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.