end of the year lists. since we're in the midst of being inundated with year end lists. here's one from the bbc.

ryan is on his way to antarctica. again. however, i haven't heard if he was able to find his camoflage.

lehigh news. apparently a student at lehigh has been arrested for robbing a bank. crazy.

back from my Christmas holiday. it was a fantastic break, many fine presents were exchanged, much food was happily consumed. and tomorrow it's back to work.

Merry Christmas! i'll be away celebrating Christmas for the next few days. hope everyone has a merry Christmas.

strike. no trains, no buses, for who knows how long. and i have to admit, i am surprised not to find any article on the nyc transit strike on the bbc website.

last weekend my mum was in town. we at at falai, the restuarant next door. the food and wine were both great, i would recommend it for anyone looking for a gourmet dinner.

public transit. for those non-new yorkers out there, you may not be aware that there could be a massive transit strike starting on tuesday. this will make getting to work very cold (walking) or much more expensive (cab); and in either case, longer.

Christmas season. today i spent pretty much all day finishing my shopping, wrapping presents and packaging them for mailing, and writing my last Christmas cards. how is it that christmas always sneaks up on me? i'm just happy that its a short work week.

merry christmas new york style

this is my little charlie brown tree.

buy nothing christmas catalogue

first snow. we had our first snowfall last night. it was a surprise to wake up to a white coating of everything outside. that means i need to get started on Christmas cards.

this weekend k. was in town. we saw 'beatallica' on friday night at the knitting factory, sustaining only minor hearing loss. yesterday was some walking around the city and central park, in the cold. last night a bunch of us went out for drinks. it was a good time; and all topped off at the lotus with one final drink.

i got my pictures back from my trip upstate with a. now you can put a face to the name. i also got some back from thanksgiving weekend; plus a bunch from my sis, too. maybe i'll throw a couple of those up there too.

pop pop and carson

happy thanksgiving. eating and sleeping, now thats an idea for a holiday!

movies. since ryan wants to know what movies i've seen, this one's for him. on friday a bunch of us went to see walk the line. i thought it was great. so much was said without being said, and all the people were real, believeable. i'd recommend it whether you are a johnny cash fan or not. last night a. and i rented miller's crossing, a cohen brothers' film. again, the writing in this was top notch. i felt this was a great sort of blend between the gangster/mafia genre and film noir. if you're looking for a good rental, this shouldn't let you down. just be ready, the characters are many and the wit is quick.

and i really thought the bear on the unicycle was cool.

whisky. so, sam, my flatmate from edinburgh, has organized the purchase of a cask of whisky. the isle of arran distillery is selling casks, and once i send in my money, i'll be a proud shareholder of a true sherry casked, single malt whisky.

it's rather exciting to think that i'll have my own stash of single malt, with my own label. of course, this won't be for 10 years at the earliest, but that should make it all the better. hopefully i'll be able to go visit at the ten year anniversary for a tasting (and a small reunion).

i saw good night and good luck last night with a. i would recommend it. i didn't know much about broadcast journalism of the 50s, but i thought clooney did a great job with the movie. in fact, he earned my respect.

in case there are any guys that are looking for a house and a bride.

weekend getaway. off to upstate for a weekend getaway with a. see you sunday.

not sure if i mentioned it earlier or not, but they are filming a movie practically right outside my apartment. the nice part is sometimes they have the streets closed off to traffic; the bad part is sometimes parts are closed off to pedestrians, too.

speaking of folks from back home, i just got a link to a blog from another guy in our old crew. he's in the marines, and in iraq. i hope he has time to update it, i'm sure there are plenty of interesting stories.

wow, two in one week. my buddy j and his wife from back home just had his second. babies everywhere. everyone say hello to evan.

operation new black shoes. my beloved black clarks were sadly decommissioned two weeks ago when, during the eight days of rain, i found the hard way i had worn a hole in the bottom. after spending nearly 24 hours with one cold, saturated foot, i decided our time together was over. it's not often i spend 150 on a pair of shoes, but they were worth every penny. so many memories (and fuzzy memories) with those shoes in edinburgh.

tonight mission was successful. after trying on a pair of kenneth coles, i passed on them (and fyi, you can get these for half the price listed on the website in nyc), the heel feeling too wide, and went to aldo. there i found a decent pair, altho they need some breaking in. they have some pretty big shoes to fill after my slipper-like clarks.

ryan, i think you should enter this contest.

dave is a dad! shelly delivered william david last night. congratulations! the family grows.

books. thanks to time magazine, i have a good list of books to refer to when i need a suggestion. it's good to recognize (and have read) several on this list.

reunion. it's been five years--FIVE YEARS--since i left lehigh for california. now, having lived my 'real' adult life in california, edinburgh, pittsburgh and new york i went back to a place of so many memories. i only had one close friend that was there that weekend (thanks l. for the ride and reminiscing), but it was nice to see some old acquaintances, and a few faces that i never knew, but recognized nonetheless.

it was a fine trip, from hitchhiking to the 'ho', to moving the rings, to trying to find a hotel room to stay. and what would a weekend at lehigh be without large quantities of alcohol?

rain. what an ugly morning. now i know why my body didn't want to get out of bed this morning. in the three blocks i walk from the subway to work, i am soaked from the waist down...with an umbrella.

summer is over. i took my air conditioner out of my window today.

understanding and the authentic. the following is an excerpt from the glass bead game:

...it seems to me that we have not only two different languages and ways of expressing ourselves, each of which can only vaguely be translated into the other, but that we are altogether and fundamentally different creatures who can never understand each other. Which of us is really the authentic and integral human being, you or me? Every so often I doubt that either of us is.

this quote is from an intellegent, educated man 'of the world' to his good friend of an intellectual elite sheltered from the harsh realities of the world. nevertheless, this is succinctly the fundamental dis-ease i have felt ever since my adult 'awakening'.

bridging this gap is fundamental for me to find meaning to my own life. i had altogether given up on using words and language at one point. i've come back to realize that language and words are still a useful, but fallible, tool. and i continue to learn and investigate ways to communicate and understand. perhaps i'll never really get to that perfect understanding i long for, but maybe trying and searching is what life is all about.

quality. friday night i was out with a guy from work for a bite to eat before drinks. not sure how we stumbled upon it, but somehow we both noticed a fundamental difference between europeans and americans. in europe, people are still willing to pay a premium for quality. in america, we (by 'we' i mean the general public) buy the cheapest one available. here, so much is driven by the bottom line, so if you can get 1 more widget per dollar, then it's worth it. the fact that this cheaper widget will last half as long or be half as reliable is not of concern.

the effect of this trickles down. as less people support companies that produce more expensive, but higher quality items, those comapanies have to find ways to compete to remain in business. this usually means producing lower quality, finding ways to reach the market at mixed levels to maintain necessary margins, or closing their doors. as quality decreases, but the abundance of cheap goods increase, the amount of waste generated will increase. in the long run, making and consuming quality is win-win.

great weekend. a busy, but really good weekend is in the last few hours. friday went to dinner with r. and his friend a. then we went bowling for a bit. sat a. and i went to the brooklyn botanical gardens because it was such a nice day. the brooklyn museum was showing an independent documentary as part of 'first saturdays', so we watch that before heading back to the city for dinner and drinks. i should mention that the trip out there was much more involved than anticipated. one should check the MTAs website for weekend construction closings to avoid 2 transfers and a walk between stations in order to get from manhattan to brooklyn.

today was a nice relaxing time in the park (again, savoring some of the last warm days of the year) followed by The Constant Gardener - an excellent but somewhat heart-wrenching movie. then a bite to eat afterwards. now, back at home and will probably curl up with my book to try to finish this thing off by the middle of next week.

weekend recap. no plans on friday turned into happy hour drinks until about 11 at 12 inch bar. saturday was spectacular weather wise, so i went skating along the west side highway. jeff and i went to see gsx at the continental later. much better show than at trash bar. for starters, they went on before 1am. today consisted of football and cleaning the fridge. both the jets and steelers lost, but the fridge is looking pretty good.

who knew there was an international pickle day.

no brainers. haven't we all been here before...

dentist. today i went to the dentist for a cleaning. i had some reservations because i've only seen 2 dentists in my adult life; dr. caske in pittsburgh, and some guy in ca for the couple years i was out there. caske is great, and the other dentist even complimented his work. the place here in ny was like a frickin assembly line. and the doctor seemed younger than me. anyway, the cleaning was done with some sort of ultrasonic tool. i'm not sure if it was the poor cleaning technique, or the tool, but i've never had a cleaning that hurt like that. but, i do say my teeth feel mighty clean...probably b/c he took off a layer of enamel in addition to the plaque. the only cool thing was the xray machine was hooked up to a computer. a sensor was placed in my mouth instead of film, and the results are (obviously) instant.

no, no cavities.

holiday over. tomorrow it's back to work. but, i thoroughly enjoyed my vacation. i got back to ny yesterday and was able to spend some free time here in the city. in fact, i went to queens for the first time. i met a. when she got off of work and went to 'the beergarden' for a drink and a sausage.

today i did some rollerblading. i've felt in much need of physical activity. i went up the west side highway bicycle path--started at houston and went up to around 60 or 65th street. there was a little court with benches looking out over the river, so i sat and read for a while there.

when i lived in california, i was in walking distance of keplers, an independent book store in menlo park. now it seems they have closed their doors. but, there has been much public support to have them reopen. it's nice to see enough support for the independent book store institution.

on holiday. my long awaited vacation has arrived. this weekend i have successfully accomplished doing very little and relaxing. my activities consisted of eating a lot of mom's cooking, sleeping, reading (finished my book and need to find another tomorrow), drinking, and playing golf. the weather was perfect, and being at the cottage was just the right pace.

so the fishing weekend turned out to be more of a golfing weekend. dad and i played 9 holes all three days up there. the first two days i played pretty well having not picked up a club in probably 2 or 3 years. today we both played like crap. granted, none of the courses are exceptionally challenging, but at my level, in order to enjoy the nice weather and not get too fustrated, theyre just right.

the rest of the week i'll be spending back in pittsburgh catching up with some old friends and probably more sleeping, eating and reading. that suits me just fine.

visitors. someone from Doug Andrus Distributing came to visit aphoristic subplot. it always makes me wonder what sort of random people from all over the world stumble upon my i-universe.

a colleague at work is in india working with our offshore group for a couple months. he started a blog to document the experience.

aesthetics of the ugly. i've been thinking recently about the aesthetics of the ugly. of things generally not accepted as pleasing. for me there is something fundamentally significant about these images. they are moving, touching, in their own way. on the train back from philly today, i thought about the strip of land between the tracks and whatever it borders, whether that be a road, buildings, or a waterway. this is piece of land is always dirty, littered, overrun with weeds, etc. although not generally pleasing to look at, it represents many important things.

first, neglect. no one is concerned about this land. it has not real use or function other than it must exsist. eliminating it is almost impossible, and making it conform to the generally accepted aesthetic isn't 'cost effective'. this makes me think of our national health care system (or lack there of). our marginalized communities aren't worth the cost of helping, even if we can't get rid of them. but this isn't meant to turn into a political debate, just to show how aesthetics can be a metaphor for 'real' problems.

second, balance. as a. clearly observed, it is a reminder that with beauty there is also ungliness. and to me, in a world increasingly plastic, it is a reminder of the true nature of things. we have abstracted our lives away from the land and the elements, but we cannot escape them. what grows will also decay; what thrives will eventually rot.

nothing like working from 3am to 6pm on a sunday.

kickball. today i played in my first kickball game in probably 15 years. it was so much fun too. e's brother's wife (and her friend) organized it, complete with t-shirts and all. we took over the court at thompson sq park around noon; the first pitch was around 12.30, and we played 9 innings. my team won. of course. 13-8 ish.

afterwards we all went to zum schneider for a half liter of Scheider Weisse. this cold beverage was welcomed in the 90 degree heat. and meant it went straight to our collective head. then i came home for a 2 hour nap.

now that all the fun is done, i have to work at around 3am. we have a second minor release for work. yay. which reminds me, ryan has rejoined working amerika.

deja vu. i've experienced it twice today.

baptism weekend. so my duties as godfather were pretty minimal during the ceremony, but everything went well. carson didn't cry or fuss until the end of mass, but by then i think we were all hot and ready to go. besides the baptism itself, i did a lot of eating, sleeping, and visiting with family. all things i should probably do more of on a regular basis.

and in order to test my patience, the flight back was a bit of a challenge. three flights were delayed to ny. having been well rested i was able to simply enjoy the time reading and making a couple phone calls. and 6 hours later i boarded my flight home.

godfather. i'm off to va for the weekend. my nephew is getting baptised and i'm going to be the godfather. i'm looking forward to seeing all the family.

and thanks to josh, i've fixed the formatting problem. cheers, pal.

painting. i finally got around to painting my room this weekend. i'm pretty happy with it. its much better than the entryway evan and i tried to do. which looks horrible. and will probably stay that way.

teacher friends. not to make you nervous or anything. but watch out for students like this one.

total i worked 25.5 hours yesterday. i suppose i'll have to put some down for today. this outdoes my previous record of 22 consecutive hours of work.

i've been at work since 3am this morning. yep, thats 18.5 hrs. and counting.

working weekend. so i worked from home today, and not long at that. this weekend is our launch. i have to be at the data center tomorrow around 1pm and again sunday morning at about 5am. let's hope things go smoothly.

something for the kiddies.

london. i doubt anyone is really surprised that an attack occurred. at least i wasn't. what i can't grasp is the mentality behind it. random acts of violence is not going to further your cause, but it will build more resistance to it. widening the gap will not bring a resolution.

bad ideas. eating cheap chinese takeout on a very empty stomach.

moved.

you can see the carnage. it's been a brutal day. i'll give all the bloody details in a later post, right now i have to get to bed as i have a conf call in 5 and a half hours. but i'm excited to be in my new apartment.

a lovely wedding. it seemed a bit like a mini reunion. i saw half a dozen people that i haven't seen in years. it's funny how many different directions we've gone. v. had been in the czech republic for the better part of 5 years; ew. i hadn't seen in quite some time, and i almost forgot how much fun she is to hang out with. met c., 'the date', who i spent a lot of time with that night since m. and ew. were in the wedding party.

and of course emily looked great.

packed. well, mostly. i have most of my belongings all packed up in bags. it's kinda hard to believe that this is the last night i'll spend here.

tomorrow i leave for work, then i'll be in bethlehem for a wedding. then it's back to pittsburgh to get the rest of my stuff. and finally, e. and i will drive our uhaul back to the city and set up shop in our new place. it's going to be one busy weekend.

too many emails. i just can't keep up with my email. i try to keep my work inbox less than 1000 email, and personal email less than 100. right now my work inbox is over 1500 and personal over 160. if i haven't replied, my apologies.

on another note, i'm close to getting my apartment lease finalized. between that and the downpayment for the galapagos trip next year, i'll write checks for over 4 large. this month will be red.

so, in addition to work, i'm now trying to coordinate a fourth of july weekend wedding and moving from pgh to nyc, with a roommate that is moving from cleveland. this is when it'd be nice to have a car. instead i am relying on the good nature of my friends and family for pickups and whatnot.

Skating in the park

a busy day. work, as usual. then i had an appointment to sign the lease of my new apartment. then a haircut. finally dinner with e. to discuss some of the details of the apartment. and now, back to work for an hour or so.

back from a fantastic trip to the adirondacks. there were 11 of us that canoed and camped in lower and middle saranac lake for four days. d organized a super trip, both for camping locations, and, of course, menu. i'm used to eating like we do for backpacking, but you can haul a lot more gear in canoes.

for the most part, the weather was cooperative. the first full day had about an hour or two of steady rain, but then we only had a few other short showers that passed over. altho it was pretty warm, being on a lake, or in the woods and up in the mountians made for pretty comfortable temps. and when it was too warm, a dip in the lake fixed that pretty quickly.

if i can find my cable to download the pictures, i'll try to post a few.

new feature. in case you haven't noticed, you can now make comments on posts by clicking the 'comments' link at the end of the post. now that ryan has broken the ice, i'm sure the comments will start to flood in.

short week. i'm off tomorrow for lake saranac for a canoe trip with d and 7 other folks. it's the annual trip that i've been trying to make since its inception. even tho i'm only working 2.5 days this week, i'm still putting in at least 30 hrs. that should make me enjoy the trip all that much more.

last weekend was another travel weekend as you all should know. i got to see my cousin again (it's only been 3 or 4 years) which was cool. also, much of the family came in for the reception as well. it was the first time i got to me carson, and caleb is a lot of fun now that he talks and runs and loves to play ball. not to mention he's already a lady's man. the little 2 year old girl couldn't stay away from him. altho, when she wanted to join in ring-around-the-rosie with him and my sister, it took a little persuading to hold hands. don't worry lad, in 20 years you'll be wanting to hold all the pretty hands you can.

(and ryan, this 2 paragraph entry is just for you. see i'm trying.)

i'm off this weekend to my cousin's wedding reception. it's probably been 3 years since i've seen her. plus i'll get to meet carson for the first time.

pears vs apples.

perhaps its the weather. but whatever it is, something is stirring within my being. i sat and wrote a three page letter to no one, or maybe to myself, this weekend. in it, i wrote:

perhaps it is this dis-ease that will become my poetic tension. a tension not to hold in place, but that will set in motion. set in motion my mind, my pen, and eventually, my heart.

i picked up Kafka's Metamorphasis this same day at east village books. i'm on the verge of securing my own apartment. i feel the vibration change.

yesterday was nearly perfect in terms weather. so, considering my exercise routine has consisted of brisk walking (generally only to and from work) and 12oz curls for the last 6 months, i decided to go buy some inline skates. i went with the roller blades because both j. and the consultant i work with both have them, so i figured i'd have the occasional partner. plus, i used to skate really well back in middle school.

of course, nobody ever said, "don't worry, it's just like inline skating"

after making my new purchase, i got home and got my shiny new skates ready to take to the east river park. there is a path that runs a good length along the river. i decided not skate there (four blocks east) since i was out of practice. good idea.

once there, i laced up and set south. now, i wasn't a complete beginner, but i surely must not have looked very confident. once i got down closer to the seaport, the path becomes much improved. this is when i realized it wasn't my balance that was so off, but the fact that the path between houston and around market was extremely uneven. it seems the asphalt was not really steamrolled nice and flat.

after getting more confidence on the southern end, i had to make my way back up through the treacherous first section. you'll be happy to know i did this with and face plant or broken bones, although at a much slower pace than the cruising i did further down. all in all it was fun. but i think i need to find a better place to skate. j. said he goes in central park, so i'll have to get some directions from him. or i'll check out what this skate guide has to say.

we had dim sum today for lunch. for the most part, i let s, s's friend, order things. i still had veto power for things like 'fried pork tongue'. as for my first dim sum experience, i'd say it was a success.

after lunch the three of us walked down to the financial district and battery park.

s, a friend i met in edinburgh, is visiting from baltimore.

cingular has by far the worst customer support that i have ever exerperienced for any service i've ever purchased.

does anyone else always check the postmark on the letters they receive?

i'm not sure where this week went, but its friday night, and i'm in philly at my friend's place. it's funny how used to the city you get, and how easy it is to forget how the rest of the world lives.

tomorrow i'll help d build a fence and we'll see just how out of shape i am.

i met a messianic jew tonight at church. we didn't have much time to talk, but i hope that we'll get more time as i'd like to hear how he has come to believe what he does.

while i'm talking about things past, i figured i'd post this pic of a mural on the berlin wall.

go.blogger.com. so, i discovered a great free service from blogger. they have created a way to send photos from your camera phone directly to your blog. i just signed up (it's free), and sent the test immage below. the image is from the brooklyn botanical gardens when i went about a month ago.

"You are beautiful. The world is grim."

this morning i was on my way to work, late, because we had a sending off party for the guy from india that has been working here with the team in NY for the past two months, and i can't pass up free drinks. while walking half way because the subway wasn't running to the usual stop, i came across a chicken reading the newspaper. i would have taken a picture if it weren't for the fact i was in such a rush and i was somewhat concerned about how the chicken might react to this invasion of privacy.

isolation years. i got to see them play when i was in berlin. they've got some groovy tunes, check them out.

i saw the enron movie tonight. its amazing what greed can do. it ended up costing thousands of people their retirements, caused one person to commit suicide, and put two companies out of business (enron and arthur andersen).

towards the end i was literally getting pissed off. partly b/c i knew the whole 'energy shortage' in CA had to manufactured. listening to the recorded phone conversations of enron traders would infuriate anyone that lived in CA during the brown-outs. i have a bit more sympathy for gray davis, but he should have been a stronger advocate for the citizens he represented. and now there's arnold.

i ran down to san loco to pick up some dinner. while waiting for my food, a guy walked in to order. as i looked over at him, i felt as if i knew him from somewhere. before i figure it out, he recognized me; i recognized him as he was saying who he was. i havent seen or talked to this guy since high school. we might grab some beers this weekend.

home sweet home. back in nyc. back to work tomorrow. been up for almost 24 hrs now, so should get some sleep. a great trip. more details and a picture or two to come.

going home. after a great week away from the most of what is my life, i return tomorrow to ny, work, the grind, and the typical routine. it is not very exciting, but i am tired and am looking forward to being in a comfortable place again.

j and i went to prague on a whim this weekend. more details about it later, but the city is fantastic. clean, beautiful, cheap, and fun. i really have to make it back there. time to pack.

guten tag. made it to germany, enjoying berlin. going to check out a part of the wall and the east side gallery.

off to germany

Benedict XVI. the new pope starts his tenure as the head of the church. it was nice to see that it interupted class a bit yesterday when the announcement was made.

i'm off to chicago this week for training. i'll get back on friday and leave for germany the next day. it's been a while since i've done so much time zone crossing.

i had been clenching my teeth for several weeks. i had to consciously keep myself from doing it; i realized it when i started giving myself headaches. then, i started getting a twitch in my jaw too, which felt really odd. it seems to be gone for the mostpart. maybe it was the nice time i got to spend in the sunshine in the brooklyn botanical gardens and central park this weekend.

friday night i met a friend for dinner at lexington and 60th. it's amazing the difference is neighborhoods within ny. i spend so much time in the lower east side that i forgot there are so many rich old people in the city. we were probably at least 20 years younger than the average age of the patrons. i can't remember the last time i was stared at so much just because of my age. these little trips remind me why i want to stay in lower manhattan.

it is a dark, stormy, windy day the day after pope john paull II dies. an amazing man and spiritual leader. many people will be waiting to see who the successor will be, including me.

vacation. i booked my flight for my spring vacation. i'm going to visit k in berlin. j has been itching to travel too, so he's coming along as well. we might make a side trip to edinburgh or amsterdam as well.

proud uncle again. carson kolstad meet the world, world carson kolstad. mum and baby are both doing well.

to lve.'s point, yes, more people are motivated by fear than any other force or catalyst. what would the world be like it if were love instead?

Excerpt from The Moon and Sixpence (Maugham)

But one fact was made clear to me: people talk of beauty lightly, and having no feeling for words, they use that one carelessly, so that it loses its force; and the thing it stands for, sharing its name with a hundred trivial objects, is deprived of dignity. They call beautiful a dress, a dog, a sermon; and when they are face to face with Beauty cannot recognize it. The false emphasis with which they try to deck their worthless thoughts blunts their susceptibilities. Like the charlatan who counterfeits a spiritual force he has sometimes felt, they lose the power they have abused. But Stroeve, the unconquerable buffoon, had a love and an understanding of beauty which were as honest and sincere as was his own sincere and honest soul. It meant to him what God means to the believer, and when he saw it he was afraid.

this is the same reason i have always avoided using the word 'love' in any trivial way.

i've decided to take m. up on her offer to spend Easter at her parents' house. i just felt like getting out of the city and spending Easter with a family. happy Easter!

why wait until your dead to get your work in big name museums? i have to admit i admire the gumption it must take to pull something like this off.

well, we're in production. not without our fair share of hickups and hurdles, but big one is done. we dropped another minor patch tonight. but if you're considering a home equity loan, you can submit on online at Chase.

i'm heading to work in about an hour to do our production implementation. hopefully in about 6 hours (6am sunday) we'll be accepting external internet traffic to our site.

happy st patrick's day. have a guinness.

in the last two and a half months, i've made as much as did all last year. that is fairly amazing.

get em while theyre hot.

my thoughts were so loud i couldn't hear my mouth

-modest mouse

spam. i noticed that coffee has been the latest new craze for spammers.

i'm glad to see that st giles will be getting some tlc.

today was the first day in a long time i came home from work at a normal hour. i left the office at about 5:45pm. now, before you think i had a short day, i still had to work from about 7:30-9 once i got home. what was bizzare is that since i've been commuting home generally between 9pm-1am, i forgot what it's like to see so many people in the streets and on the subway in the evening. i started to feel as tho the subway was my personal transportation, not public transportation.

today was 11hrs at work, and the shortest day this week. the good news is that we did our final QA drop tonight. so, as long as no other major issues arise, things should be more reasonable. launch is scheduled for march 20.

i finally got a new phone (phone number and plan) this weekend. i stayed with cingular/at&t because they had the best plan and phones. with my corporate discount and all the other discounts and rebates, i was able to get the motorola v551 pretty much for free. it has all the same features as the razor, but in a different form factor. i have to say, the software and interface is not nearly as intuitive as my nokia, but overall i like it so far. if anyone has a good place to download free or cheap ringtones, let me know.

babies. it seems like everyone i know is expecting a baby. in the forefront is my sister, who is due in a about 3 weeks. and i just heard a couple i'm good friends with back home is expecting their second. there are a few more, but they're still not officially 'public' yet.

congratulations to all. i hope everyone continues to be happy and healthy.

they're filming something in front of arlenes grocery today. they've got a ton of equipment set up, and stanton street blocked off. didn't catch anyone i recognized tho.

went to sushi samba last night night to celebrate l's birthday. the food was excellent, as was the service and the company. after dinner, we headed to some russian/turkish baths. it was a closed private party, with a bunch of people that l knew. it was an interesting experience to say the least. overall another fine night out in new york.

mockery. brilliant mockery. and i think my favorite part was when deloitte came up in the google ads.

the gates. saturday i couldn't bring myself to go to work, since i was there until 9:30pm on friday. so i decided to check out the installation in the park. the jury is still out, but i have to say that it is much more interesting in person, something about the motion and the people.

here are a couple pictures i took: gates 1 gates 2

glimpse. a blog entry is nothing the smallest glimpse into a particular thought or event in a blogger's life. this medium of communication lends itself to all sorts of intrigue and potential connections to be made.

ah, i want to say something here but i'm too tired to form the thoughts in any cohesive manner. i worked 70 hrs this week and it's just too much. all the reasons i left this lifestyle the first time are coming back. there's just no balance.

two days of work, 33 hrs logged. qa drop on friday. swamped.

busted

the big story of this weekend is the snow. it seems to have stopped for the time being, but round two is supposed to start up soon until 2am. check out the city under snow from earthcam.com webcams.

accent. i would aggree; i think edinburgh has the best accent.

saw hotel rwanda last night with my roommate. it's had really great reviews, so we decided to get out of the apartment last night and check it out. it was a great film; but one of those that you don't want to be so bood b/c it's about something so awful. at least it wasn't the US that was made out to be the sole neglecter, but the entire UN that failed to intervene.

tsunami pictures. wow is all i can really say. i don't think i'd ever really be able to grasp the devistation.

i got a card from a friend i hadn't heard from in some time. a friend that encouraged me to pick up the quill and keep writing.

last night k and i went out to arlenes grocery and saw two pretty decent bands: T and Ancient Frontier. today the weather is not conducive to much other than sleeping and reading indoors. but tonight we're planning on checking out another of the music clubs nearby. probably luna and maybe mercury lounge.

visitors. for some reason, it seems everyone wants to visit in january. normally this wouldn't be a problem, but it happens to be a very busy time at work. but right now, k is visiting from germany. she was just in hawaii for several weeks visiting her sister, and is on her way back home.

subway ad of the day: the bahamas