Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy new year kids!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

no reservations. went to see anthony bourdain and michael ruhlman at a barnes and noble event on monday. a- and i are big fans of no reservations, the travel channel show, so we were excited to see him live. he was...himself.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Christmas is coming. today we woke up to an inch of snow. it seems like we completely skipped fall this year and went from summer to winter. this afternoon we picked up a tree and started the decorating. we've put on the lights and a few ornaments that a- bought. but without the lights on it looks a little bare. we'll have to find some more ornaments to put on. once we do, i'll post some pics.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

dinner party. last night we had some friends over for dinner. a- made julia child's recipe for coq au vin. the food was great (of course) and the mixing of my friend from work and his wife with a-'s friend from her old job and her husband turned out to be lovely company. i'm sure the three bottles of wine and the whisky didn't hurt anything.

i went to the bedford cheese shop for cheese earlier that day and much to my surprise they also had penguins for sale. i couldn't resist even tho they were absurdly expensive.
wedding planning. we're still on track with the planning. less than six months now. we've created a website that will have the dates, times, places, and locations so that folks can make plans ahead of getting the actual invitations. we even have our own domain.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

half marathon. i completed my first half-marathon today. it took me 2hr 26mins, which, although not a blazing speed, met my expectations of coming in under 2.30. i felt pretty good afterwards, but must have been more dehydrated than i realized. after i had lunch i had a crushing headache. otherwise my left knee is a bit sore, and my legs are tired, but nothing i didn't expect.

the weather and the course were fantastic. it was probably mid 50s during the start (8am) and much of the course was shaded. i felt really good through the first 7 miles. the next two i had to push through, then everything seemed to hurt at 10 miles. Once i hit mile 12, i gave it everything i had left and finished strong.

Monday, October 08, 2007

running. i've still be training for the half marathon coming up in a couple weeks. this morning i ran 8 miles. i had hoped to do 10, but it just started to hurt too much. i had been training more in the afternoon and it seems like i tend to run better at that time of day. the race will be in the morning, so i'll have to get better for morning runs.

Friday, September 14, 2007

whisky great dies. michael jackson died on sept 4th. can't believe it took me this long to find out. guess that's a testament to how busy i've been.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

big events.
tonight is the production launch of the project i've been working on for months now. it's going to be a long night, but hopefully a relatively short day tomorrow...if all goes well.

wedding planning is going well. we now have the photographer and dj reserved, and have also decided on the rehearsal dinner restaurant. i've decided on the honeymoon destination and have to finalize the details and book all the necessary arrangements.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

vacation. a- and i spent last week in the adirondacks with some of her immediate and extended family. i've posted pictures from the week.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

firday night a- and i went to dinner for restaurant week at spice market with friends of ours. the prix fixe menu was better than the menu dinner we had some weeks back.

however, the real excitement of the night was during the ride home. our friends had driven into the city and were giving us a lift home. three motorcycles came buzzing by us on the right on a regular two lane city street. we're still not sure if he hit the car or a pothole, but he his bike went careening out of control in front of us and across into the oncoming lane where a cabbie had stopped. the bike slid into the cab and luckily the guy got up and appeared to be fine. (he rode off on a friend's bike and his friend somehow road the damaged bike with a rear flat and all).
marathon. i've decided to run a half marathon in october. there are a few guys from work that are planning to run, all of whom are older than i am and were giving me some crap about not being able to keep up. so, between that and the fact all my pants are getting tighter in the waist, i decided to run with them.

training has started slow, but has been encouraging, not discouraging. so this weekend i bought a new pair of shoes and order some running attire from rei (gotta use up that $3 refund!).

Thursday, July 05, 2007

fireworks. didn't do much special yesterday. however, a- and i watch the fireworks from our apartment with the empire state building in the background. can get much more new york than that. and i have to say, the show was pretty darn good.

Monday, July 02, 2007

weekend update. i attended my first bar mitzvah on saturday. it was my second cousin (first cousin's son), and with two irish catholic parents, it's no wonder its the first relative's bar mitzvah. the interesting part was that it was at the showboat casino in atlantic city, nj. but a good time was had by all, and a- had the first 'large scale' introduction to my extended family.

we stayed at her parents house and just drove down for the day. the weather was downright perfect. on sunday we had a bbq and ate under the shade of a large butternut tree in the backyard. truly sublime.

makes monday morning a drag.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

all sorts of busy and just not inspired to write much here. went to sea with some friends this past weekend. had a production release on sunday. attending my first bar mitzfah this coming weekend. painted some of the apartment a couple weekends ago. and it's bloody hot today/night. bed time.

Monday, May 28, 2007

holiday weekend. a- and i went to her grandmother's this weekend for a family get together. i got to meet some of the other cousins that i had heard stories about when she was younger. it was great to meet them and we all had a good time eating, drinking, and playing horseshoes and badminton.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

apartment update. the apartment has some actual places to sit down now. this week we went to ikea and target to get some much needed furniture. when the couch comes, it will be just like a proper apartment!

Monday, May 21, 2007

miscellaneous things going on. dined at wd-50 to celebrate a-'s birthday. we were a bit disappointed with the service. looking back, the food was good and interesting, but the lack of service really keeps me from wanting to go back. the desserts were excellent. and yes, we did the 3 dessert tasting menu.

renting a car tomorrow as it was cheaper to rent it for the week than the holiday weekend. we'll see how big of a hassle having a car in brooklyn is.

just finished oryx and crake. very good read. have yet to be disappointed by ms atwood.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

poor showing on my part here in cyberspace lately. been busy with setting up the apartment. we bought a sofa this past weekend. spent tonight trying to figure out if it is going to fit through the doors. let's just say my geometry is a bit rusty.

work has also been busy. i was out of town for a couple days the past two weeks in a row. and every time i come up with a plan, something changes and i've got to rehash the whole thing.

i've also been trying to play more volleyball and generally take advantage of the nicer weather by being active. today it wasn't so nice, but my exercise was lugging my 35 pounds of laundry back to my apartment in the rain. good thing they dried it so well.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Monday, April 16, 2007

political money. this is a very interesting interactive graphic provided by the NY times.
visitors. recent visitors from singapore, mexico, and france.
random updates. this past weekend i had a production implementation. the whole, go to bed at 11pm, get up at 2am thing really throws off your schedule. but, everything went pretty well and i was back home by 11am.

i saw two movies this weekend. blades of glory in the theater and for your consideration at home. both funny in their own way, but i think i'd have to recommend for your consideration over mr ferrell's flick. both make fun of the over obsessing of professional performance careers--one completely over the top and ridiculous, the other is an equally ridiculous fashion, but in a slightly more subtle and witty way. plus chazz michael michaels doesn't compare to ricky bobby.

on friday night, we ended up with opera tickets to Guilio Cesare at the met. not a-'s favorite, and no small commitment at 4 hours, but i surprisingly enjoyed it. the tickets were in the 'family circle' (top level box, stage left) which was nice b/c we had plenty of room to ourselves, but you had to kind of lean over to see the right side of the stage. and being that high up, you couldn't see all the way to the back of the stage. but, i will say i could tell the difference between my trip to the met and city opera.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

tax time. so i finally just got my W2 from my new employer. there seemed to be some black hole between the tax department and my mailbox. tonight i finished submitting my taxes. yes, i'm getting a refund. thanks to turbotax. and they provide a little laugh at the end. watch some tax raps.

Monday, April 09, 2007

so much to write a about, but just not enough time. whisky, weddings, and apartments. a- and i have found an apartment. we're moving to williamsburg brooklyn some time in the next couple weeks. we're excited. fully renovated, top floor, 12ft ceilings, 650 sq ft makes it feel palatial compared to my current apartment.

last week i also attended the launch party for the 17 and 21yo expressions of Old Pulteney courtesy of sam. got to meet the master distiller, one of the 24 malt maniacs world wide, and an employee of park avenue liquor (where i bought my arran last year).

hopefully more on all the above in the near future. but for now, happy easter!

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

california trippin. the trip is over. back to reality. but there are pictures to prove it happened...two days delayed.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

keeping up. this month is marching by quickly. this two weekends ago a- and i went to her sister's new place in deleware to celebrate her birthday and help her do some painting.

this past weekend i did some winter camping with dave, andy and myron. i actually didn't find it as cold as i thought it would be. and as it was just car camping, we could take as much firewood and clothing as needed to keep us warm. now it's back to apartment hunting and vacation planning. next week i'll be in california.

Monday, February 26, 2007

leaps. this weekend i took a leap of sorts. i asked a- to spend the rest of her life with me. and she was kind enough to say yes. perhaps it was the champagne or all the chocolate, but she didn't go back on it the next day. so we're officially engaged.

some knew it was probably coming. for others it may be more of a surprise. but, for us, i think it's a relief in one sense. in the other it's become a second job: wedding planning AND apartment hunting. yeeks.

tips, tricks, pitfalls, stories, suggestions and aphorisms all welcomed.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

ice cream for truthiness. stephen colbert gets his own b&j's ice cream flavor: americone dream. can't wait to try some. (thanks megan)
the direct supervisor of my group was out for the 5 weeks on holiday and getting married back in india. i had been covering for him during that time--while still performing all my other duties. needless to say i was happy to have him back. but i promptly found out that he was going to take a leave of absence and i would be picking up his responsibilities. its good news, and at least this time i'll be able to offload some of my other responsibilities.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

whisky. so a- and i went to the brandy library with another couple. this place has about the best whisky selection that i've seen. i did the conniosseur tasting flight, a real treat. nothing younger than 21 years. and they do private parties. i think i know where my next whisky tasting will be.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

one of very few pics from this past whisky tasting. (courtesy of 'brooklyn' dave)

Monday, January 01, 2007

happy new year. a- and i escaped to brooklyn for dinner and drinks with some friends. we had two of the strangest cab rides both there and back. today is lazy as its grey and rainy.