Personal

Apartment Reconfiguration

by

I knew this day was coming but was delusional that i could put it off indefinitely   Teagan’s play area has grown and displaced my office area.  Today MC and I moved her desk into our bedroom out of our Foyer.  We then moved my computer desk into the Foyer so there is more room in the dining room / office / Teagan’s play area.  It is great that Teagan has more play area, and with MC’s desk in the bedroom I even have somewhere i can work from home when i need to and not have Teagan distracting me.  On the down side I don’t know how cool it will be in the Foyer durring the summer.  I hope its not too hot but we may need to get a fan to circulate air better.

The hardest part of the moving stuff was cleaning the dust we saw when moving one carpet.  Everything fit pretty well in their new locations.  I now just have to remember to walk to they Foyer when I want to goto my computer.  I keep walking to the play area and are disappointed when I realize my computer isn’t there.

The next reconfigurations we need to make is move the step cabinet we have out of the play area before Teagan can craw.  The last thing we need is a piece of furniture that screams climb me to a kid that just learned to move around.

Amazon, Why oh Why are You Using Smartpost?

by

I am very concerned about Amazon’s recent switch to Smartpost for some orders.  I have been a huge fan and customer for years and a Prime customer for many of those.  Recently I have noticed Amazon’s switch to Smartpost for some orders.  I was concerned because i have heard horror stories about Smartpost but didnt have any issues.  Now that has changed and my first delivery was missed purely because of Smartpost.  I wrote an email to Amazon.  In the event that they don’t read or reply to customer mail and before I forgot I wanted to paste the text of my mail into this post in the hopes that someone from Amazon may find it.  I get trying to cut costs, but Smartpost is just bad.  My example below is only the first example i have had with Amazon, but not the first i know of personally or professionally.

My wife pointed out that this order was formula and other supplies for the baby.  The whole reason we buy from Amazon is their price and the fact that we can rely delivery dates.  Yes we can goto the store nearby in a pinch if a delivery doesn’t happen but at that point why should I be ordering from Amazon at all for that stuff?

Email message read:

I have used Amazon Prime for years.  Very recently my family has started receiving packages via USPS Smartpost instead of directly from UPS for free prime shipping.  Today i was supposed to receive the order listed however USPS was unable to deliver it since no one was home.  Lets ignore the fact that someone was home and tried to buzz them for now.  I got an email telling me in order to reschedule delivery i need to goto a website and fill out a form to ask for re-delivery.  UPS or Fedex don’t require this.  They just try 3 times.  Also a more minor note that my building’s super accepts packages and i have never had a problem with other carriers until your switch to smart post.  Your switch to Smartpost is a step in the wrong direction compared to Amazon’s typical stellar service.

Not to make threads since i am one customer but continued experiences like this will lead me to look at alternative vendors.  I use Amazon for many things because of its ease of ordering and because I know I will get my stuff without question.  Starting to have delivery problems will get myself and probably others to rethink your services no matter how cheap the shipping costs are.

My Speedmaster Returns

by

In early January I was distressed when one night I went to wind my watch one night and felt something give when I started to wind it.  After that there was no resistance when winding it and i knew something was wrong.  I was very concerned because my Speedmaster Professional is over 40 years old and I just had work done on it almost two years ago.  Servicing that watch is not cheap so I was not pleased that it could be expensive to fix.  I took it to the Omega store the next day and thankfully the watch was still under warranty.  That was a huge relief.  On the down side they said it would take up to six weeks to get fixed.  At that point I didn’t care because it was a free fix.

Today I went to pick up my newly fixed watch.  It seems to be working perfectly so I am happy.  it always has a tenancy to run fast so I am wondering if this work has addressed that, but I am not holding my breath on it.

Meeting up with old friends

by

My friends Joe & Karen and their little one Logan were in town.  We don’t get to see them very often so I wanted to be sure I could see them.  Unfortunately the night they were free MC couldn’t get out.  It is still difficult to schedule stuff with a 2 month old.  I ended up meeting up with them on my own right from work.

We went to Sparks Steakhouse for dinner.  We meet other friends of theirs in one big group since they weren’t in for that long to have separate meetups with everyone.  I was suprised how good Logan was at dinner and I hope Teagan will be the same way!

The food was good but it wasn’t as good as I remembered from when MC & I went here for my birthday two years ago.  Either way it was great to be able to see everyone even if it was just for dinner.

The Story Why I Can’t Watch The News

by

I am not a fan of TV or radio news.  I used to be as my mom likes to say.  She is right.  I used to love the news and current events and would soak it up on TV.  I have been quoted at 5 years old giving opinions of who I thought would presidential race at the time.  Reagan vs Carter if you are wondering.  By the time I was in my 20’s In the 90’s I started watching less regular news and more financial news like CNBC.  After a while I couldn’t even watch that.  Back then I am not sure what made me stop.  I think it was just that news was depressing and repetitive on TV.

 

It turns out that if you blog long enough you will cover the same or similar topics again.  I found a post I wrote in August 2005 about another reason why I don’t watch the news.  For the record that post confirms I was reading the news from Reuters long before I worked there so I think its ok for me to say I think they are a great news source even though I work in there.  As always the opinions expressed on this blog are my own and not those of my employer.

2nd Date Night

by

With MC’s parents still with us tonight they suggested we go out again yesterday and let them baby sit.  At first we weren’t going to go but then we realized we should get out when we can.  We wanted to go out and do something quick so we headed to Austin St. to grab dinner.  We were going to goto Aged steakhouse, but we didnt have a reservation and it would have been 30 minutes wait.  instead we went to Sante Fe Steakhouse.  My steak was good, not great.  MC’s dinner was less stellar.  It was nice getting out but it wasn’t as nice an evening as last night.

Dinner and a Movie

by

MC’s parents are staying with us for a few days  since they are without power due to the storm.  It has been a bit cramped since I am working from home due to the storm but it is nice to have them.  They help with taking care of Teagan, and MC doesn’t get to see them as often as I can see my parents since hers lives about an hour and a half away.

Since they are here and they dont know when they will have power, MC had the idea that they could watch the baby Friday night and we could go out and grab some dinner and catch a movie.  We haven’t done that alone since Teagan was born so it is almost 7 weeks.  We were both excited since we would love a night out and we have wanted to go see Argo.  Up until her parents came to visit we figured we would never get to see  it in the movies and would catch it on DVD.

We opted for an early movie and dinner afterward.  The movie was great.  Probably one of the best stories I have seen in a long time.  It was very well done and worth it as our first date out.  We went to the theater on Austin St and then went to a Sushi Yasu place across the street from the Theater   We wanted to try a new place and we were in the mood for sushi.  The restaurant was nice but the sushi was not as good as our favorite place in Woodside (TJ”s) or the more upscale Moca Asian Bistro around the corner.  After dinner we went to Martha’s for coffee and desert before heading back home.

It was a nice quick night out.  We were both glad to get away even though MC talked to her mom 3 times while we were out.  We might go out again tonight but we aren’t sure.

Surviving Hurricane Sandy

by

Like most people in NY & NJ this week has been a bit unreal.  I heard about a possible storm as early as last Wednesday.  It wasn’t until Thursday or Friday when I realized that this wasn’t just any old storm.  My mom was planning a trip to Europe and was going to depart Monday night.  On Friday she was concerned she wouldn’t be able to get out in time.  By Saturday she had canceled her plans.

Saturday afternoon I got brought into my first disaster planning call from work.  Saturday we got a walk in with Teagan and we also went and did some grocery shopping.  We typically order Fresh Direct but when we tried all slots were sold out.

Sunday the weather wasn’t horrible yet but it wasn’t too great.  I only got out to get some formula since we weren’t sure how long the storm would be.  I got lucky at Walgreens and the guy who unlocked the case were the formula was locked up (yes formula in NYC is behind lock and key) pointed out that there was a check out person at the cosmetic counter.  i rushed over there and avoided the 20 or so people at the front check out.  Others quickly found out that trick and I dodged the line.  Most of Sunday was taken up with disaster prep calls.  I had calls every two or three hours all day from 9AM on.

I was going to take a day off Monday to watch Teagan while MC had an appointment.  By Saturday I realized that the appointment would probably be canceled and I would need to be working to make sure we had no issues with the storm.  I was right, the appointment was canceled and I ended up working from home all day.  It was my first day working from home with MC and the baby being home.

Monday night was interesting with the storm hitting.  It was odd that there was no cars on the road.  It was super windy but in this apartment we didn’t really hear it that much. We watched the news briefly but I got most of my news from Twitter feeds.  For real time information durring an incident like this it actually was helpful.  I was following the NYC Mayors office, FEMA, MTA, National Weather Service, Reuters and teh BBC.  I was pretty well informed and didn’t have to watch allot of the sensationalism, fluff or people standing in dangerous stormy areas for no reason.

We were extremely lucky and had no damage at all.  We never lost power and up and down my street I didn’t see any downed trees.  I know there was some damage south of Austin St but nothing near me we could see.  Very lucky is an understatement when my sister is without power, and a cousin’s apartment is totally destroyed.

Tuesday at work was part listing to updates on any affected systems from the storm to trying to find out what was happening with the rest of my team in the NY region.  On top of that I was trying to get normal work done.

Wednsday was a little bit more normal, but half my team in NY/NJ were not working.  No one else on my team had power, but 2 of them were able to get to an office in NJ.  My mom came over to help watch the baby, and MC and I went food shopping since my in laws were coming over.  They lost power Monday and we asked them to come over.  They finally took us up on the offer Wednesday when they still didn’t have power.  Her dad cooked dinner for us all, and they both got to play with the baby.

Thursday I was able to continue to work from home and I tried to get back into a normal routine.  Overall I was able to.  I had several calls in the morning, and then a one on one with my boss in the afternoon.  After that I took off the rest of the day since I wanted to help MC out with Teagan a bit since I had to work Sunday.  My dad called the night before to offer for all of us to come over Thursday night for dinner.  It’s his cooking night and he knew we were hosting MC’s parents.  We all headed over after Teagan’s 4ish feeding.  It was the first time we used the car seat without the base.  It worked generally well.  It was also the first time I used Siri for navigation.  I didn’t really need it since i know how to get to my parents place but I always like having the navigation running.  MC’s dad drove us all over.  We had fish for dinner.  It was a good meal.  Teagan didn’t sleep at all when over there.  I think it may be because of all the grandparents over stimulating her, but what do I know.

When we got home MC’s parents watched the baby as I made formula for the coming day, and MC tried to nap.   I then feed Teagan and just got her down for a nap.  I write this post Thursday night as everyone else sleeps.  I have Teagan up on the Dropcam on my Nexus 7 making sure she still is napping.  MC is in our room trying to nap and her parents are in the living room sleeping.  I am in my office area (aka what should be the dinning room) hoping that this light typing isn’t annoying to anyone.  Watching Teagan on the monitor all warm in her crib sitting in front of a computer with power it reminds me that not everyone was so lucky.  I have friends and colleges without power.  A cousin whose apartment is ruined and doesn’t know when she can move back in, and there are countless other horror stories to go around.  I am glad we came out of this ok, and hope for a speedy recovery or else I will be working from home for a while until they fix the train tunnels.

If The 12 Year Old Version of Me Could See Me Now

by

I know that I’ve been very lax with the writing on this blog when I open this draft and realized I started to write this post about an evening I had with M on August 31, 2011. The title of this blog entry is something I mentioned to a few people and I’m personally amused by how true it is. I am not sure if I’ve written about how much of a picky eater I am. I have been since I was a little boy. My mom will tell stories about how my pediatrician would try to help my mom to get me to eat things I didn’t like such as vegetables and fruit. The story would always end with the five-year-old version of me outwitting my mom or just being that stubborn. The problem for my mom was I would be really hungry yet I could be satisfied with a glass of milk.

That’s the background of my poor eating habits. I am in no way blame my parents. I was a very stubborn little boy and those old habits generally die hard. Over the years as an adult I’ve made some effort to expand and try new things.  I still generally and pretty picky. I don’t normally eat any fruits or vegetables. I do take a multivitamin now. That’s partly to make my mom happy, but it’s generally a good idea anyway.

The main reason why I thought of writing this post is about some of the foods I’ve recently started eating. There have been 3 notable additions. When I started dating M she liked going for sushi. I’ve never been a fan but it was a good trade-off to Tai. She loved the Tai, and I could find more options Japanese restaurant then at a Tai place. When we first started going to Japanese places I tried sashimi. I like to fish so high quality raw fish did not seem like a big deal. I really liked it and would continue to have it when we go back.  M gas great and never really forced me to try anything else but would suggest it every once in a while.

This all leads up to August 31, 2011. That night I decided to try a sushi roll instead of just sashimi. My big turnoff to sushi rolls was the rice but I figured I would give it a try. It wasn’t too bad but I didn’t go “wow this is awesome”. A few weeks later after going to the Russian and Turkish baths (a blog entry I should actually make but it’s been over a year since then) we went to a sushi restaurant in the city. This time instead of just trying one of M’s roles I ordered them myself. It was this time or the third time I had sushi when it came to me that this was really good stuff.  I have been eating sushi ever since.

It was after the sushi incident when it dawned on me what the 12-year-old version of me would’ve thought of that. I just randomly pick the age but really any childhood version of me will probably react the same way and not believe it.

It wasn’t just sushi that I’ve tried recently and liked. Believe it or not I never ate eggs. I would eat things with eggs in it but never just eggs or an omelette. In December 2010 on my first cruise with M I tried my first omelette. Shocker, it was great. Breakfast for me has been different ever since!

The funniest food that I never ate before has to be fresh lox. Growing up as a child I had every opportunity to try it and never wanted to. My mom and dad both would eat it. When my dad would get bagels they were readily available yet I would not have it. It wasn’t until sometime after I started dating M when I tried it. She loved it since she loves salmon in general so I give it a try. The funny part of the story is that my mom said she pretty much had a similar story. Growing up the Jewish household her father would always bring home bagels and lox on Sundays and she never had any. It wasn’t until she met my dad when she started eating it

The list of food items that I’m willing to eat continues to grow. Probably not fast enough, and probably I will always be a generally picky eater but I’m glad that over time I’m trying to expand my horizons. My sister jokes that my child will be just like me for poetic justice. My nephew is pretty picky but my nieces aren’t. My current theory is it’s a male gene thing in my family. There’s really no proof especially since my father will eat anything but I am clinging to that theory until I can prove that Teagan will be a normal eater.

Friday September 7th

by

Not a huge amount to report that I want to write about publicly on the Internet, so I wrote a private blog post. I work from home today because I needed to have some scheduling flexibility. Thankfully in the end I didn’t need it, but it’s good to know it’s available when needed.

I ordered takeout sushi for lunch today. I was also able to play a little bit with Cisco and jabber. One of the guys at work and I tested to make sure that it functions and I can receive chat messages when the app is closed on my iPhone and iPad. It will be pretty cool when we all start using it.

We do not have any specific plans yet for this weekend. We are hoping to be pretty low key, since the baby is due Tuesday. Depending on how MC feels we might get a dinner out one night. Other than that it’s vegging and making sure we get anything we need to do around the apartment done.