basketball anyone? i went to see the semifinals of the big east friday night. it was my first time in the garden and first ncaa basketball game(s). i got to see pitt win and georgetown beat west virginia. go pitt!

service. getting to dinner last night seemed like it was going to iffy. five minutes before we planned to leave, hurricane style weather moved in--massive downpour and horizontal rain. wind gusts that you could literally feel move the building.

but it all moved through in about 10 or 15 mins, at least enough that we felt safe getting into a car to cross the bridge. we then spent 3 hours enjoying not only incredible food, but a level of service rarely found these days. everything from the standard wine and water glass never reaching empty, to printing happy birthday at the top of menu and written in chocolate on my dessert plate. there was always someone there when you needed or were ready to order or ask for something--always--and not once were we interrupted or hurried along. the place, to me, had a 1920s feel, as if you were enjoying the spoils of your industrial revolution empire. even chef Humm came out to greet guests. yes, the executive chef that still physically runs his kitchen every night.

and then we took the subway home.

three-oh. yesterday marked my thirtieth birthday. went out for some drinks with friends last night at il posto and dba. today i got my birthday gift from alicia--a massage at a spa in the city. it was the first massage i've ever had, but certainly won't be my last. it was great.

tonight i continue my self indulgence with a dinner at 11 madison.

Verdi. We saw Otello last night at the met. This time we upgraded our seats to first row balcony. I have to admit that a Shakespearian based opera felt more familiar to me than did Die Walkure. Botha (Otello) and Flemming (Desdemona) both had amazing voices (go figure). But for overall experience, this show probably rates in the top two.

spacewalking. the international space station grows.

recent movies. since i know ryan loves to hear my movie reviews, i've got two tonight. the first is "the fountain", which we got via netflix. not recommended. it's about a medical researcher trying to find a cure for cancer in order to save his wife, set in three time periods.

we went to see juno in the theaters. this i would recommend. addresses a tough subject in a funny but still touching way. the writing is quick, witty, and the cleverest i've heard in a while. and we bought soundtrack. the lead actress was phenomenal; i expect to see her in more things in the future.

week in review. this was a long week. work is busy, and without going into the details, i'll be happy to get some time off when the wedding comes.

this weekend i unexpectedly was invited to the opera. alicia's great aunt gets tickets for her, her mom and her sister every year. megan couldn't make it this year as she was sabotaged by her students with a case of the flu. so, i took her place. the opera was wagner's Die Walkure. By far the longest opera i've seen to date, but still amazing to experience.

loss. i found out that the husband of a good friend of mine during college died of leukemia this week. i didn't know jared that well, but anne and i were pretty good friends during school. both were such good, unselfish people it seems so unfair.

he did keep a journal and i'm posting the link in the event someone else may find it helpful in dealing with a similar situation.

whisky tasting. since new years eve wasnt enough to kill my liver, i decided to host another whisky tasting with some good friends. my best man even came up from philly to join us, which was an awesome surprise and welcome addition to the group. in total there were 9 of us. and since i got proper whisky glasses for christmas, we did it in style.

there was no real theme here, just what was on my shelf as i try to keep a wide range just these sorts of gatherings.

in the order tasted:
arran, unchill filtered, NAS (no age statement)
auchentoshan triple wood
glenfiddich 12 year reserve
longmorn 15 year
glenmorangie 12 year port wood finish
johnnie walker green label, 15 year
highland park 18 year (mine is the new design)
ardbeg 10 year
bowmore darkest

In searching for links to the whiskies tasted, i stumbled across this article comparing some of the same whiskies we tasted. As for my guests, i think the overall winner was the highland park 18 (certainly my fave for the night), although we had votes for the bowmore, ardbeg, glenfiddich and auchentoshan.

Christmas photos. We're now back in brooklyn and tomorrow back to work. I got around to posting the pictures from the holidays in san diego. It was fun to see the excitement of the boys on Christmas day. I just wish I had that much energy.

Happy new year kids!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

clever crows.

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

a new year, a new look. it was time to give the blog an updated look. blogger has released new functionality, and to take advantage, i had to upgrade my template. so i just took the opportunity to update the feel a bit.

a belated merry christmas. i know all my fans have been wondering where i've been. or i assume so, no one has mentioned my obvious lack of posts in the last month. but i'll just assume that it's b/c everyone has been as busy as me.

since i skipped right over thanksgiving, i should mention that my parents came out that weekend. it was good to see them and the first time they've been out to visit me in nyc together. the friday after thanksgiving the four of us had dinner at le tableau. we had the place to ourselves. dinner was really great, as was the wine.

and not to disappoint, we all went out to sing sing karaoke bar for some after dinner entertainment. unfortunately the next day i was left incapacitated with joint hangover and flu-ish symptoms which lingered on for the rest of the week.

skipping ahead about a month...i "successfully" completed most of my christmas shopping on or ahead of schedule this year. the notable exception was a near last minute gift idea for a-. we'll be returning that anyway for something similar, but it's the thought that counts, right?

part of my gift which was a hit (and not returned), was another great dinner at town. (with a supremely delicious wine). and the same night i got part of my gift early when we went to see "the vertical hour". two years in manhattan and i finally see my first big ticket play. thanks to the hordes of tourists and cranky nypd cops, we ended up running to the theatre, walking in during the first act. at least they didnt make us wait until intermission.

and as one last parting note, as this is starting to sound like a novella of extravagent dining experiences, i got several camera related gifts. so hopefully youll see more and better quality pictures on flickr soon.

have a happy new year.

synchronized driving. wow.

US Air seeks to merge with Delta. my favorite quote: "They’re taking two poorly performing airlines, especially from a passengers’ point of view, and putting them together," said Michael J. Grossman, a lawyer from Lexington, Ky., and a Delta frequent flier. "What you’re left with is the lowest common denominator."

a little rumsfeld humour by way of scott.

playoffs. woohoo, we just barely slid into the last spot for the volleyball playoffs. so we get to play at least one more game!

hmmm, perhaps a compact tripod such as this is money better spent.

camera stuff. so, i want to get into my digital photography a bit more. and, since christmas is fast approaching, i figure it'll provide some good gift ideas. one thing i'm in need of is a tripod. i found the gorillapod which seems like a compact and versatile, although perhaps not the most professional-style, tripod.

if anyone has any recommendations on tripods, bags, lenses (for a canon body) please email or post a comment here. a guy at work recommended the canon F4/L 70-200mm lens--although i'm temped by the same lens with the image stabalizer. unfortunately it doubles the price. i'm also looking at the sigma 105mm macro lens which also came recommended.

new job. for those of you who haven't heard from me (or my parents) yet. tomorrow is my last day with accenture and i start with "the bank" on monday.

and then there were pictures.

happy birthday william. will notched his first full year this weekend and i went out to celebrate with dave and shelly. as is typical for first birthdays, he enjoyed smashing up the cake more than eating it (and he didnt seem to like the icing much). he also had more interest in the gift wrapping paper and boxes than the gifts themselves. all in all i think he had a good weekend with all the people and attention. pictures to follow.

IE. so, i spent the last 4 or so work days debugging an issue that occurred in only 4 people's browsers. we never found the root cause, but were able to narrow it down to the particular browsers on the particular boxes. microsoft has once again caused me much anguish by not supporting widely accepted standards. grrrr.

i think i had my first visitor from mexico yesterday. woohoo!

rented a car and drove out to pennsylvania--or PA as we like to refer to it--for a friend's wedding.

drink more, earn more. (thanks to richesh)

i went down to the WTC on the 11th. there were a ton of people around, even when i got there around 8.30pm. i took some pictures and uploaded them to flickr.

and one more for those of you bored at work...
the latest green innovations. i'd just like to note that the head of technology for tesla motors was on my galapagos trip a few months back. glad to see he's getting some international press.

this appears to be the world's most complete source for all things related to shoelaces.

in a way, perhaps not as surprising as it first seems. all the same, a lot of people will miss him.

friday evening alicia and i met with maria and jeff to watch the new york grand opera's free opera in the park. since alicia was closing, she missed Suor Angelica, which is what she wanted to see since it's one of the pieces she's been studying. but the rain held off and overall it was a pleasant evening other than the fact that i'm getting old and can't sit on the ground for 3 hours.

yesterday we went to see the dada exhibit at the MoMA. then we watched munich at home and ordered sushi.

i had to work this morning (longer than i had anticipated). its been a rainy and miserable day, so it's ok i haven't done anything else.

pluto gets demoted

recommended reading. bbc did a laptop linkup in southern lebanon with some local residents. it's interesting to see the perspective of the people affected. disappointing to read statements that hezbollah finds joy in the death of civilians and its fighters as martyrdom. but at least pierre seems to have a true desire for peace.

its always interesting to view my traffic to see how people find there way to this blog and where they are from. in just the past week, i've had a vistor from egypt and one from poland. the polish visitor found his way from a not so public part of elan's old blog.

most folks i don't know personally find there way here by searching for pictures of europe.

saw little miss sunshine this afternoon. one of the better movies i've seen in a while. from what i can gather this was written as a screen play (not adapted from a novel or other story source). the characters had a depth--well played by the actors--that i just havent seen or connected with in recent movies.

today's weather is perfect. 75, sunny, low humidity. couldnt ask for better weather during and outdoor wedding.

create your own visited states map


Can you tell i've driven cross-country...twice?

google is trying to give wifi away for free. (makes part of me want to go back to the bay).

there are a few new pics on flickr. just some random new york photos.

movie. i know ryan loves a good movie review, so i feel a bit remiss that i havent posted more recently.
alicia and i saw scoop yesterday. in contrast to match point, it was a much more 'woody allen' movie. i thought scarlett played her part very well. and woody played his part (the usual type of part he plays) well. if you're not in the mood for mann's miami vice action or the humor of owen wilson in dupree, then go for scoop.

ingenuity. i experienced one of those moments of 'wow, what an incredible waste of ingenuity' last night as i was entering my apartment building after dinner. it was 8pm or so, about the time the party is just barely getting start in my neighborhood. i heard loud music that you normally hear coming from a tricked out car. but this was moving far too fast to be a car in the traffic on the street. i didn't hear a motorcycle engine. that's because it was a bicycle rigged up with a box on the back housing what appeared to be 2 6x9" speakers.

truly amazing...and obnoxious.

too much time on your hands. try building a penny bridge or a nickel spiral.

heat wave, nyc. its been a warm one the past few days. and a. hasn't had electricity in two days.

in case you want to try to grow some bad-ass facial hair. like me.

off to pennsylvania for the fourth. have yourself a lovely barbeque.

here's a little narrative of the trip in scotland as documented by the picture set on flickr.

the trip started off with a circumnavigation of manhattan in a super shuttle van, during which i receive a travel alert from orbitz telling me the flight was delayed. eventually the flight left and we went nonstop to edinburgh. got our luggage and went to pick up the rental car.

we had the car, the atlas, and sense of excitement as we set off for a drive to catch the ferry to arran. first, i had to get out of the parking lot. the car was manual, which is fine, b/c i drive a manual. however, i have never shifted with my left hand. despite starting in 3rd gear a few times, i did alright.

after we were able to navigate the roundabouts to exit the airport (we did an extra lap around the terminal for kicks). we were on our way. we did well up until we ran into some road construction and couldn't figure out where the detour was telling us to go. we somehow visited the same roundabout 3 times before we eventually found another route. which neither of us was sure if it was the detour or not.

uneventful rest of the trip to glencloy. the first picture (101) is the view from our room's window. notice the condensation due to rather chilly temperatures (even for scotland). the second (159) is the ferry between the mainland and isle. the third (155) is me behind the wheel - more detail on that later as it was taken on the return trip. i dont think it was a fully functioning farm, but they did have this chicken with chicks in the front yard (145).

that evening we went to a local pub for some food and sampled some arran ale (quite good). then we crashed.

the next day we went for a short walk from whiting bay to some water falls (128, 119, 110, 120, 111). 110 is a single rhododendron.

we had lunch on the shore a kings cross point (skip ahead two to 131). this had a nice view of 'holy isle' that has a lighthouse on it. after lunch we set off for brodick castle where we toured the castle (no photography allowed). it was interesting b/c it had been lived in up until the late forties. then we wondered around the grounds (138) and the walled garden (135).

the following day was the distillery day. since i figured i'd be tasting some, we decided to catch the bus. again no photography in the distillery itself, but it was cool to see how the whole process takes place. the end of the tour had a tasting (152, 149), after which i did a separate tasting of some cask strength. those were surprisingly good and not too overwhelming. altho after 3 i felt pretty good. since it was pouring down rain we decided to have a little snack at the restaurant.

the rain didn't let up and bus ride home wasn't the best part of the trip. but the worst was walking the last half a mile home in rain and driving winds. i think the misery factor was at about 8 about now. but it did get better.

the next morning we were scheduled to catch the ferry about 11am. due to the high winds the ferry was delayed and we sat in the car (155, 159). so we spent several hours in our little car staring at the sea and hoping we would make it back to edinburgh that day. which we did, just a few hours later than planned.

this is getting a bit long, so i'll write about the time in edinburgh in a separate post.

scotland trip pictures are up on flickr. have a look.

last day. so today is the last day of holiday. it's amazing how fast it's gone by. arran was a great visit; got to taste some nice cask strength whiskies at the distillery. we also did a short hike to some waterfalls.

we're off to dinner and then a pint or two before we head out early tomorrow morning. more details and pictures to come. sam and kristin, thanks for letting us crash in their room while they were away.

day of the beast. whew, looks like we made it through 6/6/06 without the arrival of apacolypse.

a little something of a preview for the world cup.

the decline of the albatross.

service. i traveled to columbus, oh for a meeting on thursday. i'd like to use the experience as a short case study on customer service. and it may well double as a bitch session.

i'm flying US Air, my coworker is flying Continental. thursday we leave for the airport, it's pouring down rain, monsoon like (anyone on the north east probably understands). each of us calls our airline to check the status. continental: canceled, recommends checking with a gate agent for rebooking. us air: on time.

we get to the airport. i check in and am told the flight is delayed 30 mins. coworker checks with gate agent. this guy ends up triple booking him: confirms him for the earliest continental flight in the morning, then puts him on the standby list for my us air flight and a delta flight. tells us to get dinner and check back in 30 mins or so.

we are eating. coworker gets paged to come to the gate agent. us air flight is delayed another 30 mins, but he books him on that flight. we finish dinner, go to the gate. flight is supposed to leave in 20 mins but the plane hasnt landed yet. of course, the departure time hasnt changed. upon inquiry, the plane hasn't left NY (its origination) yet.

another 40 mins passes, coworker is about to bail when an anouncement is made the flight is delayed another hour. they recommend rebooking for the morning flight. coworker bails, gets a hotel. i stay for the off chance the flight goes that night -- the us air gate agent said there is no curfew for the class of plane.

another half hour or so and flight officially gets canceled. i go to the checkin desk.

gate agent 1: earliest flight we have is 12:10pm
me: can you check all new york airports, laguardia, jfk, newark?
GA1: yes, all other flights are fully booked.
me: can you check other airlines?
GA1: there is one at 11 on delta to LGA. is that better?
me: its about an hour better. go ahead and book it.
GA1: (to GA2) why is this thing giving me trouble. what am i doing wrong?
(handing me back my original boarding pass with the delta flight number and time on the back) here is your flight information. do you need a list of hotels?
me: yes, do you have a voucher?
GA1: no, its weather related.
(transactions completed GA1 leaves)
me (to GA2): can you check flight availability for all new york airpots? i find it hard to believe there are no flights earlier than 11am to ny.
GA2: there is a 6:50 on continental into newark, would that be better?
me: absolutely.

i'm not sure if it's incompetence, laziness, or what, but when you compare what continental tried to do for my coworker versus what i asked for and couldnt get from us air the first few times, not to mention the poor communication of status by us air, there is little question on which was the better customer experience.

i had a similar experience with my hotel booking that night, which i won't burden you with. suffice it to say that you get what you pay for, and i ended up staying at the marriot where the hotel told me to take a cab from the airport which they covered.

galapagos. more photos have been posted to flickr. to get a detailed day-by-day i suggest reading ryan's account; i dont plan to post what limited record i wrote in my pen and paper journal, and i know i won't see everyone to tell them in person. i do plan to have some form of get together to show photos and talk about the trip and drink whisky. stay tuned for more on that.

pictures. ok ok, days 1-3 are now up on flickr. more as i can get to them.

travel. i´m in quito at the hotel. the trip has been amazing. i´m exhausted. tons of pictures to sift through tomorrow when i get back, then you´ll see some.

galapagos. tomorrow i leave for the much anticipated trip to the galapagos. i'll be gone for two weeks. hopefully i'll have plenty of new pictures for your browsing pleasure upon my return.

happy easter! it was a spectacular day here in nyc. the skies were clear, sun was warm and the breeze was cool. after church this morning, alicia and i had a bite to hold us over until dinner. we went food shopping (at whole foods, which is quite the adventure on a weekend) and made dinner back at her apartment. we had bread and hummus for a starter/snack while cooking, an asparagus, lemon, and mushroom pasta dish. and ended with the well reknown Guinness chocolate cake. yes, i ate two pieces.

opera. i saw my first opera tonight. we got comp' tickets to don giovanni at new york city opera. i enjoyed it, but was glad to have someone much more educated in the subject to fill in or point out details i would have otherwise not picked up on. there were a couple mistakes i was surprised to see at that level, but enjoyable over all.

food stores. so, there is a whole foods in union square, thats been there for about a year. recenlty, a trader joe's also opened near union square. yeah!

go to church, live longer?

baptism. i'm godfather all over again after this weekend. on sunday d&s's son was baptized and a. and i spent the weekend with them. it turned out to be a great weekend as the weather was as beautiful as all the people that came to celebrate. will was really good all weekend considering all the new faces and excitement all weekend. hopefully he--and his parents--are getting some more peaceful rest during the week.

i am also the proud new owner of a digital rebel xt. so, be sure to check flickr for more photos in the near future.

godfather. dave's son is getting baptized this weekend, so i'm off to philly. i can't wait to see him and everyone else.

pictures. for those that haven't noticed the new right hand link, i've signed up for a flickr account.

some long awaited photos from the whisky tasting. thanks d.

notable people that share my birthday are: Willard Scott, Tammy Faye Bakker, Franco Harris, Lynn Swan, and Rob Roy.

thanks to all those that sent me birthday wishes by phone, email or post over the past few days. i had a long day at work, but a lovely dinner and wonderfully chocolately dessert.

whisky tasting. so last night's whisky tasting was a success. there were five of us and five bottles of whisky. no, we didn't finish all of it. dave took some pictures, so hopefully he will share some and i'll post some here. we tasted the following (in order of tasting)

Auchentochan Three Wood
Aberlour 15
Arran Non-chillfiltered
Bowmore Darkest
Highland Park 12

Several of these were new to me, and in hindsight, I should have probably switched the order of the Aberlour and Arran. And in my taste, the Highland Park and Bowmore can go in either order.

A good time was had by all, and we finished the night in fine style with a trip to san loco for a bite of mexican.

This morning I slept in (12 hrs in all) and got out of bet around 2pm. Thankfully with little more than a minor headache from dehydration. This is pretty much to be expected.