Personal

Road Trip

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I took a work road trip today. Had to meet some people in our other office and several other people had other missions up there so we rented a van and drove up. Got allot done, and we tried to avoid the traffic from some storm that was coming up the coast. We didn’t really avoid the traffic. Got stuck in it from the GWB all the way to my house. I assume that everyone was stuck in it past that too.

After work I hopped out of the van by my house but instead of going home I hoped on the subway and went to heartland brewery to meet Jayson and John for dinner and drinks. I had fun. We talked and hung out. We need to schedule another poker night.

Man Shopping

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Today I took the day off and went man shopping with my dad. Man shopping you ask? Well you will get the picture in a minute.

I got up normal time I would for work and headed out to my parents place. My dad picked me up at the end of the 7 line. We headed over to “the dinner” for some breakfast. Nothing says lets go man shopping like eggs, greasy hash browns, sausage, bacon, buttery toast (some whole grain toast, my dads only concession), cheese, and 5 units of insulin (not for me). When we were full we headed out to the mall, Roosevelt Field if you are keeping score at home.

We were actually shopping before 11AM. Even in a holiday time like now, you can expect little or no crowds at 11AM on a Friday. We hit the Verizon store to setup 2 new cell phones for my parents and transfer numbers from their old provider, 20 minutes. I was amazed that when we walked out of the store the numbers where already ported over. It took me a week and 7 phone calls when I did it. Next we hit the Apple store to just look. I didn’t find any cases for my new iPod so we didn’t buy anything. My dad liked the 30″ cinema display.

Next we were off to Best Buy to get a new PDA for my dad. This man shopping trip was for him, not me. We have been planning on doing this for months, so we had a list. He ended up going with the Palm Tungsten E2. Nice color screen but simple since he does not need tons of frills. He loved the screen on it.

After that we went to the La-Z-Boy store. He wanted a recliner. We spent the most time in this store. Most of it was lying in several chairs. We had to test them to make sure he was picking the right one. He found a nice comfy one in black leather. We paid and we were done with everything in under two hours. Now that is what I call man shopping!

I then went back with him to his house to move him to his new “temporary” computer. That took a few hours. Then we went to eat by my sisters to see her and morgan. My mom staid home since she was not feeling well. All in all a productive day (for him). I got not much done for me, but I had fun.

Stupid People

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Why are there so many stupid people that take mass transit in NYC? Today I found my breaking point (aka the point where I stop being quiet and taking all the retarded people and start talking back to or commenting at the morons). It took being forced off the train due to switching issues and waiting for 20 minutes for bus’s that I couldn’t get onto and then forced to walk 20 blocks to the 59th street station to take a different train to work.

While I was waiting for a bus there was a huge line. I was like the 4th or 5th person on line. Not bad, until you factor in bus’s that couldn’t fit 1 extra person on them let alone 5. So when a bus pulls up I was slightly ticked off when this older lady behind me blatantly cuts in front of me and a few other people to try and get on the bus. After being delayed like 30 minutes already I opened my mouth to point out there was in fact a line. The lady played dumb for a while then got back in line. I mean come on. F–king idiots. Then some old guy in front of me started telling me how I should always respect my elders and I should have let the lady in front. I told him to mind his own business. I am all for helping an older person with a walker or someone clearly in need of extra assistance. But I am not going to yield for every “older” person who thinks they are entitled to cutting people waiting for ages just because they have some years on me. I am not trying to be mean, but when dealing with a public system (like the bus) NO ONE is special. Get over it. People are just inconsiderate, and don’t realize they are not the center of the universe. If they did people wouldn’t stop and tie there shoe in a crowded subway stairs, or get off an escalator and stop to look around with 100 people behind them. Also fat people would not push in front of you to get on a crowded subway car and then push there way into the car where it is clear there is not a reasonable amount of room for them. And then the idots standing at the door of the train would actually move further into the car allowing others to get on. The moronic tendencies go on.

I am glad I now know what has to happen for me to finally speak out against stupidity. It actually felt good. A weight lifted off my chest.

I actually got to work only about an hour late, but I felt like I sat in a steam room for that hour. I would like to say the rest of the day went better, but it didn’t.

Insomnia Sucks

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I can’t sleep. I can’t stand that I can’t sleep. I actually am up now (obviously). I usually stay in bed for hours hoping sleep will come. It usually doesn’t and I don’t feel any better so this time I got up and I am trying to do stuff to keep my mind off the fact that it is 5:30 on a monday morning and I don’t have to be up for another 2 1/2 hours but I am up. I have been up since 4:30. Well that was the first time I checked my watch. I have probably been up long before that. I am not sure how I will get through he day with almost no sleep, but I will find out.

Not much to do at 5:30 in the morning. I might watch some stuff I Tivo’d last night. Or just write some more. Not sure yet. What to do with hours of time you didn’t want or expect to have before work…

Yesterday Sucked

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Man did yesterday suck. I was right about not feeling well. I was going to goto the movies with Rich and Amanda but I started spiraling downward in the afternoon. An attempt at a nap didn’t help. By 7PM I had the beginnings of a full blown migraine. It really sucked. I ended up in bed and couldn’t sleep or do anything. It just hurt to lie there. The up side was that I was at home. When I am at home with a bad migraine I try not to take any meds and ride it out with sleep. Probably not the smartest idea, but I don’t like to medicate. I do it without question when I am not at home, so when I am home I just don’t.

I slept like crap last night. I was up at 3AM. The headache mostly gone, but I could feel the remnants of it. I slept or stayed in bed till noon. I am up now, and actually awake. Kristen is supposed to be coming over for me to help her with a school project. If it wasn’t for that I probably would still be lying down. She is running late so I write…

Feels Like No Sleep

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I was up till 1:30 watching a movie last night. When I finally went to bed it felt like I didn’t sleep at all. My head is all fuzzy feeling. My throat hurts from the dry heat in my apartment, and I woke up like 5 times between 8 and now. I have no idea why. I am just glad I have no plans today since I feel like crap. Maybe a shower and lunch will clear my head?

Yet More Cleaning

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I thought my apartment cleaning was over last week, but I was wrong. I ended up spending most of the day today cleaning. I went through a ton of computer junk and threw out allot of stuff I would never need. Why I had 3 iomega internal zip drives (still in original electrostatic bags) I will never know. For some reason I collected 4 cd-rom drives, 3 floppy drives, and 3 zip drives. I also tossed a ton of other useless gear like 10 analog phone cables, etc.

Things are neater now. I just have 2 old computer case shells that I have to find a way to toss.

I also finished more rewiring at my desk. Now it is time to just lie on the couch and watch some movies.

Fantastic Lunch

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Today we went to Gramercy Tavern for lunch today. Jayson had the idea earlier in the week. Neither of have ever been and it is supposed to be rated the best restaurant in Zagats. My review is that it was awesome. We ate in the tavern. We thought the main dinning room was a bit too fancy for us, and we weren’t dressed for it. Of course the price difference for lunch was also a factor.

I of course had the fillet. it was really good. I also tried Jack’s Fresh Bacon. I am not kidding when I tell you the bacon melted in my mouth. it was fantastic. As good as the bacon appetizer I had at Peter Lugar’s a few weeks ago.

I like going out to a nice sit down lunch every once in a while. In a previous job we tried to goto Angelo And Maxie’s every month, but that was years ago. I liked doing it. It wasn’t cheap but it was always nice. I am thinking of bringing back the tradition. Just going to the diner every once in a while just wont cut it.

Back to my original reason for the post. I am putting Gramercy Tavern on my favorites list in my Zagat’s! Good call Jayson!

On another note the other day it looked like there was a fire at Angelo And Maxie’s. There where fire trucks blocking 2 blocks of Park Ave South the other day. Since I like the place I feared the worst. Turns out they looked like they were open the next day. Others said they were open that night. Not sure exactly what happened, but it doesn’t look to be as bad as the dozen or so fire trucks first led me to think!

Harry Potter Movie

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After doing our rewiring work we meet up with Gretchen and her friend for dinner at this new place by the office. It was good. After that Jayson, Gretchen and I went to the new Harry Potter movie. I didn’t think the last one was any good so I was skeptical about this one. Turns out I liked it allot. Now I wait patiently for the 7th book. Ok enough waiting, where is it?

The only other eventful thing that happened today was that I actually got up early on a Saturday and went for a haircut.

Busy Week, Not Much Writting

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I haven’t been in the mood to write this week. I have been busy. I have had plenty to write about but just not motivated to write. So what is the recap of the week…

Meetings galore on Monday. The usual stuff, but they always seem really long. I am do not handle long meetings well. I get bored quick I guess. I survive though.

Ended up meeting Kristen for a few drinks at a decent Jazz club Monday night. Then I went home to cut our IM server over to a new hardware and a new version of software. All in all that cut went well. A bunch of client issues on Tuesday but nothing major.

Wednesday was my travel day I mentioned in my last post. Thursday felt like friday. I spent most of my day working on ensuring everyone in my group was on top of their assignments. Friday was allot like thursday and then there was the misc troubleshooting, and recapping my boss on everything he needed to know about the Wednesday trip.

Jayson and I left a bit before 6 today and hit the Outback. We had appetizers like we did years ago. Got full and went home early. I wanted to get a haircut but by the time I got home it was too late. I will get up early tomorrow before I have to goto the office and get one. I wrapped up the day by cleaning up my apartment a bit, and putting away my laundry that came back from the Laundromat.

In general a normal week. I will try to write more this weekend on specific topics, but I like recapping what I did, if not for anyone but myself!