Isaac has been a bit over the top these past days - lots of yelling and pointing and general unreasonableness. Mondo Tantrums. And yet he also maintains a lot of sweetness - it's VERY clear that he's in the middle of some brain development and is having some trouble adjusting. This morning, he climbed into bed with us (after sleeping through the night....?) and systematically ran through is favorite words: Mamma, Dadda, Bella, Airplane, Wawa, Baba, Dis, moremore, dar (car), duk (truck), WOOF, Meow... and so on. It was sort of an internal checklist he was going through.
As we were downstairs getting ready to go to school, I was helping Bella with her pants when he snuck up and BIT MY ARM. He actually chomped my bicep, and broke the skin. I yelled "NO BITE" and he stumbled back and started to cry. After a minute of letting him realize he had done wrong, I did comfort him, but man did my arm hurt.
But what I must confess is that being bitten sends unique signals to the most primitive centers of the brain, and the ancient primate comes alive "YOU UNDER ATTACK - YOU FIGHT NOW". There was an overwhelming urge to retaliate in kind... against this little kid who I love with all my heart. It was very strange to have that override kick in, and I'm very glad that I have enough control to simply sit it through and assess the situation. Anyway - i'm no fan of biting, and we'll just have to watch this!
Isaac is sloooowwwllly starting to make food a part of his diet: Tonight he ate two pieces of spicy sausage and red bell pepper pizza, the night before was 1.5 pieces of pizza and 2 green beans, and the night before that was a piece of buttered bread and around 20 ziti noodles in spicy red sauce. I think the boy likes a little flavor in his food. He also loves chips and salsa, and likes medium hot salsa! You know, whatever it takes for this guy to start replacing bottles with solids.
Bella was under the weather again this week: Big puking Monday, no appetite Tuesday, but by Wednesday, she was back in form. Mid-afternoon today, she was complaning of an earache, so we took her to a minute clinic, where the "short" test showed no Strep (but clearly swollen nodules in her throat), and we won't get her full culture until Monday.
Our yard is complete chaos: We're having a brick walkway put in to replace the shattered concrete up to the front of the house, and we had that nasty rock-filled asphalt "Basketball court" taken out of the backyard. We also had that rocky asphalt scraped off of the concrete driveway in the back, so that the kids won't scrape themselves up as they have every summer. Finally, big planter boxes are going in behind the garage, so we'll have veggies this summer!
At work, I'm having one of those good weeks where some concepts I've had cooking in my brain are finally ready for paper: Yesterday I did a huge rewrite of that article I had ghostwritten last week: I think only one sentence was left untouched. Now it's really MY article now. And today I got some good brainstorming on the top secret "project boondoggle": This may never fly, but it is a pet project of the big CEO of our parent company, and he's interested in MY ideas on this, so I'm going to run with it. And my proposal for the new business line finally took shape and I got some diagrams put together...
I just love it when I have a creative couple of days - when the whiteboards have squiggles, pictures have been drawn, and pages have been written.
Looking forward to the weekend
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Monday, May 05, 2008
Dream Mixing Bowl
Things you need to know to understand this dream:
1) I like the new Madonna/Justin Timberlake Single "4 Minutes"
2) The song is built around a big super-fake sounding brass sound
3) It was produced by Timbaland
4) Timbaland also produced the last Duran Duran album
5) Caesar just saw Duran Duran and said that Roger Taylor's playing made the songs sound WAY better than the Timbaland versions with his hiphop drum loops all over the place.
The post is called Mixing Bowl because this dream I had last night was so clearly directly influenced by the above data, but it was combined in a very fun and ridiculous way.
Curtain:
I am in a beautiful recording studio visiting a friend, and I spy the master tape for "4 Minutes" loaded on one of the decks. I hit play and throw the volume to maximum on the board, and the engineer walks in rolling his eyes.
Before he hits stop, I tell him: Whoah - those drums are different! "Yes, it's Roger Taylor from Duran Duran". He begins to move some faders around, and say "Check this out... This song was actually written by Duran Duran for THEIR album, but they didn't use it, and Timbaland gave it to Madonna".
With a move of his hands, he has removed Madonna's voice, and now it's Simon Lebon... with rich 4 part harmony? "Oh yes, Duran Duran actually write all of their songs in barbershop quartet style, so they usually track it with just voice, and then we redub in all the other instruments, and back off their harmonies for the final mix".
Another change of the mixing board, and the cheesey horns are replaced with a lush orchestral arrangement: "If you can believe it, that's the London Philharmonic - we had them lay down a full take for this" By the time the final chorus hits, a swell of a boy's choir can be heard as well.
I only wish I could have recorded the Duran Duran full orchestral with Roger Taylor drums and 4 part harmonies (with a touch of boy's choir) version from my dream. It really was pretty splendid.
1) I like the new Madonna/Justin Timberlake Single "4 Minutes"
2) The song is built around a big super-fake sounding brass sound
3) It was produced by Timbaland
4) Timbaland also produced the last Duran Duran album
5) Caesar just saw Duran Duran and said that Roger Taylor's playing made the songs sound WAY better than the Timbaland versions with his hiphop drum loops all over the place.
The post is called Mixing Bowl because this dream I had last night was so clearly directly influenced by the above data, but it was combined in a very fun and ridiculous way.
Curtain:
I am in a beautiful recording studio visiting a friend, and I spy the master tape for "4 Minutes" loaded on one of the decks. I hit play and throw the volume to maximum on the board, and the engineer walks in rolling his eyes.
Before he hits stop, I tell him: Whoah - those drums are different! "Yes, it's Roger Taylor from Duran Duran". He begins to move some faders around, and say "Check this out... This song was actually written by Duran Duran for THEIR album, but they didn't use it, and Timbaland gave it to Madonna".
With a move of his hands, he has removed Madonna's voice, and now it's Simon Lebon... with rich 4 part harmony? "Oh yes, Duran Duran actually write all of their songs in barbershop quartet style, so they usually track it with just voice, and then we redub in all the other instruments, and back off their harmonies for the final mix".
Another change of the mixing board, and the cheesey horns are replaced with a lush orchestral arrangement: "If you can believe it, that's the London Philharmonic - we had them lay down a full take for this" By the time the final chorus hits, a swell of a boy's choir can be heard as well.
I only wish I could have recorded the Duran Duran full orchestral with Roger Taylor drums and 4 part harmonies (with a touch of boy's choir) version from my dream. It really was pretty splendid.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Sniffles
This mild cold is sticking with me like glue... which I believe will scotch my plan to give blood tomorrow - they ask for 3 days of health prior to donation. At least I had that steak. MMMmmmmmm Steak.
I got home safe and sound, and am just happy to be back with the family. Isaac was very sleepy when I went to get him our of bed (I couldn't wait), and he wound up falling back asleep hugging Pamela, which was so cute and sweet we had to let him rest. Bella was out playing quite a bit, but I got to put her to bed, so we had some cuddle time. I swear she got 5 inches taller in my absence!
Isaac is really working on his words: He can identify the shape "Star" (TAR), and is noticing all the different animals in books I read to him, though now many are called by the sounds they make: A cow is a "MOO", a horse is a "NEIGH"... though fish (BISH) do make sounds "smack smack smack".
Pamela's making a decoupage plate of some of Isaac's favorite things (AIRPLANE is front and center), we're sitting by the fire, and I'm about to go upstairs and see f I can make some headway on that sleep deficit.
One final note: I finished two more books via Kindle this trip, one of which was the first book in the Neal Stephenson "Massive Period Piece" trilogy... which as you'll recall I had previously tossed aside at page 200 in the paper edition. Sticking with it was quite rewarding - the story DOES get moving and there are some amazing set pieces concocted. Now I have 2 more books to go... already loaded in the Kindle naturally.
I got home safe and sound, and am just happy to be back with the family. Isaac was very sleepy when I went to get him our of bed (I couldn't wait), and he wound up falling back asleep hugging Pamela, which was so cute and sweet we had to let him rest. Bella was out playing quite a bit, but I got to put her to bed, so we had some cuddle time. I swear she got 5 inches taller in my absence!
Isaac is really working on his words: He can identify the shape "Star" (TAR), and is noticing all the different animals in books I read to him, though now many are called by the sounds they make: A cow is a "MOO", a horse is a "NEIGH"... though fish (BISH) do make sounds "smack smack smack".
Pamela's making a decoupage plate of some of Isaac's favorite things (AIRPLANE is front and center), we're sitting by the fire, and I'm about to go upstairs and see f I can make some headway on that sleep deficit.
One final note: I finished two more books via Kindle this trip, one of which was the first book in the Neal Stephenson "Massive Period Piece" trilogy... which as you'll recall I had previously tossed aside at page 200 in the paper edition. Sticking with it was quite rewarding - the story DOES get moving and there are some amazing set pieces concocted. Now I have 2 more books to go... already loaded in the Kindle naturally.
Home again from SF
Thursday started inauspiciously: My whole purpose to being in SF this time was to maintain a table (for recruiting and sales) at a nursing symposium. To this end, I was shipped our banners and some literature to hand out… three large unwieldy boxes of stuff. I hopped into a cab and gave him the address, and minutes later was dropped off… only to discover after hauling my stuff inside that I had been dropped off 3 blocks from the actual place.
So I grabbed my huge boxes and slogged, huffing and puffing in my best suit. I arrived with plenty of time to set up, only to find our tables were off in a corner of the event that could not be happened upon accidentally, so foot traffic was doomed to be light.
Add to this that I spied no fewer than a dozen of our major competitors lurking around, NOT with a table but free to roam through the crowd, passing out cards, making connections. No this wasn’t going to be a great day by any means.
As the day progressed, it became obvious to all (my competitors included) that this was not a prime hunting ground at any rate: The people here were not key decision makers – they were mostly rank and file, and most without the sort of experience we hire for either. So by the end, the wolves were mostly standing around comparing war stories, and there was no business being transacted.
One good thing was watching some of the presentations: It’ll be at a forum very like this one that I’ll be presenting in 2 weeks, so it was good to get a feel for the format. The other thing that was good/interesting is that it continues to validate some of the product ideas I had for nursing tablets, RFID, and pager systems from a few years ago… there is still nothing like this on the earth….
The day felt like a bit of a waste, though getting the name out and maintaining a presence is certainly not a bad thing. Midway through, I took a call to discover that one of my clients in Portland has decided to cancel all 2009 initiatives to recover from a budget shortfall, so that’s an opportunity not there either.
At least the East Coast is looking quite promising!
Pamela reminded me that I’ll be donating blood on Saturday, so I should go get some steak, so steak I got, building up that iron in my blood – though not enough to set off the metal detectors at the airport. No further SF shenanigans – since I really don’t want this cold to take root, I decided to turn in a bit early.
For one reason or another, sleep didn’t come to me in the night – I had 3 hours down, 2 hours of raging insomnia (I actually turned on the lights and read for a while), then 2 more hours of sleep before heading to the airport.
At the airport, I took the plunge and registered for the TSA Frequent Traveler Program: In this, they scan two forms of ID, take finger prints, and scan your retinas. In 2 weeks I’ll get a card that will allow me to jump to the head of a security line with a scan of my finger and eye. It is very sci-fi, and I suppose I should be somewhat concerned about the privacy implications, but something about the technology was just irresistible to me. Retina scans! Plus, cutting 10-20 minutes out of a security line is pretty attractive. It’s not for all airports yet, but it is at a few of my frequent ones, so it may be worth it.
While going through the security line, I did witness a sad sight: a very old man with a walker and obvious cognitive issues being run through the metal detector back and forth being asked about things in his pockets, having his shoes taken off, etc. Seriously TSA, when you see that, just take the dude aside right away – it reflects poorly on you!
It was my every intention to try to sleep on the plane home, but after a valiant 45 minutes of keeping my eyes shut, my brain showed no signs of interest in shutting down. So I’m typing this up and will post it when I land…
This was a very long week for me: I felt like my trip to SF really wasn’t that productive, AND I didn’t feel well enough to properly goof off. Add to this that between last week’s trip, the weekend in Seattle, and this week’s trip, I’m missing my Isaac and Bella something fierce. I’ve been looking forward to an extended roughhousing and cuddling session immediately upon my return. Like for 2-3 days.
I have no trips this week coming up, which is good because I need to continue to refine my presentations for late May. And I need to anchor myself in a place for a while before flying again.
So I grabbed my huge boxes and slogged, huffing and puffing in my best suit. I arrived with plenty of time to set up, only to find our tables were off in a corner of the event that could not be happened upon accidentally, so foot traffic was doomed to be light.
Add to this that I spied no fewer than a dozen of our major competitors lurking around, NOT with a table but free to roam through the crowd, passing out cards, making connections. No this wasn’t going to be a great day by any means.
As the day progressed, it became obvious to all (my competitors included) that this was not a prime hunting ground at any rate: The people here were not key decision makers – they were mostly rank and file, and most without the sort of experience we hire for either. So by the end, the wolves were mostly standing around comparing war stories, and there was no business being transacted.
One good thing was watching some of the presentations: It’ll be at a forum very like this one that I’ll be presenting in 2 weeks, so it was good to get a feel for the format. The other thing that was good/interesting is that it continues to validate some of the product ideas I had for nursing tablets, RFID, and pager systems from a few years ago… there is still nothing like this on the earth….
The day felt like a bit of a waste, though getting the name out and maintaining a presence is certainly not a bad thing. Midway through, I took a call to discover that one of my clients in Portland has decided to cancel all 2009 initiatives to recover from a budget shortfall, so that’s an opportunity not there either.
At least the East Coast is looking quite promising!
Pamela reminded me that I’ll be donating blood on Saturday, so I should go get some steak, so steak I got, building up that iron in my blood – though not enough to set off the metal detectors at the airport. No further SF shenanigans – since I really don’t want this cold to take root, I decided to turn in a bit early.
For one reason or another, sleep didn’t come to me in the night – I had 3 hours down, 2 hours of raging insomnia (I actually turned on the lights and read for a while), then 2 more hours of sleep before heading to the airport.
At the airport, I took the plunge and registered for the TSA Frequent Traveler Program: In this, they scan two forms of ID, take finger prints, and scan your retinas. In 2 weeks I’ll get a card that will allow me to jump to the head of a security line with a scan of my finger and eye. It is very sci-fi, and I suppose I should be somewhat concerned about the privacy implications, but something about the technology was just irresistible to me. Retina scans! Plus, cutting 10-20 minutes out of a security line is pretty attractive. It’s not for all airports yet, but it is at a few of my frequent ones, so it may be worth it.
While going through the security line, I did witness a sad sight: a very old man with a walker and obvious cognitive issues being run through the metal detector back and forth being asked about things in his pockets, having his shoes taken off, etc. Seriously TSA, when you see that, just take the dude aside right away – it reflects poorly on you!
It was my every intention to try to sleep on the plane home, but after a valiant 45 minutes of keeping my eyes shut, my brain showed no signs of interest in shutting down. So I’m typing this up and will post it when I land…
This was a very long week for me: I felt like my trip to SF really wasn’t that productive, AND I didn’t feel well enough to properly goof off. Add to this that between last week’s trip, the weekend in Seattle, and this week’s trip, I’m missing my Isaac and Bella something fierce. I’ve been looking forward to an extended roughhousing and cuddling session immediately upon my return. Like for 2-3 days.
I have no trips this week coming up, which is good because I need to continue to refine my presentations for late May. And I need to anchor myself in a place for a while before flying again.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Back in San Fran
Took a red-eye to San Francisco last night and wound up feeling somewhat terrible today - mild cold, or exhaustion, or allergies, or something. I'm taking it easy (in case you're thinking I plan to do the Monterey Bay Aquarium and then nip up to Wine Country. No car this time, and a lot more work... though not MEETINGS per se.
After a morning spent wrangling text and reviewing documentation and being on a loooong conference call, it was time to get out and walk a little... No grand plans of adventure, I just thought that I'd like to see the water, so I set off for Pier 39 to see the Sea Lions.
My meandering took me straight up to the top of Telegraph Hill, where I saw the legendary parrots and wandered down the rickety wooden stairs down the sheer face of the cliff that is that hill... Once at the Pier, I was amused by the seals and horrified by just about everything else down there. I did watch a huge containership putt putt by, which was far more interesting than the legions of saxophonists jamming with portable speakers pumping out nightmarish backing tracks... they're like the new panflute peruvians, or conga guys. Spaced just far enough apart that they could be heard distinctly.
Back to the room to do more reading for my big presentation in a few weeks...
It'll be an early night tonight as I try to recover here... I need some food, and will get it close by, then perhaps some tv shows until morpheus lures me to his domain. There will be no club hopping, nor sunsets at the top of the Mark. No, I need some rest.
After a morning spent wrangling text and reviewing documentation and being on a loooong conference call, it was time to get out and walk a little... No grand plans of adventure, I just thought that I'd like to see the water, so I set off for Pier 39 to see the Sea Lions.
My meandering took me straight up to the top of Telegraph Hill, where I saw the legendary parrots and wandered down the rickety wooden stairs down the sheer face of the cliff that is that hill... Once at the Pier, I was amused by the seals and horrified by just about everything else down there. I did watch a huge containership putt putt by, which was far more interesting than the legions of saxophonists jamming with portable speakers pumping out nightmarish backing tracks... they're like the new panflute peruvians, or conga guys. Spaced just far enough apart that they could be heard distinctly.
Back to the room to do more reading for my big presentation in a few weeks...
It'll be an early night tonight as I try to recover here... I need some food, and will get it close by, then perhaps some tv shows until morpheus lures me to his domain. There will be no club hopping, nor sunsets at the top of the Mark. No, I need some rest.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Not Fancy Please
Today Bella went to a nature center for a field trip with Pamela. On the way home, she said "Mom, I had no idea I would like it this much". Pamela asked what her favorite part was: "The sound under my feet as I rustled through the leaves."
Tonight as I put her to bed, she told me she wanted to bring me to the nature center to show me her favorite thing: "there's a path that is covered with twigs, and as you walk, they crunch under your feet".
I actually share that love of little rustling sounds too: There was a Mister Rogers on the other day, and he was playing with a paper bag... and the light crinkling sound just warmed my heart (it actually made me a little lightheaded). It's nice that she's in touch with the quiet side of life too.
Other things from tonight:
"Dad, what do you like better - horses or unicorns?" I ventured that I like them both, but that I though Unicorns were cool because they were magical. "Dad, I don't believe in Unicorns. I don't think they're real, and I don't like them, because they're FANCY and I don't like FANCY. I don't like dressing up either. I never have. I've never liked FANCY." I asked about dressing as a dog or penguin... "Those aren't fancy. Those are fun."
(This anti-fancy thing has put things like tights completely out right now... and there are some socks that have a light lace top that she won't even consider wearing due to their fanciness.)
"Dad, what is your favorite kind of insect? Mine is, though I've never seen one up close, a tarantula." I said I don't particularly like Tarantulas, or any spiders. "Do you like the color of tarantulas?" I admitted that their colors can be nice. "Well then, if you like their color, then you like them. You DO like tarantulas, Dad!"
"What's your favorite thing in space?" I said Saturn. "My favorites are the Moon, Jupiter, and Pluto, because it's so small and cute. But if I was going to get in a battle with someone like Casey and had things from space to use, I would TOTALLY use Asteroids. BOOM!!!"
That girl was on a TEAR tonight. I had to share them before they faded from memory.
Tonight as I put her to bed, she told me she wanted to bring me to the nature center to show me her favorite thing: "there's a path that is covered with twigs, and as you walk, they crunch under your feet".
I actually share that love of little rustling sounds too: There was a Mister Rogers on the other day, and he was playing with a paper bag... and the light crinkling sound just warmed my heart (it actually made me a little lightheaded). It's nice that she's in touch with the quiet side of life too.
Other things from tonight:
"Dad, what do you like better - horses or unicorns?" I ventured that I like them both, but that I though Unicorns were cool because they were magical. "Dad, I don't believe in Unicorns. I don't think they're real, and I don't like them, because they're FANCY and I don't like FANCY. I don't like dressing up either. I never have. I've never liked FANCY." I asked about dressing as a dog or penguin... "Those aren't fancy. Those are fun."
(This anti-fancy thing has put things like tights completely out right now... and there are some socks that have a light lace top that she won't even consider wearing due to their fanciness.)
"Dad, what is your favorite kind of insect? Mine is, though I've never seen one up close, a tarantula." I said I don't particularly like Tarantulas, or any spiders. "Do you like the color of tarantulas?" I admitted that their colors can be nice. "Well then, if you like their color, then you like them. You DO like tarantulas, Dad!"
"What's your favorite thing in space?" I said Saturn. "My favorites are the Moon, Jupiter, and Pluto, because it's so small and cute. But if I was going to get in a battle with someone like Casey and had things from space to use, I would TOTALLY use Asteroids. BOOM!!!"
That girl was on a TEAR tonight. I had to share them before they faded from memory.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Space Needle!
From the last update, Paul and Melissa did indeed pick us up and we headed into Seattle. We started at the Pike Place Market, a huge farmer's market and shops complex on the waterfront. One of the signature sights there is the Fish Market, where they hurl fish at eachother... it really was fun to watch, and if I had any immediate use for a full Coho Salmon, I probably would have bought one. I did have some amazing fresh sausage (surprise!), and we had a good perambulation.
We then hit the Seattle Space Needle from the 1959 (Correction: 1962) World's Fair: It's over 500 feet up in the sky, with a great observation platform. It was a warm, sunny day so we hung out up there for quite a while, enjoying the sights. I was also enjoying the sounds - there was a couple speaking mandarin Chinese near me, and gol dang it I actually understood some snippets of their conversation!
Back to the Heathman for SPA appointments: Paul was in for his first massage EVER IN HIS LIFE, and he loved it. I got a manicure and pedicure and loved every second of the experience... it was just great to have such attention paid to the extremities. The spa was excellent, as was every dang thing about the Heathman.... I suspect this will not be my last visit to this temple of awesomeness.
In the evening, Paul had one more surprise: Caesar and Miho joined us for dinner at Trellis, the restaurant in the Heathman (which has been ranked in the top 10 seattle restaurants since it opened in October last year). The food, the wine, the service, and the conversation were all perfect. Paul said it was his best birthday EVER... and I was very happy to have been a part of it.
This morning, it was lazy startup, a leisurely breakfast with Paul and Melissa at Trellis again, and off to the airport. We got home to find the house still standing, Dad and Karen still in good spirits, Bella and Isaac happy and excited to see us... from what I heard, they all had a fun time: Dad took Isaac to swimming, where he continued his continual improvement... and actually participated in all of the activities... Bella got a lot of play time in with friends, and they even spent a few hours at Edinborough Park today.
So in all, it was an amazing escape. We're grateful to Melissa for the invitation, and to the grandparents for being willing to help out... and to Paul for having an occasion to celebrate!
2 days at home for me, then BACK to the Bay Area for 3 days... I'm filling up that schedule with meetings, and I'll have a lot less free time than this past week... which is fine: In a sense I had really wanted to get a lot of "San Fran Things" DONE and out of the way, so that next time I visit, I won't be as distracted.... ;->
I will also be looking at some extra work: We have some top secret cross team initiatives being explored (building a new line of business for the BIG company) that I'm doing legwork on, PLUS I'm building a new business area in our company, and somehow have got roped into making a presentation to several dozen CIOs in 3 weeks on a product I haven't designed yet. Nothing like a deadline to get the juices flowing, eh? This is the thrilling stuff.
We then hit the Seattle Space Needle from the 1959 (Correction: 1962) World's Fair: It's over 500 feet up in the sky, with a great observation platform. It was a warm, sunny day so we hung out up there for quite a while, enjoying the sights. I was also enjoying the sounds - there was a couple speaking mandarin Chinese near me, and gol dang it I actually understood some snippets of their conversation!
Back to the Heathman for SPA appointments: Paul was in for his first massage EVER IN HIS LIFE, and he loved it. I got a manicure and pedicure and loved every second of the experience... it was just great to have such attention paid to the extremities. The spa was excellent, as was every dang thing about the Heathman.... I suspect this will not be my last visit to this temple of awesomeness.
In the evening, Paul had one more surprise: Caesar and Miho joined us for dinner at Trellis, the restaurant in the Heathman (which has been ranked in the top 10 seattle restaurants since it opened in October last year). The food, the wine, the service, and the conversation were all perfect. Paul said it was his best birthday EVER... and I was very happy to have been a part of it.
This morning, it was lazy startup, a leisurely breakfast with Paul and Melissa at Trellis again, and off to the airport. We got home to find the house still standing, Dad and Karen still in good spirits, Bella and Isaac happy and excited to see us... from what I heard, they all had a fun time: Dad took Isaac to swimming, where he continued his continual improvement... and actually participated in all of the activities... Bella got a lot of play time in with friends, and they even spent a few hours at Edinborough Park today.
So in all, it was an amazing escape. We're grateful to Melissa for the invitation, and to the grandparents for being willing to help out... and to Paul for having an occasion to celebrate!
2 days at home for me, then BACK to the Bay Area for 3 days... I'm filling up that schedule with meetings, and I'll have a lot less free time than this past week... which is fine: In a sense I had really wanted to get a lot of "San Fran Things" DONE and out of the way, so that next time I visit, I won't be as distracted.... ;->
I will also be looking at some extra work: We have some top secret cross team initiatives being explored (building a new line of business for the BIG company) that I'm doing legwork on, PLUS I'm building a new business area in our company, and somehow have got roped into making a presentation to several dozen CIOs in 3 weeks on a product I haven't designed yet. Nothing like a deadline to get the juices flowing, eh? This is the thrilling stuff.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Birthday Surprise in Seattle
Now it can be told: I came home Thursday night, and by Friday afternoon, Pamela and I were on an airplane out to Seattle: Bella and Isaac are in the capable hands of Grandma and Grandpa with a full fridge of food and a weekend of activities ahead for them.
The goal of this visit: To surprise my friend Paul on his 40th birthday. This was craftily arranged by his wife Melissa (no, the OTHER Paul and Melissa, the Seattle ones, not the St Louis Park ones). So we landed, got our rental, got stuck in traffic for a while, got to the Hotel and checked in. We're staying at the Heathman Hotel in Kirkland, with a view of the lake, a block from a marina, in a fabulous room. We got a suite with a feather bed, which was insanely comfy. But back to the surprise:
We headed over to Paul's house when we got word he had arrived home and was taking a shower. We snuck in and parked ourselves on the living room couch, got scotch (me) and champagne (the ladies), and patiently waited for Paul as he took the longest shower ever known to humanity. The surprise was just the two of us, not a big party. When he came down (dressed, yes) he stood in the threshold completely stunned, and it took him over 10 minutes to figure out it was not a hallucination.
We had a great dinner with the family (Madeline 11 and Mia 9 were in the mix, and they were VERY proud of themselves for having kept the secret). Paul grilled Ribeyes and opened a treasured wine which he graciously shared. Madeline brought out her guitar and played us a few songs - she's been playing 3 months now, and has a true love for the instrument. She is also a horse rider, so we promised to get her in touch with Lilli....
This AM we slept in, and are just now waiting for the call - we'll be going into Seattle with P+M for a touristy day, then back to the Heathman for more adventures... more as it develops. It's a gorgeous day here - already in the 60s with blue skies. I can see the mountains in the distance!
The goal of this visit: To surprise my friend Paul on his 40th birthday. This was craftily arranged by his wife Melissa (no, the OTHER Paul and Melissa, the Seattle ones, not the St Louis Park ones). So we landed, got our rental, got stuck in traffic for a while, got to the Hotel and checked in. We're staying at the Heathman Hotel in Kirkland, with a view of the lake, a block from a marina, in a fabulous room. We got a suite with a feather bed, which was insanely comfy. But back to the surprise:
We headed over to Paul's house when we got word he had arrived home and was taking a shower. We snuck in and parked ourselves on the living room couch, got scotch (me) and champagne (the ladies), and patiently waited for Paul as he took the longest shower ever known to humanity. The surprise was just the two of us, not a big party. When he came down (dressed, yes) he stood in the threshold completely stunned, and it took him over 10 minutes to figure out it was not a hallucination.
We had a great dinner with the family (Madeline 11 and Mia 9 were in the mix, and they were VERY proud of themselves for having kept the secret). Paul grilled Ribeyes and opened a treasured wine which he graciously shared. Madeline brought out her guitar and played us a few songs - she's been playing 3 months now, and has a true love for the instrument. She is also a horse rider, so we promised to get her in touch with Lilli....
This AM we slept in, and are just now waiting for the call - we'll be going into Seattle with P+M for a touristy day, then back to the Heathman for more adventures... more as it develops. It's a gorgeous day here - already in the 60s with blue skies. I can see the mountains in the distance!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Beefeaters
Home safe. Yes.
One of the things I got in San Francisco was a reissue of the Miroslav Sasek "This is London" book from 1959. Beautiful pictures and it really makes you think about how much has changed in the last 49 years over there... and over here.
Anyway, as I was reading it to Bella tonight, I pointed at a picture and said "That's a Beefeater - he's a kind of a guard at the Tower of London".
A page later, Bella stopped me, flipped the page back, and asked "Why do they feed bees there?"
Beef Eater = Bee Feeder?
The other thing from tonight: Bella has adopted a new pet: A small watermelon on which she has drawn a happy face, on a blanket in a basket. This "pet" is a bit cuter, I think, than her other "pets", which are cotton balls in mason jars filled with water.
She is nothing if not creative.
One of the things I got in San Francisco was a reissue of the Miroslav Sasek "This is London" book from 1959. Beautiful pictures and it really makes you think about how much has changed in the last 49 years over there... and over here.
Anyway, as I was reading it to Bella tonight, I pointed at a picture and said "That's a Beefeater - he's a kind of a guard at the Tower of London".
A page later, Bella stopped me, flipped the page back, and asked "Why do they feed bees there?"
Beef Eater = Bee Feeder?
The other thing from tonight: Bella has adopted a new pet: A small watermelon on which she has drawn a happy face, on a blanket in a basket. This "pet" is a bit cuter, I think, than her other "pets", which are cotton balls in mason jars filled with water.
She is nothing if not creative.
Jimmy's Busy Busy Day
Well, the night ended well - I had a very good italian meal at a place recommended by Caesar. The moment I sat down, I realized... I've been here before! I think Pamela and I had eaten here not at the 6 years ago visit, but at the one before that (when we were visiting Al and Patrick and the traveling couch). Then, as I ate the entree, I realized I was having the exact same MEAL as well - the flavor was quite distinctive (and delicious). So it was like a crazy timewarp in my head.
Wednesday it was up and at'em: Using my Central Timezone Superpowers, I was in the gym by 5:45am PST, had a full breakfast, and had left myself PLENTY of time to get to Oakland for my 9am meeting. One problem as I got dressed: I forgot cufflinks. And just try buying cufflinks before 9am people... they're not something starbucks and walgreens carry. So I improvised with some little bits of tin foil - rolled and crimped. Once the jacket was on, providing basic structural integrity to the cuff, the tinfoil link worked admirably.
The 9am was at a classic older hospital in Oakland which has been used as the set for several movies - classic architecture with arched windows and beautiful stonework. The guy I was meeting with, despite having exchanged emails with me 2 days earlier, did not have me on his calendar, and so we rescheduled for later in the day. And I headed down to Palo Alto for my next meeting, plus a Target for Cufflinks, plus some starbucks to kill some time.
Alas my NEXT meeting also had a hitch: The person I was meeting with was at the hospital with her 2 year old kid: Her 5 year old, 2 year old, and the dad were roughhousing and the 5 year old fell down on the 2 year old just wrong, and the 2 year old's legs got BROKEN!!! Oh the horror. So I met with a surrogate and got the info I needed, and it was a valuable trip (I was also dropping off champagne that they had requested at our trade show booth - a VIP perk!)
Back up to Oakland following the inevitable In-N-Out visit (Double, no cheese, animal style - DELICIOUS), where the meeting took all of 10 minutes.... Man, if he wanted to stiffarm, he could have done that much earlier in the day.
Mildly frustrated with the way the day turned out, I decided I needed a tonic of some sort. So I punched the coordinates into the GPS, and 40 minutes later I was standing amid giant redwoods in the John Muir Park. The smell was intoxicating and everything was shining: It had been raining all morning and had just cleared up for my arrival. A bubbling brook provided the soundtrack and I felt all tension floating up into the leafy canopy.
Then I decided I needed a snack and a view of the ocean, so I hit the GPS again, and 40 minutes later was relaxing on the porch of the Mill Beach Distillery just north of Half Moon Bay. The waves were crashing in (a windy day), and the ocean just kept on going and going off into the horizon. The sky was blue without a cloud, and I had a light snack of mini-burgers: 3 small burgers with different toppings: Bacon Cheddar, Swiss with Aoli, and roasted pepper and avocado.
While the visuals were amazing, the temperature was around 10 degrees off for maximum comfort, and so I decided to return to the city. Since I had been doing such a day of journeys, I had a plan of action for the rest of the night.
It began with a drink while watching the sunset at the Top of the Mark: This is 19 floors up on Nob Hill, and was a big landmark in the 1940s - troops coming home would meet loved ones up there and look out on the bay. Time hasn't been too kind to this landmark, which now feels quite like any other hotel bar: Pictures from the 1940s identify a large round bar in the middle of the room... but the middle is now given over to a dance floor, and a standards band was playing... which was ok I guess, but the actual BAR was relegated to a corner. Still, the view was amazing, the music sounded nice.... It sort of reminded me of my time in Tokyo having a drink on the 49th floor bar... looking out over a city.
Then down to Tonga, the polynesian tiki bar in the basement of the Fairmont Hotel: It was just as great as remembered. It's hard to describe - it's dark, giant tiki idols are everywhere, and there is ropy ship rigging all over the place, and thatched roof huts. There's a pool in the middle of the room, on which there's a boat with a live band. Before they play, there's a "thunderstorm", complete with rain falling. I had appetizers and a "zombie" while the band played horrible horrible horrible 1970s and 1980s covers - they opened with "More than a woman" by the BeeGees. The place was packed with conference attendees all wearing leis, and they were in a dancing mood, so the atmosphere WORKED.
Finally some sushi at a place I had been to way way back... and it was good, not great. The restaurant was pretty empty, and even though the staff was chatting in Japanese, they refused to speak Japanese to me, despite me starting in Japanese a few times... they just switched to "YES SIR, HERE YOU GO SIR" mode. Checking the reviews after the fact, people said the wait staff were terrible (confirmed), sushi was ok (confirmed), and lamented the fact that since changing owners 3 years ago it had gone downhill (AHA!!! So my memory from way back wasn't completely off!)
Back down the hill and into bed... and up this morning at 5:45. No workout needed: Running up Nob Hill to make sunset at the Top of the Mark was enough heart pounding for 24 hours, and I'm about to head off to breakfast up in that area. I considered trying to get an earlier flight today, but I couldn't get a confirmed seat... and I was already booked in an aisle... and after the pain of the flight out in that window seat, I didn't want to risk personal injury again. Also, I got up 30 min too late to make an earlier flight anyway!
So I have a couple of hours in SF left. I have done SO much here, it's sort of mind boggling. Now, some may say I am doing TOO much: I'd just say that if I was here with Pamela, we'd be spending more time on each thing - we'd have made a whole night of the Mill Beach Distillery for example... but it's just me and my hyperactive brain here.
So - off to breakfast, then some WORK (yes, I actually have been doing that as well - it's just not as interesting to blog about!) then home to see my wonderful family.
Wednesday it was up and at'em: Using my Central Timezone Superpowers, I was in the gym by 5:45am PST, had a full breakfast, and had left myself PLENTY of time to get to Oakland for my 9am meeting. One problem as I got dressed: I forgot cufflinks. And just try buying cufflinks before 9am people... they're not something starbucks and walgreens carry. So I improvised with some little bits of tin foil - rolled and crimped. Once the jacket was on, providing basic structural integrity to the cuff, the tinfoil link worked admirably.
The 9am was at a classic older hospital in Oakland which has been used as the set for several movies - classic architecture with arched windows and beautiful stonework. The guy I was meeting with, despite having exchanged emails with me 2 days earlier, did not have me on his calendar, and so we rescheduled for later in the day. And I headed down to Palo Alto for my next meeting, plus a Target for Cufflinks, plus some starbucks to kill some time.
Alas my NEXT meeting also had a hitch: The person I was meeting with was at the hospital with her 2 year old kid: Her 5 year old, 2 year old, and the dad were roughhousing and the 5 year old fell down on the 2 year old just wrong, and the 2 year old's legs got BROKEN!!! Oh the horror. So I met with a surrogate and got the info I needed, and it was a valuable trip (I was also dropping off champagne that they had requested at our trade show booth - a VIP perk!)
Back up to Oakland following the inevitable In-N-Out visit (Double, no cheese, animal style - DELICIOUS), where the meeting took all of 10 minutes.... Man, if he wanted to stiffarm, he could have done that much earlier in the day.
Mildly frustrated with the way the day turned out, I decided I needed a tonic of some sort. So I punched the coordinates into the GPS, and 40 minutes later I was standing amid giant redwoods in the John Muir Park. The smell was intoxicating and everything was shining: It had been raining all morning and had just cleared up for my arrival. A bubbling brook provided the soundtrack and I felt all tension floating up into the leafy canopy.
Then I decided I needed a snack and a view of the ocean, so I hit the GPS again, and 40 minutes later was relaxing on the porch of the Mill Beach Distillery just north of Half Moon Bay. The waves were crashing in (a windy day), and the ocean just kept on going and going off into the horizon. The sky was blue without a cloud, and I had a light snack of mini-burgers: 3 small burgers with different toppings: Bacon Cheddar, Swiss with Aoli, and roasted pepper and avocado.
While the visuals were amazing, the temperature was around 10 degrees off for maximum comfort, and so I decided to return to the city. Since I had been doing such a day of journeys, I had a plan of action for the rest of the night.
It began with a drink while watching the sunset at the Top of the Mark: This is 19 floors up on Nob Hill, and was a big landmark in the 1940s - troops coming home would meet loved ones up there and look out on the bay. Time hasn't been too kind to this landmark, which now feels quite like any other hotel bar: Pictures from the 1940s identify a large round bar in the middle of the room... but the middle is now given over to a dance floor, and a standards band was playing... which was ok I guess, but the actual BAR was relegated to a corner. Still, the view was amazing, the music sounded nice.... It sort of reminded me of my time in Tokyo having a drink on the 49th floor bar... looking out over a city.
Then down to Tonga, the polynesian tiki bar in the basement of the Fairmont Hotel: It was just as great as remembered. It's hard to describe - it's dark, giant tiki idols are everywhere, and there is ropy ship rigging all over the place, and thatched roof huts. There's a pool in the middle of the room, on which there's a boat with a live band. Before they play, there's a "thunderstorm", complete with rain falling. I had appetizers and a "zombie" while the band played horrible horrible horrible 1970s and 1980s covers - they opened with "More than a woman" by the BeeGees. The place was packed with conference attendees all wearing leis, and they were in a dancing mood, so the atmosphere WORKED.
Finally some sushi at a place I had been to way way back... and it was good, not great. The restaurant was pretty empty, and even though the staff was chatting in Japanese, they refused to speak Japanese to me, despite me starting in Japanese a few times... they just switched to "YES SIR, HERE YOU GO SIR" mode. Checking the reviews after the fact, people said the wait staff were terrible (confirmed), sushi was ok (confirmed), and lamented the fact that since changing owners 3 years ago it had gone downhill (AHA!!! So my memory from way back wasn't completely off!)
Back down the hill and into bed... and up this morning at 5:45. No workout needed: Running up Nob Hill to make sunset at the Top of the Mark was enough heart pounding for 24 hours, and I'm about to head off to breakfast up in that area. I considered trying to get an earlier flight today, but I couldn't get a confirmed seat... and I was already booked in an aisle... and after the pain of the flight out in that window seat, I didn't want to risk personal injury again. Also, I got up 30 min too late to make an earlier flight anyway!
So I have a couple of hours in SF left. I have done SO much here, it's sort of mind boggling. Now, some may say I am doing TOO much: I'd just say that if I was here with Pamela, we'd be spending more time on each thing - we'd have made a whole night of the Mill Beach Distillery for example... but it's just me and my hyperactive brain here.
So - off to breakfast, then some WORK (yes, I actually have been doing that as well - it's just not as interesting to blog about!) then home to see my wonderful family.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
San Francisco Part 1
Sometimes life just gives you something for free. I had 2 big meetings set up in San Fran, one for Tuesday, and one for Wednesday. As I was leaving work Monday, I learned my Tuesday meeting needed to move to Wednesday, so I'd be in San Fran without any responsibilities for an afternoon and evening... Whoo HOO!
The flight out was on time and efficient, but painful as I was in a non-exit window seat for the 4 hour flight. I almost needed the wheelchair assistance to get out. I didn't even nap because I'd been up to step aerobics first thing in the AM, so my blood was good and pumping. So I did a few sudokus and caught up on my reading. I didn't even have room to unpack the laptop actually - somehow it was just the worst seat possible.
I got in, rented my car, and found my hotel without a fuss, and decided to grab lunch. My friend Paul in Seattle recommended Yank Sing - a Dim Sum extravaganza. Big, clean place, with a huge staff of people wheeling around carts with food, offering it all to you. I went completely nuts and had I think 8 dishes (Grilled Sea Bass, Fried Scallop and Mushroom balls, Pork Dumplings, Shanghai Dumplings, BBQ Pork Bao, Steamed Scallop dumpling (the only thing I didn't really like) and custard pies). I almost rolled out of there... and went for a walk in town.
I marched up Sacramento Street toward the Fairmont and the Top of the Mark... detoured into Chinatown, where I snapped a picture of the "American Institute of Nose Disease", but managed to not buy any horrible tacky merch at the "Old Shanghai" type places... At the top of the hill I saw that Tonga is still open, as is the Top of the Mark, though both open much later in the day, so I'll have to go back.
I was pleased to discover that my favorite eurosnob store Karikter is still around, and picked up some Tintin merch... but didn't go overboard. I stopped almost by habit into the Virgin Megastore, but found nothing interesting to me. Sigh, I'm getting old or something.
On my way back to the hotel, I spied a shop tucked away: Beard Papa!!! This is a creampuff bakery chain from Japan that caused me much giggling when we saw their store and sign in Shibuya back when we visited. To actually see them here was sort of crazy: A trip to their website shows that they have huge expansion plans in the USA.... www.beardpapa.com is worth the visit for their "about us" movie, which pretty much sums up the whole Japanese/Anglophilia thing better than several books could.
So of course I had to try one: And it was... a tad disappointing. Let me say that it's sort of like everything western in Japan: It's good in a Japanese Way, but not in a "comparing it to the real deal" way. It is like eating the essence of a cream puff - all of the proper components are there, but it lacks something. It wasn't too sweet (which is good), but ultimately not THAT satisfying. AH WELL.
So it's after 5 now here, so I'm off to the city to find more interesting things to do. I'll update later if there are more adventures... It'll be an early night due to the timezone and my need to be fresh for two good meetings tomorrow!!!
The flight out was on time and efficient, but painful as I was in a non-exit window seat for the 4 hour flight. I almost needed the wheelchair assistance to get out. I didn't even nap because I'd been up to step aerobics first thing in the AM, so my blood was good and pumping. So I did a few sudokus and caught up on my reading. I didn't even have room to unpack the laptop actually - somehow it was just the worst seat possible.
I got in, rented my car, and found my hotel without a fuss, and decided to grab lunch. My friend Paul in Seattle recommended Yank Sing - a Dim Sum extravaganza. Big, clean place, with a huge staff of people wheeling around carts with food, offering it all to you. I went completely nuts and had I think 8 dishes (Grilled Sea Bass, Fried Scallop and Mushroom balls, Pork Dumplings, Shanghai Dumplings, BBQ Pork Bao, Steamed Scallop dumpling (the only thing I didn't really like) and custard pies). I almost rolled out of there... and went for a walk in town.
I marched up Sacramento Street toward the Fairmont and the Top of the Mark... detoured into Chinatown, where I snapped a picture of the "American Institute of Nose Disease", but managed to not buy any horrible tacky merch at the "Old Shanghai" type places... At the top of the hill I saw that Tonga is still open, as is the Top of the Mark, though both open much later in the day, so I'll have to go back.
I was pleased to discover that my favorite eurosnob store Karikter is still around, and picked up some Tintin merch... but didn't go overboard. I stopped almost by habit into the Virgin Megastore, but found nothing interesting to me. Sigh, I'm getting old or something.
On my way back to the hotel, I spied a shop tucked away: Beard Papa!!! This is a creampuff bakery chain from Japan that caused me much giggling when we saw their store and sign in Shibuya back when we visited. To actually see them here was sort of crazy: A trip to their website shows that they have huge expansion plans in the USA.... www.beardpapa.com is worth the visit for their "about us" movie, which pretty much sums up the whole Japanese/Anglophilia thing better than several books could.
So of course I had to try one: And it was... a tad disappointing. Let me say that it's sort of like everything western in Japan: It's good in a Japanese Way, but not in a "comparing it to the real deal" way. It is like eating the essence of a cream puff - all of the proper components are there, but it lacks something. It wasn't too sweet (which is good), but ultimately not THAT satisfying. AH WELL.
So it's after 5 now here, so I'm off to the city to find more interesting things to do. I'll update later if there are more adventures... It'll be an early night due to the timezone and my need to be fresh for two good meetings tomorrow!!!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Le fin du weekend
Saturday night we had a long delayed dinner out with Uncle Ant and his wife Candy. Candy has been living a monastic life for a few years working on her Clinical Psych degree, and we went out to celebrate the end of her actual schooling. Her next step is a 1 year internship, which is thankfully close to home, after which point I can only hope she can actually begin to practice. Ant has been supporting her through this by working full time and freelancing as well, so I imagine that once DOCTOR Candy enters the workforce, he'll be rolling in rare single malts... oh wait, he already does. ;->
We went out to a fantastic restaurant in St Paul called Luci: Every single mouthful of everything I had was divine. Now, funny story: Back in 1990, I worked at a coffee roaster, and the owner of Luci would come in a few times a week for fresh coffee for the restaurant. I thought we had a semi-friendly interaction... so one night I decided to check out the restaurant. Midway through the meal the owner stopped at my table, sat down, and demanded to see my ID for the wine I was enjoying (just a glass, not getting loopy here, and I was 21 at the time). I showed it happily, but he really worked me over: He held it up to the night, checked the embossing, and told me that IF it was fake he could lose his license. In short, he spent a few good minutes making me feel very unwelcome in his restaurant.
I confess that I held a grudge these intervening 18 years - sure it's a great restaurant, but the owner was a total jerk to me.
Well, last night, I decided that all is forgiven. I'm a different person now, and I'm sure he is too (if he's still involved - I didn't see him around). So I'm definitely planning a return visit. I should also mention that the evening was just great: the conversation flowed and the time flew by. In a strange bit of coincidence, Pamela had actually seen Candy sing on stage back in 1988, 3 years before we met, and 5 years before Ant and Candy met...
Today was a heavenly day: We slept in a bit, then went off to my mom's house for a couple of hours: Bella and Isaac had a wonderful time playing with all of Grann's bells, puppets, dolls, drums, and furniture... and she had worked up a light bit of brunchsnack which we devoured. Mini pancakes, sausages, mango, strawberries, cream puffs. It was a great visit.
Back home, the sun finally broke through the clouds, so we worked on the front porch, taking everything out, sweeping and hosing it down, and putting it all in with cushions and pillows. The porch is open for business. The kids were playing in the back yard for hours, building sand castles, climbing the castle, playing in the "RV". Isaac loves being outside and kicks and screams when it's time to come in.
Isaac is a huge fan of airplanes by the way: All afternoon, anytime he heard the sound of a jet, he'd stop, scan the skies, find the plane, point, and announce "AIRPLANE!!!!" (which is actually EH-PANE). He'd point until the jet passed from sight, and then continued with his playing. Now, we do live in a flight path, so around 4-5pm, he spent a lot more time pointing than doing anything else.
His vocabulary is growing, and his play is getting more engaged: up to last week, a classic game for him was running in circles around the dining room table giggling. Now the game is called "RUN!!!", and we stand until he yells RUN, and go until he stops, and then he points which direction to go next, and yells "RUN" again. He's also pointing at cars (DAR) and squirrels (DURL) with almost as much vigor as Airplanes (but jets are his first love).
One more Isaac moment: He was flipping through a magazine and found an ad featuring a woman walking with two large wolfhounds. He pointed at them and said "WOOF!!!" smiling. His smile broke for a moment, he furrowed his brow, and said "NEIGH????" In his mind, he was reevaluating whether these beasts were dogs or horses. It was a great moment of reflection to have caught.
Not to leave Bella out of the picture - she was an active player all weekend, and she got some rosy cheeks from the sun. She's still not 100% sure about this whole "Riding a Bicycle" thing, preferring instead to sit on the sidewalk watching her friends ride. But we know she's a watcher, and she's figuring it all out, and will hop on that bike with confidence once she feels she's figured it out from her observations.
On her way to sleep tonight, she said "You know, we've never seen Roo's dad, have we?" Not really sure where that came from (though it's true, Kanga's backstory is never really explained. I'd like to think it had to do with something noble - Perhaps Gallipoli (working the Australian angle here)).
We went out to a fantastic restaurant in St Paul called Luci: Every single mouthful of everything I had was divine. Now, funny story: Back in 1990, I worked at a coffee roaster, and the owner of Luci would come in a few times a week for fresh coffee for the restaurant. I thought we had a semi-friendly interaction... so one night I decided to check out the restaurant. Midway through the meal the owner stopped at my table, sat down, and demanded to see my ID for the wine I was enjoying (just a glass, not getting loopy here, and I was 21 at the time). I showed it happily, but he really worked me over: He held it up to the night, checked the embossing, and told me that IF it was fake he could lose his license. In short, he spent a few good minutes making me feel very unwelcome in his restaurant.
I confess that I held a grudge these intervening 18 years - sure it's a great restaurant, but the owner was a total jerk to me.
Well, last night, I decided that all is forgiven. I'm a different person now, and I'm sure he is too (if he's still involved - I didn't see him around). So I'm definitely planning a return visit. I should also mention that the evening was just great: the conversation flowed and the time flew by. In a strange bit of coincidence, Pamela had actually seen Candy sing on stage back in 1988, 3 years before we met, and 5 years before Ant and Candy met...
Today was a heavenly day: We slept in a bit, then went off to my mom's house for a couple of hours: Bella and Isaac had a wonderful time playing with all of Grann's bells, puppets, dolls, drums, and furniture... and she had worked up a light bit of brunchsnack which we devoured. Mini pancakes, sausages, mango, strawberries, cream puffs. It was a great visit.
Back home, the sun finally broke through the clouds, so we worked on the front porch, taking everything out, sweeping and hosing it down, and putting it all in with cushions and pillows. The porch is open for business. The kids were playing in the back yard for hours, building sand castles, climbing the castle, playing in the "RV". Isaac loves being outside and kicks and screams when it's time to come in.
Isaac is a huge fan of airplanes by the way: All afternoon, anytime he heard the sound of a jet, he'd stop, scan the skies, find the plane, point, and announce "AIRPLANE!!!!" (which is actually EH-PANE). He'd point until the jet passed from sight, and then continued with his playing. Now, we do live in a flight path, so around 4-5pm, he spent a lot more time pointing than doing anything else.
His vocabulary is growing, and his play is getting more engaged: up to last week, a classic game for him was running in circles around the dining room table giggling. Now the game is called "RUN!!!", and we stand until he yells RUN, and go until he stops, and then he points which direction to go next, and yells "RUN" again. He's also pointing at cars (DAR) and squirrels (DURL) with almost as much vigor as Airplanes (but jets are his first love).
One more Isaac moment: He was flipping through a magazine and found an ad featuring a woman walking with two large wolfhounds. He pointed at them and said "WOOF!!!" smiling. His smile broke for a moment, he furrowed his brow, and said "NEIGH????" In his mind, he was reevaluating whether these beasts were dogs or horses. It was a great moment of reflection to have caught.
Not to leave Bella out of the picture - she was an active player all weekend, and she got some rosy cheeks from the sun. She's still not 100% sure about this whole "Riding a Bicycle" thing, preferring instead to sit on the sidewalk watching her friends ride. But we know she's a watcher, and she's figuring it all out, and will hop on that bike with confidence once she feels she's figured it out from her observations.
On her way to sleep tonight, she said "You know, we've never seen Roo's dad, have we?" Not really sure where that came from (though it's true, Kanga's backstory is never really explained. I'd like to think it had to do with something noble - Perhaps Gallipoli (working the Australian angle here)).
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Le Weekend
I made it home safely from Bos-shu-don... and spent the rest of the week in tooth-grinding frustration as we moved to the new "network" at work. I was without email for hours, unable to access even basic information, and nobody seemed able to figure out why. Fast forward to the end of the day Friday and it all got sorted out.
The one big issue for me is that we've lost the ability to access our work email via the web (as far as I can tell) - so it's either on the blackberry, or on the giant ancient windows brick they've given me... with a security system that rivals most hospital systems I've worked for. But I adjust. I move on. This too shall pass.
This morning we went to swim class with Isaac again, and this time went much better: First off, I didn't make the same mistakes (leaving the clothes where they might get wet, leaving things in a stall rather than in a cubby, getting dressed in the wrong order) I learned, and I was far more efficient. Secondly, Isaac was much more comfortable this time, and only screamed and cried at a FEW of the exercises, and even seemed game to trying a few things out. I can see that his familiarity is growing by the minute, and by next week, he'll probably be laughing and playing.
One thing we made it through this week: Pamela did a metabolism reset program - going low glycemic, fixed calorie for 5 days. It was perhaps lucky that I was out of town for two of those days, because it was hard hard hard for my east-European bread lover to come down... but by last night we were toasting her success. Add to this we're both exercising with regularity now, and you're looking at a healthy household.
We saw a great movie last night - Juno. It is a cheeky, irreverent, but sweet movie about adoption, and we found ourselves identifying with things all throughout... even if the story isn't exactly reflectve of either Isabella or Isaac's history... A good date night.
So it's just a quick update while the house naps on a chilly Saturday afternoon - Bella's out with Casey, Isaac and Pamela are having a late nap, and I just got up from mine. Perhaps it's time for some Swedish?
The one big issue for me is that we've lost the ability to access our work email via the web (as far as I can tell) - so it's either on the blackberry, or on the giant ancient windows brick they've given me... with a security system that rivals most hospital systems I've worked for. But I adjust. I move on. This too shall pass.
This morning we went to swim class with Isaac again, and this time went much better: First off, I didn't make the same mistakes (leaving the clothes where they might get wet, leaving things in a stall rather than in a cubby, getting dressed in the wrong order) I learned, and I was far more efficient. Secondly, Isaac was much more comfortable this time, and only screamed and cried at a FEW of the exercises, and even seemed game to trying a few things out. I can see that his familiarity is growing by the minute, and by next week, he'll probably be laughing and playing.
One thing we made it through this week: Pamela did a metabolism reset program - going low glycemic, fixed calorie for 5 days. It was perhaps lucky that I was out of town for two of those days, because it was hard hard hard for my east-European bread lover to come down... but by last night we were toasting her success. Add to this we're both exercising with regularity now, and you're looking at a healthy household.
We saw a great movie last night - Juno. It is a cheeky, irreverent, but sweet movie about adoption, and we found ourselves identifying with things all throughout... even if the story isn't exactly reflectve of either Isabella or Isaac's history... A good date night.
So it's just a quick update while the house naps on a chilly Saturday afternoon - Bella's out with Casey, Isaac and Pamela are having a late nap, and I just got up from mine. Perhaps it's time for some Swedish?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Cloverfield
So I did the pay-per-view and decided to watch Cloverfield - the Blair Witch meets Godzilla movie that came out in January.
It's basically one guy holding a camcorder while a giant monster attacks manhattan.
Verdict: A great movie for a TV. I cannot even begin to comprehend the headache I would have suffered in a movie theater with all that camera shakiness... I probably would have upchucked.
But on the small screen, it's totally excellent.
And now, to bed.
It's basically one guy holding a camcorder while a giant monster attacks manhattan.
Verdict: A great movie for a TV. I cannot even begin to comprehend the headache I would have suffered in a movie theater with all that camera shakiness... I probably would have upchucked.
But on the small screen, it's totally excellent.
And now, to bed.
Boh-Shu-Don
Well I'm in Boston, for the first time in 6 years. I'm here on bidness of course, but that meeting took all of an hour, leaving me a full afternoon, evening, and tomorrow AM until I return.
The flight was uncrowded, smooth, and on-time. When I arrived, I discovered that the "big dig" is indeed complete: most of my travels from the airport to my hotel in Brookline was underground in new tunnels. It was a bit disconcerting to be in a tunnel that goes DOWN and UP, but I'm not the engineer here. Anyway, I got to my room and had an hour until my meeting. I decided to hoof it, since on the map it looked pretty close.
Alas, my hand-held GPS sent me the wrong direction - I had inadvertently plugged the wrong, very similar sounding name in for the street, and took a good 1 mile detour. I figured out my problem and was able to double back and get to the appointment just on time. Then I strolled into the Back Bay for a lunch at my favorite place - Sonsie (where we had brunch way back in 1997 on our first visit to Boston, and we learned about Lady Di's passing at hands of concrete and paparazzi.) A carrot soup, a cubano sandwich, and an iced tea set everything right. A visit to Triton booksellers, Newbury Comix, Fluevog shoes, and it was old home week.
By this point, I was starting to feel a bit tired - I'd been up traveling since 5am CST after all. So I cabbed it back to the hotel and took a little nap. Then I set back off to Boston by foot. My goal was something, anything Italian in the north side, which Google now tells me was a good 5 mile walk... took over an hour, during which time I worked on some Mandarin on Pimsleur (where interestingly they were teaching me how to say "Boston" in Mandarin: Boh-Shu-Don". The walk was up Beacon street, through Brookline, the Back Bay, through the Commons, through downtown, past Faneuil Hall. I saw the North side, and was shocked: The big dig again: The giant green bridge that used to be the gateway you peeked through to the north side has gone underground, and now there's a big park you walk across! It was a bit freaky actually.
I finally made it to the north side, and wandered up the street looking for the right restaurant... I found the one we did 6 years ago, but it was empty, and I didn't want to be the only diner in a place... nearby was a place with a gaudy giant neon sign depicting a bottle of chianti emptying on the sidewalk. I looked at the menu and realized I was home.
I walked in to find the place bustling with normal (not fancy) people, was seated next to a table with 6 kids, and the septuagenarian accordion player was wandering around... I had found a real place. And the menu item that drew me in: Bombalotti with sausage and goat cheese. bombalotti is some hybrid between Ziti, cannoli, and wagon wheel pasta - huge sectioned elbows of chewy pasta, with sausage, marinara, and sprinkled with goat cheese, then baked. It was perfect for me.
After dinner, wine, and espresso, I hit the street and decided that walking home was a sucker's game: Cab time. Somehow I got a chatty cabby, and I was chatty right back: We talked about morocco, language, the islamic influence in southern spain, and how you really need to know spanish to survive these days as a cabby.
Tomorrow I'll probably stay in the Brookline area until I need to leave: It's a bit arty up here, with Trader Joe's and several coffee shops close by (including a Peet's!)
In my travels, sometimes it feels like I'm seeing a town through cab windows and hotel windows. It's nice to have been able to spend a day with feet on the ground, to see the actual city and be in a place. I'm going to try to do this more!
An early night tonight - perhaps I'll see what fine films are on pay-per-view.
The flight was uncrowded, smooth, and on-time. When I arrived, I discovered that the "big dig" is indeed complete: most of my travels from the airport to my hotel in Brookline was underground in new tunnels. It was a bit disconcerting to be in a tunnel that goes DOWN and UP, but I'm not the engineer here. Anyway, I got to my room and had an hour until my meeting. I decided to hoof it, since on the map it looked pretty close.
Alas, my hand-held GPS sent me the wrong direction - I had inadvertently plugged the wrong, very similar sounding name in for the street, and took a good 1 mile detour. I figured out my problem and was able to double back and get to the appointment just on time. Then I strolled into the Back Bay for a lunch at my favorite place - Sonsie (where we had brunch way back in 1997 on our first visit to Boston, and we learned about Lady Di's passing at hands of concrete and paparazzi.) A carrot soup, a cubano sandwich, and an iced tea set everything right. A visit to Triton booksellers, Newbury Comix, Fluevog shoes, and it was old home week.
By this point, I was starting to feel a bit tired - I'd been up traveling since 5am CST after all. So I cabbed it back to the hotel and took a little nap. Then I set back off to Boston by foot. My goal was something, anything Italian in the north side, which Google now tells me was a good 5 mile walk... took over an hour, during which time I worked on some Mandarin on Pimsleur (where interestingly they were teaching me how to say "Boston" in Mandarin: Boh-Shu-Don". The walk was up Beacon street, through Brookline, the Back Bay, through the Commons, through downtown, past Faneuil Hall. I saw the North side, and was shocked: The big dig again: The giant green bridge that used to be the gateway you peeked through to the north side has gone underground, and now there's a big park you walk across! It was a bit freaky actually.
I finally made it to the north side, and wandered up the street looking for the right restaurant... I found the one we did 6 years ago, but it was empty, and I didn't want to be the only diner in a place... nearby was a place with a gaudy giant neon sign depicting a bottle of chianti emptying on the sidewalk. I looked at the menu and realized I was home.
I walked in to find the place bustling with normal (not fancy) people, was seated next to a table with 6 kids, and the septuagenarian accordion player was wandering around... I had found a real place. And the menu item that drew me in: Bombalotti with sausage and goat cheese. bombalotti is some hybrid between Ziti, cannoli, and wagon wheel pasta - huge sectioned elbows of chewy pasta, with sausage, marinara, and sprinkled with goat cheese, then baked. It was perfect for me.
After dinner, wine, and espresso, I hit the street and decided that walking home was a sucker's game: Cab time. Somehow I got a chatty cabby, and I was chatty right back: We talked about morocco, language, the islamic influence in southern spain, and how you really need to know spanish to survive these days as a cabby.
Tomorrow I'll probably stay in the Brookline area until I need to leave: It's a bit arty up here, with Trader Joe's and several coffee shops close by (including a Peet's!)
In my travels, sometimes it feels like I'm seeing a town through cab windows and hotel windows. It's nice to have been able to spend a day with feet on the ground, to see the actual city and be in a place. I'm going to try to do this more!
An early night tonight - perhaps I'll see what fine films are on pay-per-view.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Boiling Rage
At work, as you know we were acquired by a larger concern shortly before I joined. As a part of the integration, they're combining computer networks and we're all getting new laptops. Big, horrible windows machines that are noisy, ugly, and lack couth. I will be using mine for the absolute minimum required, keeping the Mac as my machine of love.
Anyway, the process of getting set up should have been easy: Open the laptop, enter your login, and there you go.
After trying for 6 hours across 4 different days with multiple calls to multiple help desks, I only just today got my system up and running. And I am not a non-technical person: This was simply the worst managed transition I've ever seen... AND what's even better is that this was JUST for getting my login: The files and emails all move this weekend, and there is no assurance that it will come across cleanly - especially if it's as well planned as the simple act of giving a person a laptop and making sure they can log into it.
Several of us were so frustrated on Friday that we almost ran to the roof to throw our new laptops off: But that would have likely damaged the sidewalk.
Ok. That's off my chest.
On a different subject: You know that I recently had my office redecorated (again, kudos to Pamela). The other Veeps are stepping up and starting to personalize their spaces... but my boss hadn't been in for a few days, and I was thinking he needed some sprucing up. A trip to the party store held the answer.
When Mike came in this morning, there was a giant Oktoberfest banner across his wall, with colorful dancing Germans in hosen everywhere holding steins of beer, and large pictures of plates of sausages, breads, cakes, and more more more sausages. I had an ipod playing german drinking songs at full volume as well.
It set a good tone for the day...
Anyway, the process of getting set up should have been easy: Open the laptop, enter your login, and there you go.
After trying for 6 hours across 4 different days with multiple calls to multiple help desks, I only just today got my system up and running. And I am not a non-technical person: This was simply the worst managed transition I've ever seen... AND what's even better is that this was JUST for getting my login: The files and emails all move this weekend, and there is no assurance that it will come across cleanly - especially if it's as well planned as the simple act of giving a person a laptop and making sure they can log into it.
Several of us were so frustrated on Friday that we almost ran to the roof to throw our new laptops off: But that would have likely damaged the sidewalk.
Ok. That's off my chest.
On a different subject: You know that I recently had my office redecorated (again, kudos to Pamela). The other Veeps are stepping up and starting to personalize their spaces... but my boss hadn't been in for a few days, and I was thinking he needed some sprucing up. A trip to the party store held the answer.
When Mike came in this morning, there was a giant Oktoberfest banner across his wall, with colorful dancing Germans in hosen everywhere holding steins of beer, and large pictures of plates of sausages, breads, cakes, and more more more sausages. I had an ipod playing german drinking songs at full volume as well.
It set a good tone for the day...
The Auction
Saturday Night was the big Church Auction: Pamela had worked for days as the visionary for the decorations, and the results were stunning: The signs, the banners, the vases, the streamers, the giant undulating waves coming from the ceilings, it all came together splendidly, and people were coming up to Pamela all night fawning over her work. It was great validation of her talent!
The Auction itself was slightly smaller than last year: They got rid of the "garage sale" elements and only did donated items, which made for more space on the floor, and more intense bidding on the good stuff. Of course the highlight of the night was the live auction, which was led by George, one of the congregation, who employed a combination of good natured humor and flat out shaming tactics to not only get people to up their bids, but in two cases, the donors actually contributed extra stuff so that the top two bids were winners. That alone added over $1000 to the coffers.
I played it cool, but there was one thing I wanted, and let's just say I did what I needed to do to win it. I'm not exactly sure WHAT I'll be doing with 4 hours of a fine jazz combo with vocalist (the same as played at our 10th anniversary party), but it may just be a very silly afternoon I'm spending.
Mae was a saint and put the kids to bed so that we could attend the auction... and Sunday Pamela had all of the energy of a limp noodle, realizing just what an effort she had put into the whole deal.
The Auction itself was slightly smaller than last year: They got rid of the "garage sale" elements and only did donated items, which made for more space on the floor, and more intense bidding on the good stuff. Of course the highlight of the night was the live auction, which was led by George, one of the congregation, who employed a combination of good natured humor and flat out shaming tactics to not only get people to up their bids, but in two cases, the donors actually contributed extra stuff so that the top two bids were winners. That alone added over $1000 to the coffers.
I played it cool, but there was one thing I wanted, and let's just say I did what I needed to do to win it. I'm not exactly sure WHAT I'll be doing with 4 hours of a fine jazz combo with vocalist (the same as played at our 10th anniversary party), but it may just be a very silly afternoon I'm spending.
Mae was a saint and put the kids to bed so that we could attend the auction... and Sunday Pamela had all of the energy of a limp noodle, realizing just what an effort she had put into the whole deal.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Already up and running
Within 2 hours of getting this new machine home, I had all of my files in and working perfectly. I'm back to a Macbook Pro (the silver thing) but I did NOT get the Macbook AIR: I had over 140 gig of miscellaneous stuff on my hard drive (music files, videos, samples for music making, pictures, a few DVD images, a full MS Windows instance....) To have to pare that down by 50% to fit on the tiny Macbook Air hard drive was unthinkable. So I got the big brother, and I moved it all across, and still have 100 gig to spare!!! YES.
So I'm back, and hopefully THIS mac won't give me any guff. Not sure what I'll do with the old one: I'd have a hard time selling it to someone with the caveat "it eats hard drives every 8 months or so"... so I think it'll get recycled. Maybe.
So I'm back, and hopefully THIS mac won't give me any guff. Not sure what I'll do with the old one: I'd have a hard time selling it to someone with the caveat "it eats hard drives every 8 months or so"... so I think it'll get recycled. Maybe.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
8 Months
The MacBook has died again. To recap, it was bought in May 2006. First HD died October 2006. Second HD died September 2007. The third HD has now died April 2008. Of course, these HDs were not factory equipment (I put them in myself), so Apple can (and did) say it's not their problem...
This time, I've got good backups. REALLY good ones. I just took a fresh one last night actually.
This is strike three, however, and the Macbook is now leaving my home. A new Mac will be in place before the weekend is out. That is my pledge.
But seriously... WHAT on earth am I doing to these computers?
This time, I've got good backups. REALLY good ones. I just took a fresh one last night actually.
This is strike three, however, and the Macbook is now leaving my home. A new Mac will be in place before the weekend is out. That is my pledge.
But seriously... WHAT on earth am I doing to these computers?
Swimming with Isaac
Well, Isaac is 18 months, so we figured we'd take him to the Foss Swim School. This is a father-son deal, so even though we work up a bit late this morning, we made it work: Isaac and I had fun hanging out in the pool together, BUT he was NOT very interested in any of the "how to actually swim" things: In fact he cried a LOT the more we got into the class...
The teacher - a nice Aussie - told me that it can take several classes before the kids start doing any of the exercises... but it was just surprising to me that mister daredevil got so scared in the water! We'll see how he does in subsequent weeks!
Bella came along, and surprise - her best friend Jenny was taking a class at the same time (though it had started 15 min earlier... so it got out 15 min early) - so Bella joined Jenny for breakfast next door at Panera while Scream-o-Tron and I finished our class and got dried off and changed.
Since we got home, I've barely heard from Bella: She's been playing with friends here, there, and everywhere for the last 6 hours and counting... she'll sleep well tonight! Much better than yesterday, when she only played with friends for 2 hours before "differences of opinion" led to the group breaking up and Bella crying. She's such a sensitive girl, but sometimes her stubbornness gets in the way too. These kids with their willpower!
Tonight is the big Church Auction: Last year I wound up going to a Spanish-only dinner as a result... we'll see what goodies are on offer! I have not seen Pamela much for the past 2 days - this is her big thing she does for church - the setup and decoration. She loves it!
So this week coming up, it's a quick jaunt off to Boston for me! Newbury Comix, here I come!
The teacher - a nice Aussie - told me that it can take several classes before the kids start doing any of the exercises... but it was just surprising to me that mister daredevil got so scared in the water! We'll see how he does in subsequent weeks!
Bella came along, and surprise - her best friend Jenny was taking a class at the same time (though it had started 15 min earlier... so it got out 15 min early) - so Bella joined Jenny for breakfast next door at Panera while Scream-o-Tron and I finished our class and got dried off and changed.
Since we got home, I've barely heard from Bella: She's been playing with friends here, there, and everywhere for the last 6 hours and counting... she'll sleep well tonight! Much better than yesterday, when she only played with friends for 2 hours before "differences of opinion" led to the group breaking up and Bella crying. She's such a sensitive girl, but sometimes her stubbornness gets in the way too. These kids with their willpower!
Tonight is the big Church Auction: Last year I wound up going to a Spanish-only dinner as a result... we'll see what goodies are on offer! I have not seen Pamela much for the past 2 days - this is her big thing she does for church - the setup and decoration. She loves it!
So this week coming up, it's a quick jaunt off to Boston for me! Newbury Comix, here I come!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Dodging Denver
I was supposed to be in Denver tonight, to attend a meeting tomorrow... but something about the weather just made me question whether I HAD to do it, and it turns out there was some wiggle room. I literally stepped out of the security line at the airport and turned around. Between the weather and all those poor American Airlines souls, there's unquestionably bad airport karma right now. So while the world gets coated in ice out there, I sit by my fire and blog.
Things I love right now:
1) Lagavulin Distillers Edition: Smoky Lagavulin with a smooth sherry front end. A fine evening by the fire dram.
2) The new Madonna/Justin Timberlake song: 4 Minutes. The song is RELENTLESS.
3) The song Konnichiwa B*tches by Robyn: "I'll be knocking you down like I was in demolition, I'll be counting you out like a mathematician"
in the intro to the album, the following claim is made about her:
"She's listed in section 202 of the United Nations Security Act of 1979
as being too hot to wear tight sweaters on international airspace"
Poor Isaac didn't sleep enough last night and took a really long nap this afternoon, so I figured he wouldn't get tired for a while... and yet he totally collapsed right on time tonight. All the while he was babbling all sorts of new words and sounds - I think he literally overloaded his brain today and crashed.
Bella on the other hand was out playing at Casey's tonight: They called around dinnertime and said "Bella said she loves steak, so we invited her to stay for dinner". So I guess she eats steak now. I asked her about it tonight, whether she would eat it again, and she said "Yes, but not from an oven again. I'd eat it if a CHEF made it".
Well, time for more Swedish! I can't start on Arabic until this Swedish Monkey is off my back. Ah the fickle life of the language addict.
Things I love right now:
1) Lagavulin Distillers Edition: Smoky Lagavulin with a smooth sherry front end. A fine evening by the fire dram.
2) The new Madonna/Justin Timberlake song: 4 Minutes. The song is RELENTLESS.
3) The song Konnichiwa B*tches by Robyn: "I'll be knocking you down like I was in demolition, I'll be counting you out like a mathematician"
in the intro to the album, the following claim is made about her:
"She's listed in section 202 of the United Nations Security Act of 1979
as being too hot to wear tight sweaters on international airspace"
Poor Isaac didn't sleep enough last night and took a really long nap this afternoon, so I figured he wouldn't get tired for a while... and yet he totally collapsed right on time tonight. All the while he was babbling all sorts of new words and sounds - I think he literally overloaded his brain today and crashed.
Bella on the other hand was out playing at Casey's tonight: They called around dinnertime and said "Bella said she loves steak, so we invited her to stay for dinner". So I guess she eats steak now. I asked her about it tonight, whether she would eat it again, and she said "Yes, but not from an oven again. I'd eat it if a CHEF made it".
Well, time for more Swedish! I can't start on Arabic until this Swedish Monkey is off my back. Ah the fickle life of the language addict.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
More Amazinger
1) Bella in the car this afternoon on the way to the party store:
"You know we did an ABC song today in school, but the SONG was Jingle Bells
But you know what's even more amazinger? I just saw TWO DUCKS!!!!"
This was one of those great parent moments when everything gels in a second:
- She's learned to decouple music from words, so she got that the melody was one thing and the words were different.
- But she's still my nature loving observant girl
- And she uses words like Amazinger.
Pamela will be decorating church for the big auction this weekend, and brought a budget to Litin Paper. Bella was a very helpful and serious assistant. Isaac ran and ran and ran and ran and ran. I was happy because I found some very cheesy Ockoberfest pictures (huge stacks of sausage, smiling people in lederhosen) that will be decorating my bosses office tomorrow.
2) Bella's current favorite instrument to play at Guitar Center is the Acoustic Guitar - they have 3/4 size ones for kids, but she's still WAY too small, and those big steel strings are impossible for her delicate hands to fret. So my good music geek buddy Jeff H recommended the Ukelele. But how to get Bella interested?
Thank goodness for America Idol - tonight one of our favorite guys was out there playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with the Ukelele (the Israel Kam...kamika...big hawaiian guy version) and Bella loved the Uke. So I think we're primed. UKES AWAY!
3) Rosetta Stone Swedish: Level 1, Unit 5, Lesson 11: The first person has finally arrived. So it's around the 50th lesson, you learn how to say "I". "We" showed up in Lesson 9 actually.... Oh, and here's how they do it (since it's all pictures) - pictures with word balloons. Brilliant.
Pamela is STRONGLY encouraging me that once I'm done with this Swedish course (probably in 3 weeks) that I consider Arabic. I previewed some materials, and it seems like a good bet. Of course I'll also keep on with my Mandarin refresh. Because that's how I roll.
"You know we did an ABC song today in school, but the SONG was Jingle Bells
But you know what's even more amazinger? I just saw TWO DUCKS!!!!"
This was one of those great parent moments when everything gels in a second:
- She's learned to decouple music from words, so she got that the melody was one thing and the words were different.
- But she's still my nature loving observant girl
- And she uses words like Amazinger.
Pamela will be decorating church for the big auction this weekend, and brought a budget to Litin Paper. Bella was a very helpful and serious assistant. Isaac ran and ran and ran and ran and ran. I was happy because I found some very cheesy Ockoberfest pictures (huge stacks of sausage, smiling people in lederhosen) that will be decorating my bosses office tomorrow.
2) Bella's current favorite instrument to play at Guitar Center is the Acoustic Guitar - they have 3/4 size ones for kids, but she's still WAY too small, and those big steel strings are impossible for her delicate hands to fret. So my good music geek buddy Jeff H recommended the Ukelele. But how to get Bella interested?
Thank goodness for America Idol - tonight one of our favorite guys was out there playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with the Ukelele (the Israel Kam...kamika...big hawaiian guy version) and Bella loved the Uke. So I think we're primed. UKES AWAY!
3) Rosetta Stone Swedish: Level 1, Unit 5, Lesson 11: The first person has finally arrived. So it's around the 50th lesson, you learn how to say "I". "We" showed up in Lesson 9 actually.... Oh, and here's how they do it (since it's all pictures) - pictures with word balloons. Brilliant.
Pamela is STRONGLY encouraging me that once I'm done with this Swedish course (probably in 3 weeks) that I consider Arabic. I previewed some materials, and it seems like a good bet. Of course I'll also keep on with my Mandarin refresh. Because that's how I roll.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Harebrained Ideas
1) Open a music store called BLIP.
- A narrow downtown space - high ceilings, one door - maybe 15 feet wide. In an old tailor's shop maybe.
- White walls, severe white lighting.
- One long metal table down the middle of the store with German Synthesizers only.
- Waldorf and Access
- Two computer stations with German software only:
- Ableton, Native Instruments, Melodyne
- Hours 12-8pm Thurs and Sat only, or by appointment.
You KNOW it would rock.
2) The superpower: Ability to mildly increase the humidity of a room.
- Could help keep cigars fresh.
- Mortal enemy to comic book collectors, however.
3) The SweIdaGolNew Potato:
- A Yam stuffed with an Idaho Potato stuffed with a Golden potato, stuffed with a red New potato.
- Perfect compliment to TurDukEn
- Or OsTurDukEnaDee (Ostrich-Turkey-Duck-Chicken-Chickadee)
- A narrow downtown space - high ceilings, one door - maybe 15 feet wide. In an old tailor's shop maybe.
- White walls, severe white lighting.
- One long metal table down the middle of the store with German Synthesizers only.
- Waldorf and Access
- Two computer stations with German software only:
- Ableton, Native Instruments, Melodyne
- Hours 12-8pm Thurs and Sat only, or by appointment.
You KNOW it would rock.
2) The superpower: Ability to mildly increase the humidity of a room.
- Could help keep cigars fresh.
- Mortal enemy to comic book collectors, however.
3) The SweIdaGolNew Potato:
- A Yam stuffed with an Idaho Potato stuffed with a Golden potato, stuffed with a red New potato.
- Perfect compliment to TurDukEn
- Or OsTurDukEnaDee (Ostrich-Turkey-Duck-Chicken-Chickadee)
Letting Go...
Once upon a time I had a website. Actually a few websites. There was the old picture site on DotMac. And the new picture site on DotMac. There was the "Roamfi" site - a legacy from a startup that we ALMOST made happen... and there was my PPGWAVE site.
Of all of them, my PPG site was the oldest - it was never more than a parking spot on the web for one of my beloved aliases, named after the blue german synths used by Propaganda, Frankie, Alphaville, Depeche Mode, and others. I had no actual info on those synths (though there was a link to some info)... no, it was just my spot on the web with a picture and a few sub-pages of MP3 files of my music (most recently updated in 2003 I believe).
Sometime 2+ years ago, I lost all of the files pertaining to the maintenance of that site, and never got around to rebuilding it, so it was just not being updated. I know I could have re-loaded it, but it never seemed to be a priority. There were a few email boxes out on that site that I hadn't checked for several years either... so I can only imagine what amazing offers of replica watches and cialis await me in there.
Well, I've let the site expire finally. A visit to ppgwave.com will not net you a happy result. I decided that if anything, THIS is my true footprint on the web: People who know me will come here, and I'll let you know what is what. The only reason I bring it up is that I had linked to that site's picture for my picture, and for a few days it's been a "?" instead. So I reloaded a picture (not the exact same one, but from the same 5 minute session).
I had a similar thing happen when I sold off Klangworks.com over 5 years ago: It was an admission that I'm really not doing this jingle music thing full time, that my calling lies elsewhere... It's funny how the web is so temporary sometimes. I need to remember to take this blog's entries and cache them offline somewhere so that Bella and Isaac have some other record of my life should Google decide one day to completely pack up and disappear...!
Of all of them, my PPG site was the oldest - it was never more than a parking spot on the web for one of my beloved aliases, named after the blue german synths used by Propaganda, Frankie, Alphaville, Depeche Mode, and others. I had no actual info on those synths (though there was a link to some info)... no, it was just my spot on the web with a picture and a few sub-pages of MP3 files of my music (most recently updated in 2003 I believe).
Sometime 2+ years ago, I lost all of the files pertaining to the maintenance of that site, and never got around to rebuilding it, so it was just not being updated. I know I could have re-loaded it, but it never seemed to be a priority. There were a few email boxes out on that site that I hadn't checked for several years either... so I can only imagine what amazing offers of replica watches and cialis await me in there.
Well, I've let the site expire finally. A visit to ppgwave.com will not net you a happy result. I decided that if anything, THIS is my true footprint on the web: People who know me will come here, and I'll let you know what is what. The only reason I bring it up is that I had linked to that site's picture for my picture, and for a few days it's been a "?" instead. So I reloaded a picture (not the exact same one, but from the same 5 minute session).
I had a similar thing happen when I sold off Klangworks.com over 5 years ago: It was an admission that I'm really not doing this jingle music thing full time, that my calling lies elsewhere... It's funny how the web is so temporary sometimes. I need to remember to take this blog's entries and cache them offline somewhere so that Bella and Isaac have some other record of my life should Google decide one day to completely pack up and disappear...!
Back from the dream
Saturday found us wandering around Stillwater in beautiful sunny weather, visiting the shops, doing a little antiquing. We found one place (Pulp Fashion) that was a huge stationary shop, with an amazing sale room (you'll be seeing some new textures on our paper correspondence), and a "Man Room" with a big couch, TV, magazines, and the paper ("You may be here for a while" the sign warns).
The economics of Stillwater are still hard to watch in action: For a time it was all antiques all the time, but that has changed in the ebay world, and for my own part, I just don't need tchochkes either! Many shops are floundering, but many new ones are coming in - the more high-end babygear and educational toys, as well as frou-frou Patina/Red Envelope style places. The restaurant scene is moving upscale as well, with some great wine bars, while the older bars seem a bit quieter... though to be fair I'm not sure we know if those bars are doing well since we don't go there at night....
We came back to the room after a huuuuge lunch and Pamela napped for a few more hours while I puttered (working on Swedish and Mandarin - staying focused until I finish the full level of Rosetta Stone and Fluenz) Dinner out at a wine bar where the starter was great but the soup we both chose was WAY too salty, so we skipped right to dessert.
Sleep was not QUITE as deep, since we'd had a pretty relaxing day, plus naps... but it worked nonetheless. Breakfast in the AM, and we made it home by 1pm to relieve Miss Tara, who had done a great job handling the kiddos for the weekend. Sunday is a rainy day, so we're huddled around the fire, playing go fish, napping, etc.
It was a great weekend away, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.
The economics of Stillwater are still hard to watch in action: For a time it was all antiques all the time, but that has changed in the ebay world, and for my own part, I just don't need tchochkes either! Many shops are floundering, but many new ones are coming in - the more high-end babygear and educational toys, as well as frou-frou Patina/Red Envelope style places. The restaurant scene is moving upscale as well, with some great wine bars, while the older bars seem a bit quieter... though to be fair I'm not sure we know if those bars are doing well since we don't go there at night....
We came back to the room after a huuuuge lunch and Pamela napped for a few more hours while I puttered (working on Swedish and Mandarin - staying focused until I finish the full level of Rosetta Stone and Fluenz) Dinner out at a wine bar where the starter was great but the soup we both chose was WAY too salty, so we skipped right to dessert.
Sleep was not QUITE as deep, since we'd had a pretty relaxing day, plus naps... but it worked nonetheless. Breakfast in the AM, and we made it home by 1pm to relieve Miss Tara, who had done a great job handling the kiddos for the weekend. Sunday is a rainy day, so we're huddled around the fire, playing go fish, napping, etc.
It was a great weekend away, and I wouldn't change a thing about it.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Update from the B&B
We escaped the cities around 3:30 the Isaac in the capable hands of Miss Tara and Bella already on her way to a waterpark for a playing overnight with the whole neighborhood.
Our room at the Rivertown Inn is the Oscar Wilde Suite - over in the carriage house, it's large, beautiful, and quiet. There's a huge tub, and a steam/rainfall shower as well. The bed... it is like some sort of awakeness-sucking plush amoeba.
Within 10 min of being here, I was already conked out on the bed for a short nap. The bed was just that comfortable. We got down to the hotel for the wine and cheese and sausage reception.... a great start to the trip.
We walked down the hill to Stillwater and had dinner at "the" hopping wine bar called MarX - They were pouring Lagavulin, so I was happy (though the price on that pour was a bit high), and the food was fantastic. But by 7:30 we were ready to be back in our own space.
Fast forward to the morning, when we discovered that we were almost late to breakfast: We slept 11 hours in that amazing bed. I haven't slept like that since... I don't even know when. Pamela last had a crash out like that when she went to Miraval. I can only say that this parenting thing must be somewhat tiring.
A wonderful breakfast today at a big communal table - Fresh baked muffins (Blueberry or Chocolate), a Baked Apple with filo pastry and creme anglaise, a crepe filled with orange pastry cream (and candied kumquats), and a egg souffle with canadian bacon, arugula and bellavitano cheese with a mixed herb sauce. It was amazing.
The sun is shining and the birds are singing, so we'll be off to walk downtown now... nothing at all on our planner. This is the break we have so desperately needed.
Our room at the Rivertown Inn is the Oscar Wilde Suite - over in the carriage house, it's large, beautiful, and quiet. There's a huge tub, and a steam/rainfall shower as well. The bed... it is like some sort of awakeness-sucking plush amoeba.
Within 10 min of being here, I was already conked out on the bed for a short nap. The bed was just that comfortable. We got down to the hotel for the wine and cheese and sausage reception.... a great start to the trip.
We walked down the hill to Stillwater and had dinner at "the" hopping wine bar called MarX - They were pouring Lagavulin, so I was happy (though the price on that pour was a bit high), and the food was fantastic. But by 7:30 we were ready to be back in our own space.
Fast forward to the morning, when we discovered that we were almost late to breakfast: We slept 11 hours in that amazing bed. I haven't slept like that since... I don't even know when. Pamela last had a crash out like that when she went to Miraval. I can only say that this parenting thing must be somewhat tiring.
A wonderful breakfast today at a big communal table - Fresh baked muffins (Blueberry or Chocolate), a Baked Apple with filo pastry and creme anglaise, a crepe filled with orange pastry cream (and candied kumquats), and a egg souffle with canadian bacon, arugula and bellavitano cheese with a mixed herb sauce. It was amazing.
The sun is shining and the birds are singing, so we'll be off to walk downtown now... nothing at all on our planner. This is the break we have so desperately needed.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
In Town
I have two weeks ahead with no planned travel, aside from a nice weekend away coming up with my sweetie pie - two glorious nights at the Rivertown Inn in Stillwater - in the Oscar Wilde suite, out in the carriage house, so very quiet and BIG. It'll be good to have some time away just us two to catch our breath after all of the craziness of our lives. The 7 inches of snow that fell as an insult to all last night are already melting away, and by the weekend it should be spring again.
Isaac tantalized us with a few nights of sleeping all the way through, but since then has at least reduced to one wakeup a night only: Until very recently, he had a 1am and a 4am. Now we seem to have just a 2-3am... and maybe just maybe he'll remember what he was thinking about with those "all the way through" nights... boy that was some good sleeping. He has another tooth coming through which may be affecting his sleep somewhat (it's no doubt affecting his mood - he's been a crabby cus today!)
My experiment with The Rosetta Stone continues: I'm now halfway through Level 1 (which is all there is for Swedish) and I can comfortably say "The boy in the red shirt and his sister with the white dress are in the airplane without their parents" (Pojken i den röd tröjan och hans syster med den vitt klänning är i flygplanet utan sina föräldrar) and "he can't talk now, because he is drinking milk" (Han kan inte tala nu, för han dricker mjölk)
But I have not yet learned how to say "hello", "goodbye", or "I would like a cup of coffee". 44 lessons in, and the first and second person are yet to be found, as are any TACTICAL phrases of any sort. (I'm not looking ahead, so maybe they're right around the corner...) BUT I do feel like a good foundation is being built. So bottom line, I feel like Rosetta Stone is definitely WORKING, but I could caution against anyone using it as a cram prior to a trip: For anyone who has <30 days to pick some stuff up, you've got to do Pimsleur. But if you want to LEARN the language, I'm pretty impressed with Rosetta so far - the lessons are sticking pretty well, and you do learn how to string concepts together, not just learn phrases.
That's the update for now...
Isaac tantalized us with a few nights of sleeping all the way through, but since then has at least reduced to one wakeup a night only: Until very recently, he had a 1am and a 4am. Now we seem to have just a 2-3am... and maybe just maybe he'll remember what he was thinking about with those "all the way through" nights... boy that was some good sleeping. He has another tooth coming through which may be affecting his sleep somewhat (it's no doubt affecting his mood - he's been a crabby cus today!)
My experiment with The Rosetta Stone continues: I'm now halfway through Level 1 (which is all there is for Swedish) and I can comfortably say "The boy in the red shirt and his sister with the white dress are in the airplane without their parents" (Pojken i den röd tröjan och hans syster med den vitt klänning är i flygplanet utan sina föräldrar) and "he can't talk now, because he is drinking milk" (Han kan inte tala nu, för han dricker mjölk)
But I have not yet learned how to say "hello", "goodbye", or "I would like a cup of coffee". 44 lessons in, and the first and second person are yet to be found, as are any TACTICAL phrases of any sort. (I'm not looking ahead, so maybe they're right around the corner...) BUT I do feel like a good foundation is being built. So bottom line, I feel like Rosetta Stone is definitely WORKING, but I could caution against anyone using it as a cram prior to a trip: For anyone who has <30 days to pick some stuff up, you've got to do Pimsleur. But if you want to LEARN the language, I'm pretty impressed with Rosetta so far - the lessons are sticking pretty well, and you do learn how to string concepts together, not just learn phrases.
That's the update for now...
Friday, March 28, 2008
A vision of the future
In the philly airport, killing a few hours before my flight, all of us business travelers are roaming up and down the aisles looking for an open power outlet - of which there are only 2 for every 1000 square feet, half of which are not live. I have secured a "sweet spot" with a chair, off the beaten path. Others are on the floor or standing behind abandoned desks hoping that not EVERYTHING has been turned off.
More than one have come around the corner and viewed my position with envy. I imagine that as the afternoon goes on, the envy may turn darker, and I may need to defend myself.
Philly wound up being very productive: Good meetings at the primary client, and then an unexpected call from another lead in town to "drop by if I have time" - natch I made the time and got some good leads.
When I checked in last night, they had me down for a "midget bed" and were surprised to learn I was not, in fact, a midget. (can you say midget these days? Or only in reference to old MG cars?) They gave me a "hospitality suite" instead, which is essentially a 1500 sq foot party room with a full living room. I've had smaller apartments (much smaller). It was completely wasted on me, since I checked in at midnight and left at 7:30am
Oh, and it's not ALL bad food in my life: for lunch, my philly contact took us to a great "local agriculture" place where everything on the menu is from within 100 miles or something. I had a goat cheese and carmelized onion quiche and a side salad. Deeeee lish. Funny thing: The place was made for "sustainability", and the owner decided to hire only educated types who believed in the vision, and paid living wages... So naturally the place was shut down for a while a year later when the workers unionized and went on strike.
Looking forward to the weekend!
More than one have come around the corner and viewed my position with envy. I imagine that as the afternoon goes on, the envy may turn darker, and I may need to defend myself.
Philly wound up being very productive: Good meetings at the primary client, and then an unexpected call from another lead in town to "drop by if I have time" - natch I made the time and got some good leads.
When I checked in last night, they had me down for a "midget bed" and were surprised to learn I was not, in fact, a midget. (can you say midget these days? Or only in reference to old MG cars?) They gave me a "hospitality suite" instead, which is essentially a 1500 sq foot party room with a full living room. I've had smaller apartments (much smaller). It was completely wasted on me, since I checked in at midnight and left at 7:30am
Oh, and it's not ALL bad food in my life: for lunch, my philly contact took us to a great "local agriculture" place where everything on the menu is from within 100 miles or something. I had a goat cheese and carmelized onion quiche and a side salad. Deeeee lish. Funny thing: The place was made for "sustainability", and the owner decided to hire only educated types who believed in the vision, and paid living wages... So naturally the place was shut down for a while a year later when the workers unionized and went on strike.
Looking forward to the weekend!
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Undone!!!
Daylight savings was over 2 weeks ago, and every clock in the world was properly set. Except the one next to my bed last night (because of the small size of these alarm clocks, they tend to get "rotated" frequently by little Isaac - so this one must never have been set, nor never have been by my bedside in the past weeks).
What's funny is that I got up, thought it was 5, did my whole morning routine to get out of the house by 5:45 for my 6am workout. I checked mail, looked at clocks to make sure I was pacing myself properly. Not once did my eyes register that the hour was off. 4 different clocks in the house, plus the computer, all telling me it was really 6:45, but I didn't notice.
Not until I was half way to the workout, when I looked at the car clock. Long and hard.
Arrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh.
What's funny is that I got up, thought it was 5, did my whole morning routine to get out of the house by 5:45 for my 6am workout. I checked mail, looked at clocks to make sure I was pacing myself properly. Not once did my eyes register that the hour was off. 4 different clocks in the house, plus the computer, all telling me it was really 6:45, but I didn't notice.
Not until I was half way to the workout, when I looked at the car clock. Long and hard.
Arrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Home again
Well, we didn't get to that pizza joint - we did a tasty chain called GoRoma, which had something for everyone (and was very close by when all of our stomachs decided it was TIME). There was pizza available, and Isaac loved it. Bella had two servings of the Ravioli - that girl is going through a growth spurt - every morning she's got a little more height and a bit more sparkle in her eyes.
Tuesday we hit our favorite breakfast place on earth - The Palatine Inn - and saw some family. Bella and I had some Gyros for lunch (well, I did - she had chicken), and back off to the book shop for espresso, cocoa, and reading. In the evening we saw Rick, Kari, Bailey, and Ty for PF Changs: We had a gift certificate so we surprised them by treating... Isaac was home with Bam, and Bella was passing out in the restaurant (the collective action has wiped her out) so it was an early night.
Today we headed home after a Portillo's run (soooooo good) and the 6.5 hours passed like, well, 6.5 hours. Isaac only slept 1 hour, but was only really mad at the world for one hour too, so there were 4.5 hours of the kids relatively pacified watching scooby doo episodes almost non-stop.
We bade farewell to the rented minivan (with help from a friend), and re-settled.
Isaac was so happy to be home, he ran around the house like a maniac, stopping at his favorite things (living room table, fish tank), patting them and laughing. When I put him into his crib, he jumped around yelling "Ah-DAH-dah-da-DAH!!!" There was no mistaking his utter joy at being back in home base.
Bella had her "serene" smile on from the moment we walked in, and was happy to have stories for bed again (in Palatine, we stayed in one big room, so we kept quiet at Bella's bedtime to not wake Isaac).
The week will end on a busy note: A possible VERY strategic placement cooked up early in the week out in Philly, and I'm going out tomorrow night late to attend the Friday morning meetings to seal the deal: Literally out of state for 24 hours total. The weekend brings a poker party to celebrate a friend's 40th, and a re-do on the visit from Bella's birth family (since the last try was scotched by illness).
So it's good to be home: I will miss my delicious Chicago food, but I feel like I really ate my way around. I'll be at Step tomorrow at 6am working off the insult I've inflicted upon myself!
Tuesday we hit our favorite breakfast place on earth - The Palatine Inn - and saw some family. Bella and I had some Gyros for lunch (well, I did - she had chicken), and back off to the book shop for espresso, cocoa, and reading. In the evening we saw Rick, Kari, Bailey, and Ty for PF Changs: We had a gift certificate so we surprised them by treating... Isaac was home with Bam, and Bella was passing out in the restaurant (the collective action has wiped her out) so it was an early night.
Today we headed home after a Portillo's run (soooooo good) and the 6.5 hours passed like, well, 6.5 hours. Isaac only slept 1 hour, but was only really mad at the world for one hour too, so there were 4.5 hours of the kids relatively pacified watching scooby doo episodes almost non-stop.
We bade farewell to the rented minivan (with help from a friend), and re-settled.
Isaac was so happy to be home, he ran around the house like a maniac, stopping at his favorite things (living room table, fish tank), patting them and laughing. When I put him into his crib, he jumped around yelling "Ah-DAH-dah-da-DAH!!!" There was no mistaking his utter joy at being back in home base.
Bella had her "serene" smile on from the moment we walked in, and was happy to have stories for bed again (in Palatine, we stayed in one big room, so we kept quiet at Bella's bedtime to not wake Isaac).
The week will end on a busy note: A possible VERY strategic placement cooked up early in the week out in Philly, and I'm going out tomorrow night late to attend the Friday morning meetings to seal the deal: Literally out of state for 24 hours total. The weekend brings a poker party to celebrate a friend's 40th, and a re-do on the visit from Bella's birth family (since the last try was scotched by illness).
So it's good to be home: I will miss my delicious Chicago food, but I feel like I really ate my way around. I'll be at Step tomorrow at 6am working off the insult I've inflicted upon myself!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Some People
From Bella tonight:
Some people are afraid of Bees, Crabs, and Lobsters.
Bees? They'll sting ya.
Crabs will pinch you.
Lobsters will pinch you AND whack you.
Some people are afraid of Bees, Crabs, and Lobsters.
Bees? They'll sting ya.
Crabs will pinch you.
Lobsters will pinch you AND whack you.
Chicago Adventures
Yesterday we had a great brunch at the retirement community where Pamela's Grandma lives - it was a top notch buffet, without huge lines. Isaac was a total maniac, running miles and miles down the hallways of the community, giggling the whole time. He exhausted 3 adults in the process, and showed no signs of tiring when we strapped him back into the car to go home.
The Chicago-style food love-fest continues: We did Portillo's on Saturday, and I'm convinced that my ticket to fame will be to open the first in Edina... it will be amazing. Tonight we'll do a pizza joint with the whole family.
This morning we headed off to Woodfield - best mall in the world. We got Isaac and Bella some new shoes: Isaac's first "big boy" shoes: With them on, we got an amazing show as he tried to work out how to walk with heavier shoes with actually grippy soles: He was walking stiff legged like Frankenstein, lifting his feet almost up to his ears to overcompensate. Of course within a half hour, he was sprinting again, completely adjusted to the new feet.
Of course we visited the Lego store (the new Millennium Falcon model is insane - it's 3 feet long and wildly detailed), the Apple Store (I love love love the Air), and the Sony Store (the new OLED TV is so bright and compact....)... The only problem was when Bella ducked into the BuildaBear store and really really wanted a wolf. For some reason I put my foot down (they're expensive, she has a million dolls, including 2 webkinz got just yesterday!) and dealt with many tears.
I've been enjoying downtime with the new book by Charles Stross - Halting State. Of all of my favorite Sci Fi writers, he's the one I most want to go out and have drinks with - you can tell the ideas just flow effortlessly from him, and you KNOW he'd be a riot in a conversation. Reading his books directly stimulates my pleasure center, and the world disappears into the margins: I can't say he's a writer for everyone, but he's one of the best writers in the world for ME!
It's a lazy afternoon - Bella's having mac and cheese with Scooby Doo, Pamela and Isaac are napping, and I'm about to start doing a little more reading. All is well in the world.
The Chicago-style food love-fest continues: We did Portillo's on Saturday, and I'm convinced that my ticket to fame will be to open the first in Edina... it will be amazing. Tonight we'll do a pizza joint with the whole family.
This morning we headed off to Woodfield - best mall in the world. We got Isaac and Bella some new shoes: Isaac's first "big boy" shoes: With them on, we got an amazing show as he tried to work out how to walk with heavier shoes with actually grippy soles: He was walking stiff legged like Frankenstein, lifting his feet almost up to his ears to overcompensate. Of course within a half hour, he was sprinting again, completely adjusted to the new feet.
Of course we visited the Lego store (the new Millennium Falcon model is insane - it's 3 feet long and wildly detailed), the Apple Store (I love love love the Air), and the Sony Store (the new OLED TV is so bright and compact....)... The only problem was when Bella ducked into the BuildaBear store and really really wanted a wolf. For some reason I put my foot down (they're expensive, she has a million dolls, including 2 webkinz got just yesterday!) and dealt with many tears.
I've been enjoying downtime with the new book by Charles Stross - Halting State. Of all of my favorite Sci Fi writers, he's the one I most want to go out and have drinks with - you can tell the ideas just flow effortlessly from him, and you KNOW he'd be a riot in a conversation. Reading his books directly stimulates my pleasure center, and the world disappears into the margins: I can't say he's a writer for everyone, but he's one of the best writers in the world for ME!
It's a lazy afternoon - Bella's having mac and cheese with Scooby Doo, Pamela and Isaac are napping, and I'm about to start doing a little more reading. All is well in the world.
Friday, March 21, 2008
On anonymity
At my new job, one of the duties is to serve as the final interviewer for incoming consultant candidates: I do around 2 a week, and it's good to have people like us doing the interview, since we're responsible for selling AND making sure the clients are happy. So far, mine have been 50-50 hire or no-thank-you, which isn't a bad ratio all things considered.
But in two cases, I've had candidates who had done their homework on the company... and not just the company, but on ME (my name is on the invite for the interview), so I've been "googled". Now, I've looked up what happens when you google me, and it's pretty innocuous (some old music stuff mostly, and a couple of articles for healthcare publications).
Which is why I don't use last names, nor do I use company names in this blog - not that there's anything INTENSELY personal here - nothing I wouldn't want my mother to read (hi mom!), not anything libelous toward anywhere I'm working (though the "troubles" with my last client would probably be embarrassing if the full names were out there).
But there's a part of my life that is public, and I think it's important for the people I write about to know that I'm protecting ALL of our privacy here.
But in two cases, I've had candidates who had done their homework on the company... and not just the company, but on ME (my name is on the invite for the interview), so I've been "googled". Now, I've looked up what happens when you google me, and it's pretty innocuous (some old music stuff mostly, and a couple of articles for healthcare publications).
Which is why I don't use last names, nor do I use company names in this blog - not that there's anything INTENSELY personal here - nothing I wouldn't want my mother to read (hi mom!), not anything libelous toward anywhere I'm working (though the "troubles" with my last client would probably be embarrassing if the full names were out there).
But there's a part of my life that is public, and I think it's important for the people I write about to know that I'm protecting ALL of our privacy here.
Cozy
Last night, we drove down to Chicagoland for the Easter Weekend, ahead of the snowstorms. As usual, Isaac had a very hard time falling asleep in the rented minivan - staying up well past 9. We pulled just after midnight, bleary eyed, but happy to be here. When we awoke around 7, the world was white with big flakes of snow - it was a GOOD IDEA to have left last night.
Today, even with the weather, we had to run out to get some solid Chicago-style food: An amazing italian combo from Johnnie's beef. The proprietor, the garrulous Frankie, is a friend of Papa's. He heard that I was from out of town and had never tried his friday special: A sandwich with eggs scrambled with green peppers. Next thing we knew, another sandwich was sent to our table.
Alas, regular readers will recall the "christmas miracle" from 2006, where my allergies mysteriously disappeared for the entire week of the visit. No such luck this time around: My nose is red and runny, and my head is full of cotton. I've used my inhaler for the first time since the fall. We'll just have to see how this goes.
I had a strange thing happen as I ran out to grab dinner for the house: No gloves, and I had to do some ice clearing, but nothing I hadn't done before... The total trip was less than 20 minutes. But when I came into the house, two fingers were pale white and had no feeling. I ran them under warm water and they recovered.... but it was very odd!
Finally, it's been a lazy day - Both Pamela and I got NAPS, which seemed impossibly luxurious - thank goodness for people in the house watching the kiddies!
So not an earth shattering update, but we are safe and sound in Chicagoland, my nose is running, we're taking naps, I'm eating wonderfully bad-for-me chicago food, and now it's time for bed.
Today, even with the weather, we had to run out to get some solid Chicago-style food: An amazing italian combo from Johnnie's beef. The proprietor, the garrulous Frankie, is a friend of Papa's. He heard that I was from out of town and had never tried his friday special: A sandwich with eggs scrambled with green peppers. Next thing we knew, another sandwich was sent to our table.
Alas, regular readers will recall the "christmas miracle" from 2006, where my allergies mysteriously disappeared for the entire week of the visit. No such luck this time around: My nose is red and runny, and my head is full of cotton. I've used my inhaler for the first time since the fall. We'll just have to see how this goes.
I had a strange thing happen as I ran out to grab dinner for the house: No gloves, and I had to do some ice clearing, but nothing I hadn't done before... The total trip was less than 20 minutes. But when I came into the house, two fingers were pale white and had no feeling. I ran them under warm water and they recovered.... but it was very odd!
Finally, it's been a lazy day - Both Pamela and I got NAPS, which seemed impossibly luxurious - thank goodness for people in the house watching the kiddies!
So not an earth shattering update, but we are safe and sound in Chicagoland, my nose is running, we're taking naps, I'm eating wonderfully bad-for-me chicago food, and now it's time for bed.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Strategy
6 weeks ago when I was last in Sacramento, the person I was meeting with ate literally like a bird - I've never seen someone eat so little. I had ordered a bowl of stew and felt like a total hog shoveling down food while she just sat there.
Last night, I pursued a different strategy:
I ate a full dinner 1 hour before meeting with her. Then when we got to the sushi bar, we both ordered just a little bit of food and nibbled in concert.
Strategy.
Last night, I pursued a different strategy:
I ate a full dinner 1 hour before meeting with her. Then when we got to the sushi bar, we both ordered just a little bit of food and nibbled in concert.
Strategy.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Amazing Awesomeness
1) I just got my invite to join the private beta of Evernote - a supercool personal tagging application: You take pictures of things, and it scans them for meaning and indexes them: Take a picture of a business card, and the text is readable. Take a picture of a page of notes (handwritten) and it's all searchable. Take a picture of a bottle of wine, then you can add comments to the picture, and search for it later.
What's best is that it's completely server-based, so you can do it all via iPhone, or your desktop, or a borrowed PC - it doesn't matter - you can always get at your "external brain".
I recommend checking out the demo video at www.evernote.com It starts slowly, but if by the end you're not completely amazed, I'll give you your money back*.
2) I'm trying some Mandarin software from Fluenz which is really pretty revolutionary: It's not that any one part hasn't been done by someone else, but the whole look and feel is very clean, and the instructor is very engaging. I do have some complaints - there don't seem to be many keyboard shortcuts so there is a lot of mousing around, which is annoying when every single tone mark (of which every word in Mandarin has one) is a mouseclick instead of a keystroke... but we'll see if I can get beyond that.
So far, 4 lessons in, I feel it's "better" than Rosetta Stone, which I'm 21 lessons into for Swedish now... but these are both early impressions, and I'll reserve judgement until the end of both sessions... we'll see which one gave me a better command of the language. One trick of Rosetta Stone is to really figure out which of the 14 different exercises per lesson is best for you: After a lot of trying, I've figured out two that help things stick for me, while the rest don't really help do anything but exercise my multiple choice skillz.
*regarding the money back guarantee: not really.
What's best is that it's completely server-based, so you can do it all via iPhone, or your desktop, or a borrowed PC - it doesn't matter - you can always get at your "external brain".
I recommend checking out the demo video at www.evernote.com It starts slowly, but if by the end you're not completely amazed, I'll give you your money back*.
2) I'm trying some Mandarin software from Fluenz which is really pretty revolutionary: It's not that any one part hasn't been done by someone else, but the whole look and feel is very clean, and the instructor is very engaging. I do have some complaints - there don't seem to be many keyboard shortcuts so there is a lot of mousing around, which is annoying when every single tone mark (of which every word in Mandarin has one) is a mouseclick instead of a keystroke... but we'll see if I can get beyond that.
So far, 4 lessons in, I feel it's "better" than Rosetta Stone, which I'm 21 lessons into for Swedish now... but these are both early impressions, and I'll reserve judgement until the end of both sessions... we'll see which one gave me a better command of the language. One trick of Rosetta Stone is to really figure out which of the 14 different exercises per lesson is best for you: After a lot of trying, I've figured out two that help things stick for me, while the rest don't really help do anything but exercise my multiple choice skillz.
*regarding the money back guarantee: not really.
A different trip
Monday night good and late I took off for Portland: This is an "existing client" touchbase trip, not a hunting trip, so I left the fancy suits at home (went for the sportcoat look). The flight took off a little late - 9:45pm, and we got into Portland at midnight PST. I was in bed by 12:30, which was of course 2:30 by my body time, and I was feeling a little fragile.
Leaving wasn't easy - I had hoped Bella might already be in bed, but instead she was latched onto me pleading with me "don't go, Daddy, don't GO!!!!" This was after a nice dinner and 2 games of Go Fish where she smoked me fair and square... And Isaac was having mad brainstorms as well. I sensed that perhaps Pamela would have an evening of it.
On the plane, I was able to identify some people from our preferred software vendor by the wifi network their laptops broadcast (which popped up when I turned on my macbook). It was a very strange thing to realize the different ways we broadcast our identities to the world.
I had intended to have a wakeup call at 7am, but my darn body clock had me up before 6am with no hope of extra sleep, so it's just as well I had decided not to have breakfast sent up: I was already done with breakfast and back in the room before the time I would have had the food delivered.
It looked like a cloudy morning and the doorman gave me a garish red and white umbrella as I went out to my AM meeting... I went to one of the 100,000 coffee shops and got a bag of pastries and a tub of coffee for the team, and discovered upon arriving that my client had called in sick - so no meet and greet. I was able to connect with my person here, though, and that is an important function of these trips - to make people who are working alone at a client site feel somehow connected to the general team...
Meeting out of the way, I had a couple of hours to kill in Portland, so I ventured out to Powell's Books - the biggest best bookshop in the galaxy. Nothing got bought, however - all I could think about was "where will I put this - how far must I carry it today?". By 10:30 I realized my body clock was getting mad at me for not eating lunch... so I lurked at a deli's door while they took down their chairs and got the place ready for... me...
So now I'm cooling my jets in the PDX airport getting ready for the second leg of my trip - checking in with my team in Sacramento. I have an hour to burn, so time for some language learning... if I can ignore the man playing cheesy piano in the atrium here - with a synth for strings. Oh, it's glorious stuff.
Leaving wasn't easy - I had hoped Bella might already be in bed, but instead she was latched onto me pleading with me "don't go, Daddy, don't GO!!!!" This was after a nice dinner and 2 games of Go Fish where she smoked me fair and square... And Isaac was having mad brainstorms as well. I sensed that perhaps Pamela would have an evening of it.
On the plane, I was able to identify some people from our preferred software vendor by the wifi network their laptops broadcast (which popped up when I turned on my macbook). It was a very strange thing to realize the different ways we broadcast our identities to the world.
I had intended to have a wakeup call at 7am, but my darn body clock had me up before 6am with no hope of extra sleep, so it's just as well I had decided not to have breakfast sent up: I was already done with breakfast and back in the room before the time I would have had the food delivered.
It looked like a cloudy morning and the doorman gave me a garish red and white umbrella as I went out to my AM meeting... I went to one of the 100,000 coffee shops and got a bag of pastries and a tub of coffee for the team, and discovered upon arriving that my client had called in sick - so no meet and greet. I was able to connect with my person here, though, and that is an important function of these trips - to make people who are working alone at a client site feel somehow connected to the general team...
Meeting out of the way, I had a couple of hours to kill in Portland, so I ventured out to Powell's Books - the biggest best bookshop in the galaxy. Nothing got bought, however - all I could think about was "where will I put this - how far must I carry it today?". By 10:30 I realized my body clock was getting mad at me for not eating lunch... so I lurked at a deli's door while they took down their chairs and got the place ready for... me...
So now I'm cooling my jets in the PDX airport getting ready for the second leg of my trip - checking in with my team in Sacramento. I have an hour to burn, so time for some language learning... if I can ignore the man playing cheesy piano in the atrium here - with a synth for strings. Oh, it's glorious stuff.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Two Bits tangentially involving Fred Rogers
1) As Bella was drifting off the other night, Pamela fielded this query:
"With six millipn people in the world, how come some of them need to die?"
Pamela paused and started with: "There's always new people being born..."
Bella interrupted:
"Yeah, I think baby Macey (her new birth-cousin) probably replaced Mister Rogers."
She's got it all figured out.
2) The car wash I love has a blue macaw named Seaweed in an open pen near the cash register. They treat this bird well, and there are always new toys for it to play with. As I walked up, Seaweed was rather ferociously trying to untangle a string of beads and was a bit flustered. I've certainly never touched the bird, and he always seems to keep his distance from the customers.
On the TV near the register, they were playing Mister Rogers, and as I watched a yo yo expert try to show Fred and Bob Trow how to "walk the dog", I caught a brilliant blueness out of the corner of my eye.
Seaweed had crept up on me, and grabbed hold of my sleeve with his beak. He then pulled one leg up onto my arm, keeping one on his perch, and was looking me right in the eye, clacking his beak. I reached out with my gloved hand, and he gave me a few knuckle gnaws.
I told him he was a good bird, but that I needed to go now, and I helped him back onto his perch and waved goodbye.
"With six millipn people in the world, how come some of them need to die?"
Pamela paused and started with: "There's always new people being born..."
Bella interrupted:
"Yeah, I think baby Macey (her new birth-cousin) probably replaced Mister Rogers."
She's got it all figured out.
2) The car wash I love has a blue macaw named Seaweed in an open pen near the cash register. They treat this bird well, and there are always new toys for it to play with. As I walked up, Seaweed was rather ferociously trying to untangle a string of beads and was a bit flustered. I've certainly never touched the bird, and he always seems to keep his distance from the customers.
On the TV near the register, they were playing Mister Rogers, and as I watched a yo yo expert try to show Fred and Bob Trow how to "walk the dog", I caught a brilliant blueness out of the corner of my eye.
Seaweed had crept up on me, and grabbed hold of my sleeve with his beak. He then pulled one leg up onto my arm, keeping one on his perch, and was looking me right in the eye, clacking his beak. I reached out with my gloved hand, and he gave me a few knuckle gnaws.
I told him he was a good bird, but that I needed to go now, and I helped him back onto his perch and waved goodbye.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Jimmy in Philly
The Trip - Part 2
We hopped the Acela Express from NYC to Philadelphia at 1pm. Train travel is just so dang civilized: You get to the station 10 minutes before departure. You climb on, find a seat. The train leaves with a minimum of fuss - no seat belts, no emergency exit declarations. Lots of legroom, a big space to open up the laptop (and with my 3G wireless card, I had network the whole trip too). 1 hour later, we pull into Pennsylvania 30th St Station, and were in our new hotel within 2 hours of having left our hotel in NYC. Compare to air travel, we would probably only be halfway there by the 2 hour mark! Why can't we have more better trains? It just makes sense.
The hotel in Philly was another Marriott, with a decent workout room that I took advantage of to help work off that second lunch entree (was it really the same day???) listening to Belgian Heartbreak Techno by Milk Inc: The ellipse machine kept yelling at me to reduce speed for heartrate, and I kept saying "But the beat is 135bpm and the drums are KICKING!!! Don't you tell me to slow down!!!)
A nap was also achieved.
We met in the hotel bar, where a nosy bartender had to butt in with his opinions about the Spitzer case, and we had amusing half-conversations with completely plastered conventioneers of some sort. Then we were off to dinner... at Morimoto's.
Pamela actually gets credit on this one: She heard that Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto had opened a restaurant in Philly, and said we should check it out. So we did, we got reservations, and we sat down for the tasting menu. 8 courses with paired alcohol, and every single bite was amazing - I can't recall them all, but there was Toro Tartare, shaved sweet scallop in hot oil, broiled lobsters, seared kobe beef medallions, nigiri sushi, all paired with amazing champagne, white, red, and sake. It was a good 3 hour event and we stumbled home completely satisfied.
I decided to go for a pay-per-view: The Golden Compass. Full disclosure, I loved the books, and felt there must have been some conspiracy that made the movie not do very well. Little did I know the conspiracy was actually inside the movie crew: It was a very stilted movie that barreled at breakneck speed, but did very little in the way of telling the story with any artfulness - it felt rushed and superficial. I did love Ian McKellan as Iorek Byrnson, but little else. I actually turned it off right before the end, because I just didn't see the point. Sigh.
The morning was an adventure: I had left the menu card outside my door for 7:30 breakfast delivery. At 745 I called down and they assured me the food was on the way up. At 8:05 I called and they said the knock should be at my door within a minute. At 8:10 they called ME and said that I had forgotten to put my room number on my menu card, and so they had NOT sent me my food, and did I still want it? I said no.
I headed out to the Reading St Market - a large indoor food mall (restaurants and grocery) inside of the old Reading Station, and 1 block from my hotel. I stopped into a diner in there, and had an omelet with grilled onions and peppers and bbq pork, with american fries and stewed apples. Got completely full for less than $10 and 20 minutes.
Our meeting this morning was with a physician practice affiliated with a large university: Honestly, we had very low expectations for the meeting, but they had visited the booth and seemed interested in talking, so here we were. The cab took us through a terrible neighborhood and we got quite a show as an angry bum in a wheelchair was crossing a 4 lane highway against the light, flipping people off, spinning his chair, and generally daring the universe to strike him down. He made it safely, and I swear he shook his fist to heaven.
At the meeting, we were pleased to discover an actual OPPORTUNITY almost of the level of our first NYC one: Major implementation starting early summer with our favorite software, we're giving good advice right before they go out to sign the paperwork, and we're at the top of their call list for followup. It was an amazing result. Mike put the credit on his "lucky tie" which he had not worn for almost a year, since the lucky tie drummed up some business in Texas (which is now 1/4 of our total business). I can't argue with that.
We had a little time before our flight out today, so we made the pilgrimage to Jim's Steaks - one of the ORIGINAL homes of the Philly Cheesesteak. And it was quite good... but... we both came to the realization that as a sandwich, the Cheesesteak is not quite on the level as a Chicago Dog, or an Italian Beef.... there just isn't as much flavor going on. Coming off of all of the amazing flavors we'd had in the past 2 days, the Cheesesteak was more than adequate, but not really in the same league.
That said, if you do like cheesesteak in general, Jim's is the best you will ever have.
Caught the 2:20 flight home and thanks to the way time flows across the globe, I walked into my house at 5pm. Bella loved her gifts, Isaac was thrilled to see daddo (and took some time to settle down), and Pamela was happy to have backup again! It was a great homecoming, and I'm happy to be home.
It seems crazy that it really was just 2.5 days and we fit so much in... but I missed so much of what NYC has to offer, and I'm looking forward to my re-visits in the months to come. I loved that dang town! (Philly - not quite so much. Still nice though).
We hopped the Acela Express from NYC to Philadelphia at 1pm. Train travel is just so dang civilized: You get to the station 10 minutes before departure. You climb on, find a seat. The train leaves with a minimum of fuss - no seat belts, no emergency exit declarations. Lots of legroom, a big space to open up the laptop (and with my 3G wireless card, I had network the whole trip too). 1 hour later, we pull into Pennsylvania 30th St Station, and were in our new hotel within 2 hours of having left our hotel in NYC. Compare to air travel, we would probably only be halfway there by the 2 hour mark! Why can't we have more better trains? It just makes sense.
The hotel in Philly was another Marriott, with a decent workout room that I took advantage of to help work off that second lunch entree (was it really the same day???) listening to Belgian Heartbreak Techno by Milk Inc: The ellipse machine kept yelling at me to reduce speed for heartrate, and I kept saying "But the beat is 135bpm and the drums are KICKING!!! Don't you tell me to slow down!!!)
A nap was also achieved.
We met in the hotel bar, where a nosy bartender had to butt in with his opinions about the Spitzer case, and we had amusing half-conversations with completely plastered conventioneers of some sort. Then we were off to dinner... at Morimoto's.
Pamela actually gets credit on this one: She heard that Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto had opened a restaurant in Philly, and said we should check it out. So we did, we got reservations, and we sat down for the tasting menu. 8 courses with paired alcohol, and every single bite was amazing - I can't recall them all, but there was Toro Tartare, shaved sweet scallop in hot oil, broiled lobsters, seared kobe beef medallions, nigiri sushi, all paired with amazing champagne, white, red, and sake. It was a good 3 hour event and we stumbled home completely satisfied.
I decided to go for a pay-per-view: The Golden Compass. Full disclosure, I loved the books, and felt there must have been some conspiracy that made the movie not do very well. Little did I know the conspiracy was actually inside the movie crew: It was a very stilted movie that barreled at breakneck speed, but did very little in the way of telling the story with any artfulness - it felt rushed and superficial. I did love Ian McKellan as Iorek Byrnson, but little else. I actually turned it off right before the end, because I just didn't see the point. Sigh.
The morning was an adventure: I had left the menu card outside my door for 7:30 breakfast delivery. At 745 I called down and they assured me the food was on the way up. At 8:05 I called and they said the knock should be at my door within a minute. At 8:10 they called ME and said that I had forgotten to put my room number on my menu card, and so they had NOT sent me my food, and did I still want it? I said no.
I headed out to the Reading St Market - a large indoor food mall (restaurants and grocery) inside of the old Reading Station, and 1 block from my hotel. I stopped into a diner in there, and had an omelet with grilled onions and peppers and bbq pork, with american fries and stewed apples. Got completely full for less than $10 and 20 minutes.
Our meeting this morning was with a physician practice affiliated with a large university: Honestly, we had very low expectations for the meeting, but they had visited the booth and seemed interested in talking, so here we were. The cab took us through a terrible neighborhood and we got quite a show as an angry bum in a wheelchair was crossing a 4 lane highway against the light, flipping people off, spinning his chair, and generally daring the universe to strike him down. He made it safely, and I swear he shook his fist to heaven.
At the meeting, we were pleased to discover an actual OPPORTUNITY almost of the level of our first NYC one: Major implementation starting early summer with our favorite software, we're giving good advice right before they go out to sign the paperwork, and we're at the top of their call list for followup. It was an amazing result. Mike put the credit on his "lucky tie" which he had not worn for almost a year, since the lucky tie drummed up some business in Texas (which is now 1/4 of our total business). I can't argue with that.
We had a little time before our flight out today, so we made the pilgrimage to Jim's Steaks - one of the ORIGINAL homes of the Philly Cheesesteak. And it was quite good... but... we both came to the realization that as a sandwich, the Cheesesteak is not quite on the level as a Chicago Dog, or an Italian Beef.... there just isn't as much flavor going on. Coming off of all of the amazing flavors we'd had in the past 2 days, the Cheesesteak was more than adequate, but not really in the same league.
That said, if you do like cheesesteak in general, Jim's is the best you will ever have.
Caught the 2:20 flight home and thanks to the way time flows across the globe, I walked into my house at 5pm. Bella loved her gifts, Isaac was thrilled to see daddo (and took some time to settle down), and Pamela was happy to have backup again! It was a great homecoming, and I'm happy to be home.
It seems crazy that it really was just 2.5 days and we fit so much in... but I missed so much of what NYC has to offer, and I'm looking forward to my re-visits in the months to come. I loved that dang town! (Philly - not quite so much. Still nice though).
Jimmy in NYC
Part 1 of 2
When I took the new job, they initially said "West Coast"... but as things have developed, we're being a lot more opportunistic in how we divvy things up. So when some potential work appeared on the East Coast, I gladly added it to my plate. This week was my first trip out East with my boss/pal Mike, and we lived well.
We flew in Tuesday AM, getting to town around noon. On the way to the cab stand, we were hijacked by an Argentinean who had an SUV and a flat rate to the city... It was a good ride, even while the guy opined at length about the Governor's Troubles, the relative stinkyness of most cab drivers, and why Kenyans keep winning Marathons. Just smile and nod....
We did NOT know that there are three "Courtyard by Marriott" hotels within a 2 mile radius, and got dropped off at the wrong one. Once we did get that sorted out (with another short cab ride), we decided to walk the 20 blocks to our first meeting at 2pm (from 54th and 3rd to 32nd and 1st). We stopped on the way for a slice of pizza, which was a great starter. We ALMOST did the Soup Nazi, but ducked last minute to Pizza. Along the way, we checked out Rockefeller plaza, and other landmarks.
Potential Client #1 is a large academic medical center which is mere days from inking a deal to install the software that is the bread and butter for our company - A good 100 person team will need to hit the ground running, of which hopefully we could provide a dozen or so for 2-3 years. As they were technically still pre-sale, we offered a lot of advice on how to finish the negotiations, which I think he appreciated. The guy was a mousy radiologist with the classic NYC abrupt manner, so the fact that we actually took the whole hour was pretty amazing.
We walked back up to 5th Ave, stopped in the beautiful Apple Store (and resisted buying anything), and looked for an "old school bar" to toast our success with. The Oak Room at the Plaza? Sorry - closed for renovations until May. The sky bar at the Peninsula? Sorry, closed until October. We settled on the paneled room at the back of the St Regis.
Alas, things didn't go well with the drinks: I asked for a smoky scotch (the Ardbeg Uggeidal), and got a apple-infused cognac instead (the name sounded similar, but the flavor was NOT in the same league). I got it straightened out (though needed to settle on a different scotch, as their list was out of date). We then made use of their Concierge to get reservations at a restaurant (Seems that you can use any hotel's concierge even if you're not a guest, but be nice and give them $20 for their trouble won't you?)
Dinner was in a small Northern Italian place off of Park Ave on 54th that was infested by possible mafioso, with a headwaiter with an indeciperhable Italian accent, a fleet of silent and efficient staff that let no crumb settle, beautiful fresco art on the walls, and amazing food to match. The loud f-bomb dropping tables around us showed that if you're a man and eating pasta, that tie goes OVER your shoulder.. so we followed suit. We even spiced up our conversation with some effenheimers, but it felt forced. Dessert was an embarassment of riches: Creme Brulee, Creme Caramel, and Panna Cotta were all on offer.
Having been up since 5 in the AM, when we finished dinner around 11pm, our only real option was to go to sleep...
The next morning, it was up into the 70s and 2nd for the second meeting. This one was more tactical, less strategic. We cabbed up there, full of quad espressos to restart our brains. This is a HUGE orthopedic surgery group who is rolling out digital imaging to their ORs - which is EXACTLY what I did back 3 years ago, so the meeting turned unexpectedly into an interview of my skills. Not that I'll be doing ALL of the work, but if we got it, I could oversee another person and have an excuse to be out there for a few more days...
With a few hours to kill late morning to afternoon, we went shopping: A brisk tour of Bergdorf Goodman's mens store brought us face to face with $5000 bathrobes, and the scary 1980s fashion revival: A pink pair of shorts paired with a blue/white seersucker jacket had us humming "Love Plus One". Izod/Lacoste is back in a BIG way. I threatened to move my entire wardrobe to Blanc du Chine (chairman mao-style), and apparently White so white it hurts your eyes is the new white, and window after window on 5th ave blared these hard-to-clean styles.
A detour into FAO Schwarz for the kiddies: Bella's first Steiff (a Pug), along with a Steiff Owl for Isaac and a tiny hand-made steiff hedgehog for Pamela. (I should note that all three have already been appropriated by Bella for "safekeeping"). A second "resist" at the Applestore
For lunch, we were torn between deli food and more pizza, and found a great place that did both ably - so a pastrami on rye with mustard matched with a pepperoni and sausage slice. We could barely move after that. Oooooof!!!!
Our adventure over, it was time to head to Penn Station for the second leg of our adventure.
When I took the new job, they initially said "West Coast"... but as things have developed, we're being a lot more opportunistic in how we divvy things up. So when some potential work appeared on the East Coast, I gladly added it to my plate. This week was my first trip out East with my boss/pal Mike, and we lived well.
We flew in Tuesday AM, getting to town around noon. On the way to the cab stand, we were hijacked by an Argentinean who had an SUV and a flat rate to the city... It was a good ride, even while the guy opined at length about the Governor's Troubles, the relative stinkyness of most cab drivers, and why Kenyans keep winning Marathons. Just smile and nod....
We did NOT know that there are three "Courtyard by Marriott" hotels within a 2 mile radius, and got dropped off at the wrong one. Once we did get that sorted out (with another short cab ride), we decided to walk the 20 blocks to our first meeting at 2pm (from 54th and 3rd to 32nd and 1st). We stopped on the way for a slice of pizza, which was a great starter. We ALMOST did the Soup Nazi, but ducked last minute to Pizza. Along the way, we checked out Rockefeller plaza, and other landmarks.
Potential Client #1 is a large academic medical center which is mere days from inking a deal to install the software that is the bread and butter for our company - A good 100 person team will need to hit the ground running, of which hopefully we could provide a dozen or so for 2-3 years. As they were technically still pre-sale, we offered a lot of advice on how to finish the negotiations, which I think he appreciated. The guy was a mousy radiologist with the classic NYC abrupt manner, so the fact that we actually took the whole hour was pretty amazing.
We walked back up to 5th Ave, stopped in the beautiful Apple Store (and resisted buying anything), and looked for an "old school bar" to toast our success with. The Oak Room at the Plaza? Sorry - closed for renovations until May. The sky bar at the Peninsula? Sorry, closed until October. We settled on the paneled room at the back of the St Regis.
Alas, things didn't go well with the drinks: I asked for a smoky scotch (the Ardbeg Uggeidal), and got a apple-infused cognac instead (the name sounded similar, but the flavor was NOT in the same league). I got it straightened out (though needed to settle on a different scotch, as their list was out of date). We then made use of their Concierge to get reservations at a restaurant (Seems that you can use any hotel's concierge even if you're not a guest, but be nice and give them $20 for their trouble won't you?)
Dinner was in a small Northern Italian place off of Park Ave on 54th that was infested by possible mafioso, with a headwaiter with an indeciperhable Italian accent, a fleet of silent and efficient staff that let no crumb settle, beautiful fresco art on the walls, and amazing food to match. The loud f-bomb dropping tables around us showed that if you're a man and eating pasta, that tie goes OVER your shoulder.. so we followed suit. We even spiced up our conversation with some effenheimers, but it felt forced. Dessert was an embarassment of riches: Creme Brulee, Creme Caramel, and Panna Cotta were all on offer.
Having been up since 5 in the AM, when we finished dinner around 11pm, our only real option was to go to sleep...
The next morning, it was up into the 70s and 2nd for the second meeting. This one was more tactical, less strategic. We cabbed up there, full of quad espressos to restart our brains. This is a HUGE orthopedic surgery group who is rolling out digital imaging to their ORs - which is EXACTLY what I did back 3 years ago, so the meeting turned unexpectedly into an interview of my skills. Not that I'll be doing ALL of the work, but if we got it, I could oversee another person and have an excuse to be out there for a few more days...
With a few hours to kill late morning to afternoon, we went shopping: A brisk tour of Bergdorf Goodman's mens store brought us face to face with $5000 bathrobes, and the scary 1980s fashion revival: A pink pair of shorts paired with a blue/white seersucker jacket had us humming "Love Plus One". Izod/Lacoste is back in a BIG way. I threatened to move my entire wardrobe to Blanc du Chine (chairman mao-style), and apparently White so white it hurts your eyes is the new white, and window after window on 5th ave blared these hard-to-clean styles.
A detour into FAO Schwarz for the kiddies: Bella's first Steiff (a Pug), along with a Steiff Owl for Isaac and a tiny hand-made steiff hedgehog for Pamela. (I should note that all three have already been appropriated by Bella for "safekeeping"). A second "resist" at the Applestore
For lunch, we were torn between deli food and more pizza, and found a great place that did both ably - so a pastrami on rye with mustard matched with a pepperoni and sausage slice. We could barely move after that. Oooooof!!!!
Our adventure over, it was time to head to Penn Station for the second leg of our adventure.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
A different sort of day
As I went to sleep last night, the day ahead looked predictable: Bella's birthfamily was due for an afternoon visit, so we'd get up early, clean the house, hit the grocery store, prepare some snacks, and strap in for a fun visit with Bella's birthcousins... The actual day did not go that way, however.
It started comically: Isaac had woken up with a devil in his car and was unusually fast and mischievous, escaping from every room we were in. So in a moment of craziness, I grabbed one of the old-fashioned keys and actually locked our bedroom door with us all in it. Now, these locks are quite old - we've never even tried them out. But in my mind, when that key turned, hey, they must work!
So after a giggle, I turned the key the other way to unlock... and it stuck. Nope, that deadbolt was NOT moving.
I spent the next 20 minutes trying to unlock the door again with the whole family laughing (at least we had formula, a phone, and a bathroom on OUR side of the door!). We left a few messages for people who have keys to the house, asking if they'd come try the lock from the other side... Fortunately, we had a set of tools in the laundry room and I was able to jimmy the lock with a screwdriver. It was a completely insane way to start the day.
Once downstairs, Bella wanted no food all morning, and was even paler than usual. Her energy level was in the sub-basement, with a slight fever. All she wanted to do was watch shows horizontally, not eat, and not have Isaac anywhere near her (tears were fast to come when the two were in the same room).
We figured out that she was not merely crabby but actually sick (a call confirmed that Jenny had the same symptoms!), and we canceled the visit - no point in passing along some strange illness to other kids! Bella took a few naps, watched a few movies... and by the end of the day had enough appetite to make time with a PBJ, and play one game of go-fish, before asking to go back to bed. I asked if she had a headache, and she said "Just a touch".
As I snuck out, believing her to be asleep, she stopped me and asked for a story when I was a little kid... "but just tell me anything because I'll be asleep while you're telling it". Sure enough, she was out cold by the end of my tale (about my hamsters Danielle and Cheryl) - she just wanted my voice to help her relax.
Isaac also took a HUGE nap today (4 hours!!!), but was ready for bed at the usual time too.
And I did something horrible to my lower back while reaching for something on the floor behind a chair... it just went "WINCE", and the tears started flowing. Which is just crazy: I work out 4-5 times a week, I'm in great health, and I reach for something just wrong, and I'm laid up? Who made THAT rule? Add to that my pink eye AND my sore knee (I lost my balance stepping over one of Bella's forts yesterday)
Since there was so much downtime today, I started work on The Rosetta Stone Swedish: I've heard so much about this program so I figured it was worth a go: Given what I already know, I cruised through the 10 lessons of Level 1 today, but there are 9 more levels to go, and they won't all be this fast. It's interesting: Whereas Pimsleur gets you started immediately on conversations (hello, I'm american, do you speak english?), Rosetta Stone is more about general sentence structures: This is a boy. The boy Jumps. The boy is under a table. The boy is on an airplane. The boy is in a car. The car is white.... You get the idea. You learn the grammatical rules through immersion.
There is no English anywhere - you pick up meanings through context clues in pictures. I'm not sure how this can build to advanced concepts, nor do I see how this can move to first and second person, since it's all about pictures (which are inherently third person!). But I'll keep an open mind: People really seem to like this program, so I'll stick it out!
A business trip this week to NYC and Philly should be fun (if my back behaves)... Carrie has sent me a lot of suggestions for things to do in "the City" - which I've never actually been to as far as I know (certainly not in my adult life!!!)
It started comically: Isaac had woken up with a devil in his car and was unusually fast and mischievous, escaping from every room we were in. So in a moment of craziness, I grabbed one of the old-fashioned keys and actually locked our bedroom door with us all in it. Now, these locks are quite old - we've never even tried them out. But in my mind, when that key turned, hey, they must work!
So after a giggle, I turned the key the other way to unlock... and it stuck. Nope, that deadbolt was NOT moving.
I spent the next 20 minutes trying to unlock the door again with the whole family laughing (at least we had formula, a phone, and a bathroom on OUR side of the door!). We left a few messages for people who have keys to the house, asking if they'd come try the lock from the other side... Fortunately, we had a set of tools in the laundry room and I was able to jimmy the lock with a screwdriver. It was a completely insane way to start the day.
Once downstairs, Bella wanted no food all morning, and was even paler than usual. Her energy level was in the sub-basement, with a slight fever. All she wanted to do was watch shows horizontally, not eat, and not have Isaac anywhere near her (tears were fast to come when the two were in the same room).
We figured out that she was not merely crabby but actually sick (a call confirmed that Jenny had the same symptoms!), and we canceled the visit - no point in passing along some strange illness to other kids! Bella took a few naps, watched a few movies... and by the end of the day had enough appetite to make time with a PBJ, and play one game of go-fish, before asking to go back to bed. I asked if she had a headache, and she said "Just a touch".
As I snuck out, believing her to be asleep, she stopped me and asked for a story when I was a little kid... "but just tell me anything because I'll be asleep while you're telling it". Sure enough, she was out cold by the end of my tale (about my hamsters Danielle and Cheryl) - she just wanted my voice to help her relax.
Isaac also took a HUGE nap today (4 hours!!!), but was ready for bed at the usual time too.
And I did something horrible to my lower back while reaching for something on the floor behind a chair... it just went "WINCE", and the tears started flowing. Which is just crazy: I work out 4-5 times a week, I'm in great health, and I reach for something just wrong, and I'm laid up? Who made THAT rule? Add to that my pink eye AND my sore knee (I lost my balance stepping over one of Bella's forts yesterday)
Since there was so much downtime today, I started work on The Rosetta Stone Swedish: I've heard so much about this program so I figured it was worth a go: Given what I already know, I cruised through the 10 lessons of Level 1 today, but there are 9 more levels to go, and they won't all be this fast. It's interesting: Whereas Pimsleur gets you started immediately on conversations (hello, I'm american, do you speak english?), Rosetta Stone is more about general sentence structures: This is a boy. The boy Jumps. The boy is under a table. The boy is on an airplane. The boy is in a car. The car is white.... You get the idea. You learn the grammatical rules through immersion.
There is no English anywhere - you pick up meanings through context clues in pictures. I'm not sure how this can build to advanced concepts, nor do I see how this can move to first and second person, since it's all about pictures (which are inherently third person!). But I'll keep an open mind: People really seem to like this program, so I'll stick it out!
A business trip this week to NYC and Philly should be fun (if my back behaves)... Carrie has sent me a lot of suggestions for things to do in "the City" - which I've never actually been to as far as I know (certainly not in my adult life!!!)
Saturday, March 08, 2008
A Saturday
I woke up this AM with one eye sealed shut with gunk... and once I pried the lid open, I found an angry pink orb staring back. Yes, somehow pink eye came into my life. Having just seen Knocked Up with a hilarious Pink Eye reference, i immediately looked to see if anyone had farted on my pillow, but nobody fessed up to that.
I caught an immediate appointment at the Minute Clinic, who without hesitation prescribed the eyedrops, and I've been bathing my eyeballs with powerful antibiotics all day.
This morning was "Dads and Donuts" at the Family Center where Bella and Isaac to preschool (and pre-pre-preschool in the case of Isaac), which was basically open gym time for 90 minutes with donuts and coffee. It was wonderful, and the kids ran around like maniacs. Of course, four walls can't contain Isaac, so he spent a fair amount of time running OUT of the gym, up the hall and towards the parking lot... He also enjoyed two donut holes, so he was a bit jacked up.
After that, Bella went out with Jenny to get their "sister portraits" done - they've taken a formal portrait every year together. Isaac and I had a nap, then I cleaned up the joint a little.
Tonight we finally had that dinner with the Swedes, and it was wonderful: Bella played well with the girls, and Isaac was a complete maniac all evening, but still we had good conversation and lots of laughs. I pulled out a few bits of Swedish for them, and was horrified to learn that the version of Swedish I had been learning was a bit formal and staid, a bit grandmotherly. They had a good round of raised eyebrows and giggles when I asked for my coffee black as "en slät kopp koffe" instead of "en svart kopp koffe" - While slät is technically usable, it's practically in "23 skidoo" territory in terms of currency.
Anyway, it's good to know that the book I'm using is perhaps not the most current and excellent language... and perhaps I'll look for other sources!!! But hearing them chattering in Swedish to their kids was inspirational and made me want to keep learning... it's such a beautiful language. And yes, I did get a FEW of the things they were saying to eachother.... ;->
It's time to spring forward and lose that hour of sleep, so I imagine I'll be hitting that hay a bit earlier than usual, so good night!
I caught an immediate appointment at the Minute Clinic, who without hesitation prescribed the eyedrops, and I've been bathing my eyeballs with powerful antibiotics all day.
This morning was "Dads and Donuts" at the Family Center where Bella and Isaac to preschool (and pre-pre-preschool in the case of Isaac), which was basically open gym time for 90 minutes with donuts and coffee. It was wonderful, and the kids ran around like maniacs. Of course, four walls can't contain Isaac, so he spent a fair amount of time running OUT of the gym, up the hall and towards the parking lot... He also enjoyed two donut holes, so he was a bit jacked up.
After that, Bella went out with Jenny to get their "sister portraits" done - they've taken a formal portrait every year together. Isaac and I had a nap, then I cleaned up the joint a little.
Tonight we finally had that dinner with the Swedes, and it was wonderful: Bella played well with the girls, and Isaac was a complete maniac all evening, but still we had good conversation and lots of laughs. I pulled out a few bits of Swedish for them, and was horrified to learn that the version of Swedish I had been learning was a bit formal and staid, a bit grandmotherly. They had a good round of raised eyebrows and giggles when I asked for my coffee black as "en slät kopp koffe" instead of "en svart kopp koffe" - While slät is technically usable, it's practically in "23 skidoo" territory in terms of currency.
Anyway, it's good to know that the book I'm using is perhaps not the most current and excellent language... and perhaps I'll look for other sources!!! But hearing them chattering in Swedish to their kids was inspirational and made me want to keep learning... it's such a beautiful language. And yes, I did get a FEW of the things they were saying to eachother.... ;->
It's time to spring forward and lose that hour of sleep, so I imagine I'll be hitting that hay a bit earlier than usual, so good night!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Oh yeah
1) What happened to the language addict anyway? Really, when things went SOUTH with the old client, my available brainspace appears to have been voided. Add in the working-two-jobs thing, and the trying-to-maximize-family-time thing... And actually one more factor: It's been so dang cold that my primary language time is CAR time, and when I'm in the car right now, I just focus on warming up and getting there... and usually I'm AT the destination before I'm warm enough to think about another language!
I am cautiously optimistic that by getting down to one job AND the weather heating up a bit that I'll have more time and energy for my language pursuits! So keep an eye out for it!
In the meantime, I do have my conversational gambits ready for my dinner this weekend with real live Swedish people. Pamela stumbled across my DOC file and giggled about my crib notes. In a nice way.
2) Tonight we played go-fish with real cards... and Bella said it would be "no problem at all - it's got Jacks, Queens, and Kings right? Just like that other game. Checkers". I asked if she might mean CHESS, and she wasn't sure, but she and Casey definitely played checkers, and it had kings and queens, but no jacks. I asked how she did, and she said "I totally won: I got like TEN guys, and Casey only got ONE."
I am very curious as to what this game might have been.
And if you're wondering, it was a nail-biter right to the end, but she beat me fair and square. Her smile actually extended beyond the confines of her face somehow.
3) Ah my little boy. Tonight we went to The Burrito Store, just Dad and the Kids. And Isaac actually ate a few fingerfulls of Burrito (just cheese, rice, sour cream and beans - Bella style) - he seemed to really like it, however. So perhaps this will be a food that BOTH kids can agree upon! He even sat for the meal and didn't shriek. I was pinching myself.
4) Off to bed now... I do want to let you, my dedicated readership, know that I greatly appreciate you letting this serve as a primary communication vehicle in these busy times, and please don't take it poorly if I'm slow to respond to a call or email: As the posts may indicate, we're hanging on to life and sanity by the merest threads, and I am deeply grateful for your understanding.
I am cautiously optimistic that by getting down to one job AND the weather heating up a bit that I'll have more time and energy for my language pursuits! So keep an eye out for it!
In the meantime, I do have my conversational gambits ready for my dinner this weekend with real live Swedish people. Pamela stumbled across my DOC file and giggled about my crib notes. In a nice way.
2) Tonight we played go-fish with real cards... and Bella said it would be "no problem at all - it's got Jacks, Queens, and Kings right? Just like that other game. Checkers". I asked if she might mean CHESS, and she wasn't sure, but she and Casey definitely played checkers, and it had kings and queens, but no jacks. I asked how she did, and she said "I totally won: I got like TEN guys, and Casey only got ONE."
I am very curious as to what this game might have been.
And if you're wondering, it was a nail-biter right to the end, but she beat me fair and square. Her smile actually extended beyond the confines of her face somehow.
3) Ah my little boy. Tonight we went to The Burrito Store, just Dad and the Kids. And Isaac actually ate a few fingerfulls of Burrito (just cheese, rice, sour cream and beans - Bella style) - he seemed to really like it, however. So perhaps this will be a food that BOTH kids can agree upon! He even sat for the meal and didn't shriek. I was pinching myself.
4) Off to bed now... I do want to let you, my dedicated readership, know that I greatly appreciate you letting this serve as a primary communication vehicle in these busy times, and please don't take it poorly if I'm slow to respond to a call or email: As the posts may indicate, we're hanging on to life and sanity by the merest threads, and I am deeply grateful for your understanding.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Working on closure
So I have been at the new job for around 6 weeks now, during which time I've also been doing maintenance work for the old client (the Cardio department), biding my time until my replacement was found. Well she started this week, and I am absolutely thrilled: She's an older woman with grown kids who consults because she likes a challenge, not because she needs to. She did similar work at another hospital, knows the ways of Cardiologists, and knows many of the key software players.
We spent a few hours yesterday reviewing the project history, and I handed off a stack of documents. Today we got together and she had a page of questions, all of which indicated that she GOT the issues, and was looking for a deeper level of detail. I'm completely confident that she'll be able to run with this project as soon as next week without my direct involvement... though I suspect that as that "living history" of the project, I'll be tapped a fair amount.
Still, it's a good feeling when you are handing something off, and you are CONFIDENT that this person will not only do as good a job as you did, but maybe even be better at some of it.
In the new job, I made my first real sale last week, and now have 3 people working... and I'm headed out to New York and Philly next week to get number 4 placed... and to meet with some new possible strategic clients too. It's all really starting to move... I'm getting busy, and it's getting exciting. But not so busy that I couldn't take off a bit early today to take the family to Ikea!!!
Yep - we hit Ikea, had some dinner: Isaac snacked on fries, meatballs, chicken fingers, and chocolate milk... but not enough of each to truly call it a "meal". Bella was still full from her post-swimming Panera feast, so she poked at some mashed potatoes. Me... Meatballs tack så mycket! (thanks so much!). Then we shopped for desk accessories for my office - I need to liven it up: My team mates have decided to decorate FOR me since I haven't yet, so the gauntlet is thrown... we must decorate! Anyway, it was a great opportunity to have Isaac run around. I was chasing him everywhere, and by the time we got home, both kids were almost asleep before we got them upstairs. So we've had a bit of an evening to ourselves. Time for bills and blogging. ;->
Isaac's words are really getting clearer with each passing day: Upstairs, downstairs, bottle, bearbear... The other day, he looked to have mischief in mind, so I said "Isaac, come here." He stared with a smile, and stayed put. I repeated it. Still no move.
A third repeat, and he said "NO" (though it came out "DOE"). I said "Isaac, did you just tell me 'NO'?"
He grinned and said "Yeah!" and ran away. Hooo boy, he's the cutest little stinker.
We spent a few hours yesterday reviewing the project history, and I handed off a stack of documents. Today we got together and she had a page of questions, all of which indicated that she GOT the issues, and was looking for a deeper level of detail. I'm completely confident that she'll be able to run with this project as soon as next week without my direct involvement... though I suspect that as that "living history" of the project, I'll be tapped a fair amount.
Still, it's a good feeling when you are handing something off, and you are CONFIDENT that this person will not only do as good a job as you did, but maybe even be better at some of it.
In the new job, I made my first real sale last week, and now have 3 people working... and I'm headed out to New York and Philly next week to get number 4 placed... and to meet with some new possible strategic clients too. It's all really starting to move... I'm getting busy, and it's getting exciting. But not so busy that I couldn't take off a bit early today to take the family to Ikea!!!
Yep - we hit Ikea, had some dinner: Isaac snacked on fries, meatballs, chicken fingers, and chocolate milk... but not enough of each to truly call it a "meal". Bella was still full from her post-swimming Panera feast, so she poked at some mashed potatoes. Me... Meatballs tack så mycket! (thanks so much!). Then we shopped for desk accessories for my office - I need to liven it up: My team mates have decided to decorate FOR me since I haven't yet, so the gauntlet is thrown... we must decorate! Anyway, it was a great opportunity to have Isaac run around. I was chasing him everywhere, and by the time we got home, both kids were almost asleep before we got them upstairs. So we've had a bit of an evening to ourselves. Time for bills and blogging. ;->
Isaac's words are really getting clearer with each passing day: Upstairs, downstairs, bottle, bearbear... The other day, he looked to have mischief in mind, so I said "Isaac, come here." He stared with a smile, and stayed put. I repeated it. Still no move.
A third repeat, and he said "NO" (though it came out "DOE"). I said "Isaac, did you just tell me 'NO'?"
He grinned and said "Yeah!" and ran away. Hooo boy, he's the cutest little stinker.
Monday, March 03, 2008
The Recharge
I took most of Friday off and had an impromptu 3 day weekend... which was just divine. Lots of wrestling, cuddling, and laughing.
In fact it was a bit of a blur... naps were taken, playdates happened, food was eaten... most importantly, my feet were on the ground at home, and life felt good.
And that's the update.
In fact it was a bit of a blur... naps were taken, playdates happened, food was eaten... most importantly, my feet were on the ground at home, and life felt good.
And that's the update.
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