us *6 hours* to get to the City of Brotherly Love last Friday. Six. Hours. Why? Was it a national holiday? A national emergency? Nope, as far as we can tell the traffic was the result of Taylor Swift playing 3 shows in Philadelphia. Amazing.
2. The Massaman & Roti at Chatayee Thai is heavenly. We've already deciced that we'll hit up Chatayee Thai on our next visit to Philly; their vegan menu is just too tasty to resist.
3. Mochi Donuts live up to the hype. Apparently, Mochi Donuts are on trend right now, and the one we picked up from a local Paris Baguette explains why. Yum!
4. Pennsylvaia has a 'Use it or lose it' law. OK, that may be an exaggeration, but it's sort of true. For the first time in all our visits to Pennsylavnia, we noticed the oddly worded and placed plaques on the ground that read 'space within these lines not dedicated.' They are there to ensure the property owner doesn't accidentally give up their rights to a section of their property.
5. The Penn Fine Arts Library was at one point considered an architectural embarrasment. While on campus for Shira's reunion we stepped into the Fisher Fine Arts Library and I was blown away. It's a unique space that makes you feel like you're stepping into a different age. It would have been a fun space to study in. And yet, shortly after it was completed in 1891, new University leadership considered the library's appearance to be an embarrasment and considered 'cloaking it' with another design. Thankfully that didn't happen. It's now a beloved building on campus.
6. My niece's name is carved in stone. I knew that my niece had earned an 'Examplar of Excellence' award while attending Drexel. But this weekend, while kibitzing with her, I learned that along with the award, she also got a brick etched with her name on it on campus. Next reunion, we'll have to detour from the Penn campus over to Drexel so I can see her brick in person. I'm proud of you, M!
7. If you have a craving for a Hebrew National Hot Dog at 9:00am on a Sunday, Reading Terminal Market has you covered. Shira enjoyed her breakfast hot dog. The pupusas and hot chocolate I ordered from El Merkury were outstanding.
8. The Pennsylvania Railroad Suburban Station has 'suburban' in its name because trains arrived there from the suburbs. As explained:

   Broad Street Suburban Station opened at 16th Street and Pennsylvania Boulevard on Sept. 28, 1930.
   
   It was the city’s terminus for suburban electric trains operated by Pennsylvania Railroad. Instead of being named for where the trains ended up, it was named for where the trains arrived from.
   

9. Checking 'the available for pick up' option at target.com is a great way to optimize emergency gear pick up on the road. While I had my laptop with me this trip, I found myself heading to Rochester with both a low battery and no car-friendly inverter to charge my laptop while driving. An easy solution was to duck off the highway and pick up such an inverter. But, should we stop at Walmart, Target or Best Buy? And which location would have just the item I was looking for? We guessed that a random Target would have what I needed, and they did (whoo!). I realized as we drove up to the store that I could have used the 'available for pickup' option to take the guess work out of the entire process.
10. Our car is suprisingly chill about running out of gas. Leaving Rochester, after a long day of driving and emotional stop in Rochester, our minds were apparently not on our gas guage. At one point, I looked over and asked Shira: why is the car nudging us to put fuel in our tank? Fortunately, at the moment we noticed we were on E, there was an exit which took us to a gas station in short order. Our Mazda CX-5 starts chiming if you don't immediately get your seatbelt on while turning the vehicle on. And yet, it's chill about running out of gas.