Ode to John & Amy

As I mentioned earlier this morning, my plan today included brunch with John and Amy. As is every time we get together, we had a blast. I am so incredibly lucky to have had the chance to get to know these two wonderful people over the course of the past two-ish years. They are two very specific reasons why relocating to Manhattan was such a hard decision.

We enjoyed brunch this morning at Persimmon Cafe in Fremont -- right around the corner from Heidi's townhouse and my home for over three years. After brunch, we walked over to Lighthouse and enjoyed watching other patrons, soaking in the Seattle sunshine, and petting neighborhood dogs (including 'Bed Back Jack') from a bench outside.

Today is already a perfect Sunday. How could it be otherwise given that it has inspired not one, but TWO haiku? That's right... a TWO Haiku day. It's *that* good.

Lighthouse Haiku
Dogs walking by us
Stop to smell the perfect spot.
Meep-Meep! We see you!

A House-Warming, of sorts...

Last night, I hosted a BBQ for Team Madman (my men's volleyball team) at my house. I have a great place for entertaining so it all worked out that we wanted to have the team to get together and my place was/is free.

Jesse Paulson did all the work; I just kept the door unlocked for folks to be able to come in. Here are a couple of shots of the night -- feels so great to have this place be 'warmed' again already! Not even 24 hours of being here and already a party. I love it.

It was an awesome time altogether -- most notably because it included some very close friends, but this time, it also included the opportunity to get to know Mike & Jamie much better. And the survey results are in -- they're awesome (Mike above with Steph Paulson; Jamie below having her beer poured by Jesse in the kitchen). The other thing that was most brilliant about the night is I'm once again in the "short height" category when it comes to being home. I've felt tall of late in NYC, but last night, I'm back in the world of giants: Jesse, 6'3"; Mike, 6'4"; Bryce, 6'5"; Alan, 6'5" -- and those were just some of the guys from the team. Good times.

Today's a lazy day -- brunch with John & Amy, cutting Michael Pidduck's hair, dinner with Sally and the Stac(e)ys. This is my life; I'm happy to have it back to a degree!

Week In Review

I've gotten called out a few times on not having blogged this past week. This tells me a handful of things, among them that I could be lazy and past this whole "blog thing" or that I had a busy week or that I have simply had no stories to tell. I would argue that a piece of all three are true, but am now here for the first Week in Review!

So, I just spent a half hour detailing the week, but realized that it's too revealing relative to me becoming a total and complete alcoholic. It was a week of hanging out with friends, work events, and relaxing. And the combination of the three require an inordinate amount of time and money spend on adult beverages. So, to that end, I will just say this... I had a busy week with lots of late nights and some new and some revisited bars/restaurants:

Monday, 4/24 -- Ship of Fools with Matt Baker and a couple of his college friends
Tuesday, 4/25 -- Rosa Mexicano with Deniz, James, Jamie, Ayse, MattBaker; Rue 57 with MattBaker and Mike Dunnigan
Wednesday, 4/25 -- Michael Jordan's at Grand Central with coworkers and a client; dinner at Sushi Sen-nin after. Mike ventured up to the UES to see my apartment and enjoy Waterloo Tavern
Thursday, 4/26 -- industry event at Social near Times Square

It was great to have both Matt and Mike come check out 3A -- gives me some folks who have perspective into my NYC world from home. It also makes the apartment warmer somehow -- as it did the first night Gary and Michele came over and added something other than me to the place.

*****

I'm now at my home in Seattle -- and already so comfortable. I got up early and have had a productive day... running errands, stopping by the women's volleyball tournament, visiting friends (Sally, Hal, the Pidducks, Charles), and simply being home. My life is again somehow normalized when I can do laundry, when I realize I need to mow the lawn, when I can lounge on the couch and watch TV (not that I haven't been doing that in Manhattan!).

What I have learned about this trip -- in less than 24 hours -- is that I am here to wrap things up. My mission is clear. And being in NYC is good for me and will be even better. I know I need to give where I live; I need to redefine my world and again figure out my place in it. While this sometime takes a while, while this sometimes is long and lonely and hard, it's right. And I'm doing it. And I'm happy about it.

I've only been four weeks since I moved to New York. In that time, it's felt like I've been there for months. This means that I'm either used to it and it's simply where I need to be... or that life goes on and it goes on regardless of where we are. We're simply required to deal or direct it. Right now I'm dealing, but I know that wrapping up the loose ends in Seattle, having the need to be here out of my system, and realizing that Manhattan is my home now will surely drive me to direct sooner than later. This is pleasing.

...as it is being in my home just now. I am content.

I'm HOME!

Well, I'm in Seattle anyway. Need to catch this up... sorry 'bout that!

Welcome to the City!

And so city living begins... I met not one, but TWO cockroaches in my apartment yesterday. The first was under my sponge near the kitchen sink; the second was waltzing through the living room last night. As you can imagine, I am NOT happy. This kind of thing grosses me out beyond understanding -- cockroaches might be like spiders or flies or gnats elsewhere, but they are associated with dirty and unclean and nastiness to me. This is not my home in any way. It may just be one of the occasional things that happen here in my place and these critters could be worse anywhere in the building and I'll get one or two.

Cockroach Haiku
Walking through my place,
Cockroach crunches under foot.
Welcome to New York!

Still, I'm a little wigged out -- the good news is that they do eat bed bugs. The bad news? That's NO consolation to me.

An All-American Week: Baseball and Cars!

Greetings again, avid reader!

HA HA -- that's a trick opening line because I'm not really addressing myself, but believe I might actually be that one reader! Eye-yah! Blow to pride! Blow to pride! Well, at least I find myself funny.

I'm starting to get out and about after work these days -- a good step in terms of tackling the city and measuring me not being so tired at the end of a day. Both good signs in general. This week, I went to a Mets game at Shea Stadium with co-workers Tuesday night and enjoyed the New York International Auto Show last night.

The New York Mets and other Shea Stadium adventures
The Mets were off to a historical 10-2 start this season -- posting the fastest 10 wins in the history of baseball. All good things must come to an end, however, and they got DRILLED by the Atlanta Braves the night we were there, 7-1. Not necessarily being either a Met or a Brave fan, I enjoyed my first game of the season in a stadium I'd never been to. My general observation: it's a whole different world! From the quick-to-boo fans to the "Yankees Suck" chants to the old school stadium, I'm still stunned from just how different the experience is.

Oddly, it was similar at the Yankees game (save the "Yankees Suck" cheers). The poor pitcher gave up 3 home runs, popped out to the catcher and just got WORKED. The Mets couldn't even put the guys picture up on the big screen without the crowd going bonkers. It's all in good fun, though.

And speaking of good fun, a Yankees fan would walk through the crowd with the wrong NY emblem and the chants would begin. The chants always led to that fan waving his hat with pride so that the rest of the crowd could see why the commotion and jump right in. No one got hurt; I was definitely expecting a melee.

Shea Stadium is O-L-D old. Not old, charming old. Old. Period. Want a hot dog? That'll be $4.75; condiments over there. oooh! Condiments! I love condiments! Sorry, Todd. Ketchup and mustard. For two more dollars, one could get the foot-long... and GET THIS! It comes with a packet of relish!! YES! But I had to ask, where are the Dippin' Dots? Microbrews? Garlic fries? Hamburgers, Fried Chicken, Sushi? They're in new stadiums, you wussy! And wussies everyone love this one -- no hot water in this stadium. You want to wash your hands? Do it in cold, just like the founding fathers, you little girl!

So, the photos are from where we sat -- both looking at home plate and the outfield/scoreboard (and coworker Seth, who popped into the shot -- DAMMIT!)

Car Show! Car Show! Car Show!
Yes, of course you're wondering what I'd be doing at a car show. Well, I would think the same thing if it wasn't New York City and if it's an ADVENTURE! I got invited to the Auto Show with some of the AARF posse: Jim, Mike and Craig. Not being a car person, it was a bit like wandering a sales lot, but oh so NOT. It's all the newest models from all of the major manufacturers.

They're showing off gadgets and body styles and colors and letting the audience vote for the color of their latest concept car. They're talking about self-parking features, and rims and torque and zero-to-60 and all things I really have no idea what they're talking about. But I do know this... I sat in the new Honda Fix. I went on the Jeep Adventure. I rode the newest line of BMW motorcycles.

We also got to check out the latest concept cars -- those that may or may not ever be produced. Here's what I was thinkging... I want that job!! To spend YEARS -- literally YEARS -- coming up with some crazy concept car that may never have add any value whatsoever to the planet or to the manufacturer except to provide conversation fodder at an international car show. Come on! What does that pay?!


I want to design the car with swivel seats or one where if you're tired of driving you can just rotate the steering wheel over to the person in the passenger seat. I could do that! I could also pick colors like Challenge Orange. I'm telling you, who gets to TOTALLY FAIL and get paid a lot of money? Besides Seattle weather forecast teams, I've yet to meet anyone who can be terrible at their professions, yet keep their jobs (Wait, that's a lie. We won't mention one E-to-the-W!). Yet, I have officially found another... and I am IN!

Some Musings

There have been a few small stories here and there I've been meaning to share. Here's that collection:

Sorry, Mom... No Central Park for You.
After Saturday's 80 degree day at Central Park (and yes, I'm tan!!), I went back on Sunday with Gary and Michele. We strolled south, watched the model boats on Conservatory Water, visited the Alice in Wonderland statue, and ended up at Sheep Meadow with fantastic southern views of midtown. We also spent a good deal of time in the restroom line at the Sheep Meadow Cafe. The men's room had one urinal and one working toilet... and a line 50 men deep. The women's -- as you can imagine -- was longer; Michele waited it out like a champ. It reminded me, however, that I will be unable to take my Mother to Central Park on a sunny day. Her body does this magic trick where it tells her she has to go only after it's past the EMERGENCY status. I'm afraid the restroom lines may do my mother in. So, sorry Linda -- no Central Park for you! :)

You Got Robbed!
This weekend, I spent a lot of time at the park. On Saturday, I had the blinds to my apartment open all day and when I got back, the place was bright... and empty! For one very brief moment in time, I thought I had been robbed. But then I realized: "Oh yea. My place is always empty."

Am I Hormonal?
As you may have read before, I've been tired since I arrived here. In short trips, one is tired, but there's a lot to pack in and one rides out a week on adrenaline. However, it's been nearly three this time; I'm getting more sleep than ever and still just exhausted througout the day and come 10PM. My friend Jim told me that it usually takes a good three months to get over being tired all the time. Doreen mentioned the tax of a new place makes everything harder and therefore we get more tired. Tonight, as I took the night off, listened to music and read, I caught 'Is Life Too Loud?'
in Men's Health magazine. It essentially argues that increased levels and quantity of noise in our daily lives increases stress... "Any sound in the hazardous range increases the stress response in your body", says Robert Fifer, PhD, Director of Audiology, University of Miami Mailman Center for Child Development. Further, "stress hormones can cause any individual -- child or adult -- to become fatigued much faster than normal." Therefore? The answer is a resounding yes -- I must be hormonal!

Easter Sunday 2006

Park Avenue - NYC - April 15, 2006

We're in the midst of another weekend -- a beautiful one here in New York City. Yesterday hit 80 degrees and I hit the park to get some sun. There is no better way to pass time on a Saturday than to watch the thousands of people in Central Park. There are so many that there's always something to see; yet the park is so big that it doesn't feel crowded in any way. Heaven.

I then joined Gary and Michele at Blockhead's for drinks -- which ended up being the evening altogether. Five o'clock swiftly became 11PM after several Black Flower blended margaritas -- no complaints here! We sat in the outdoor dining area and enjoyed the world passing us by on 2nd... and/or the world spinning in circles as it was with two boys from the restaurant next door who would chase each other in circles until they got tired. Among our chants of "Go Blue!" or "Gett'em Red!", we befriended the chasers who then spend the evening trying to impress. This is how it works - how we're all connected: the parents encouraged the kids to say good night as they left and in so doing, thanked us as well. Yet it was the boys who entertained us all and who provided the bridge in the process.

Me telling Gary "I love Blockhead's!"; Gary saying "I know, right?!".


Kristen, Michele and Jim -- note that Kristen was mid-drink order and still got this smile in.

I'm all about an Easter ham today and looking forward to another low-key day and memorable Easter Sunday. OH! And today is the 10-year anniversary of my plane crash and the birth of one of my best stories ever!!

I'm thinking of friends and family as I type this -- missing loved ones in every way, but excited to spend my day with loved ones here. Speaking of... Tim & Doreen, it made my day to catch up yesterday!! Loved the stories and the update-o-TheGriebs. Thank you!

It's Official: Two Weeks In!

I better start looking for another place now -- I only have 50 weeks to go on this lease!!

Such is life in NYC. I swear it's impossible to know where time goes. I'm officially arguing that there is now NO SUCH THING as a "New York Minute" -- what does this mean anyway? Especially in light of there being no concept of time in this city!! I'm officially two weeks in to this adventure and it honestly feels like it's been months -- if not like this for all time.

You may be wondering what the past few days of my life here have been like -- and I'm not sure I could even tell you. Having gotten into a daily routine, it's like living anywhere else. I need to break that knowing that this is in fact New York City and there's so much to see and experience. The flip side, of course, is that there's so much to experience in any city in which we live... we just have to choose to experience it. So, I'll get out there and have adventures if you promise to as well!!

So, that routine. Here's how exciting it's become...

• 7:00AM -- the blackberry alarm sounds and I snooze too much
• 8:00AM -- depart home; trying to get friend Gary to subway-pool with me; friend Jim may start. It's like pulling teeth to get folks out of the door by 8AM around here, I swear!
• 8:30AM -- the work day commences
• 3:00PM -- having forgotten to eat, I make it outside for the first time to grab something around the corner. No teriyaki in sight. Return foiled, but at least with some sustenance
• 6:30PM -- venture to find the least full subway car for the trek home
• 6:45PM -- exit subway at 77th street station
• 7:00PM -- usually home after a brisk walk around the UES taking in my neighborhood

See? Not so exciting. Save an awesome night with friends Dave Wish and Christopher Harris on Monday, laundry Tuesday and treating the former tenant of this place (Alexandre Campos) to dinner on Wednesday, things are pretty low-key.

A couple of things that stand out from my week though...

• I MISS OWNING A WASHER/DRYER. Do we ever put a value on a load of laundry? The last time I did I was living in Paris and it seemed like laundry was uncheap -- no wonder it was a smelly place! Now that I'm here, laundry is freakishly expensive. $1.75 to wash; $1.75 for 30 minutes in the dryer. If you're asking, the answer is yes, I'm making my way right away to H&M for t-shirts and underwear.
  
• THE ROUTINE. You should see the masses walking to and from the subway stations every morning. It's actually something to see as hundreds of folks stream out of highrises and head underground. It's an odd, but assuring ritual. Given that it has become my own, it normalizes and makes me feel New York, too.

I'm also finding I need MUCH more sleep here than I ever did in Seattle. Not sure why that is. I would be happy to be in bed by midnight at home; up at 6:30 like clock-work. I'm struggling with a 7AM alarm here... and exhausted by 10:30PM. Perhaps it's still some kind of adjustment phase, but I'm currently just thinking I'm either just a wussy or old. A combo of the two would certainly explain a lot of things too!

Work has been oddly draining, I have to admit. I've been so incredibly productive relative to building out my Prospect List -- totall encouraged by it. But a crazy conference call (poor Angy, too!) and I'm totally derailed. A brick wall and I can no longer focus. More breaks throughout the day and food during might help!

OK. Enough for now. I'd been feeling guilty about not putting anything up here for a while, but now you know why. No star sightings. No skin touches. Nothing too crazy happening in New York. Maybe something soon though!

Until then, peathe out homies!

It's Raining Art

It's raining again in New York. Not a Seattle rain that might prevent you from keeping your windows open, but a rain that keeps you from even going outside. You get wet. Real wet. I will need to invest in a rain jacket -- I bought my last one in the fall of 1991... and it's still like new.

That said, what an awesome day altogether though...

The day basically started (at 3PM) with another breakfast at The New Amity -- an awesome Greek restaurant and coffee shop on Madison (between 84th & 85th) that slides folks into its charmingly tight booths and serves coffee you want just to keep coming. Gary introduced me last weekend; he, Michele and I went again this morning. The best part about breakfast this morning was Michele's joy at still getting home-style potatoes with her eggs and our discovery of their means of recycled placemats... under the glass!!

The New Amity's creative table decor: recyclable placemats!

Being a breakfast junkie, I'm already loving the cafes throughout the city and in my neighorhood -- they tend to be quick with strong coffee and serve breakfast all day long. After all, Who *doesn't* love french toast?! Let's get some!

After eating, Michele and I headed over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to enjoy our membership and of having such an amazing museum so close to home. She ventured into the Asian wing, while I headed toward Modern Art. Picasso after Picasso! Dali! Lichtenstein! Matisse! HEAVEN!

Roy Lichtenstein, American (1923-1997)
Stretcher Frame with Crossbars III -- 1968 -- Oil and Magna on Canvas
(Didn't note the name of the installation on the other wall -- apologies!)

There will not be a better way to spend a rainy Saturday than enjoying such an amazing place. The Egyptian Temple of Dendur is a spectacle; I could have stood in the Sackler Wing forever taking that in and just imagining that being a "normal" part of daily life -- yes, Jesse, I was standing in the midst of this awesome temple when I returned your call... how cool! It rekindled my desire to get to Egypt before my days are done. I also strolled quickly through Medieval Art, the Robert Lehman Collection, the European Sculpture Court, and the Greek and Roman Art/Artifacts area. Mind you, I strolled through... the reality is, I get to -- and will -- go back with frequency so I can really take in whatever I happen to want to. What an amazing place altogether... and better still? It's my back yard!!

Detail from Italian Renaissance altar pieces in the Robert Lehman Collection

After enjoying Round I, Michele and I met up in the Great Hall (below), enjoyed martinis, listened to a live string quartet as day turned to dusk, and had an awesome conversation -- a DC Bomb, if you will. I'm nothing short of THRILLED to have such strong friends so close while I make this transition. I hope I can be to them what they already have been to me in times like these.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art -- The Great Hall

I'm now home, enjoying another low-key evening. I wasn't able to make it to Jen's dinner party tonight (I'll spare you the details), so instead am rewinding the day, reliving the art in my mind, and reveling in the fact that this is real. I was just able to connect with my friend Charles; so great to hear his voice and to catch up. It's the very conversation I need to have to normalize such a radical transition: daily details, mental images of a world I know so well, realizations that healthy and healthful relationships usurp time and space.

PEACE to you, dear friends!

The Space Between

One of my favorite songs of all time... 'The Space Between' by Dave Matthews. I think I'm living that song just now -- being caught in a middle. A Tale of Two Cities. Two conflicting emotions.

I'm growing gradually more excited to be here. It's only been a week tonight and I've experienced so much, yet still so little. The excitement spawns from knowing there's still so much to do and to take in... if only I didn't have to work. :)

I'm growing gradually more sad about leaving Seattle. Note the present tense? That's exactly the space I'm between. It still feels like a process rather than a done deal. I'm starting to feel increasingly more distant from the stories I was able to weave with -- and create as -- my own. I told my friend Jesse today that I'm already starting to feel like it'll be hard on me to go back. I'm not sure what that means, but know it's something I've struggled with in the past. Lives go on; tales continue to be told... and I haven't been there daily to experience them to really have the best perspective. This is life, I realize. Yet, this is something I've struggled with since the dawn of time. Everything is pregnant with significance to me; I'm always expecting.

All that said, tonight marks Week One in New York City. At the seven-day mile marker...

WORK. I've now enjoyed a week of work. I've settled at my desk; I've just started to really get to know those folks I sit around and near. I feel like there is a lot of closure to my old job now and can really start to focus on my task at hand. I feel like I've been incredibly smart politically, having already navigated several interesting scenarios with grace and perspective (the coffee machine incident; the Altas sales presentation). I got my first, "we need a guy like you around here" comment from a guy I sit next to -- that felt AWESOME, I have to admit.

HOME. I'm starting to feel more comfortable in my apartment. My TV was delivered this morning. I figured out that the shower wasn't really clogged (it had a secret drain latch that I wasn't aware of but discovered when enjoying a BM last night). And, I was able to figure out a cocka-may-me solution to the water temperature and pressure problems I was having in the shower! It certainly also helped that I 'entertained' tonight... Michele and Gary Little came over. We enjoyed a Mexican feast with leftovers from Wednesday's presentation/luncheon and probably enjoyed several too many adult beverages (yes, I stocked up on Captain Morgan, Vodka, Mud Slide mixer and Ginger Ale in the past seven days.). So, it is becoming more like home. It was just so comfortable tonight, in spite of its emptiness because the Littles were here to fill it with the intangibles -- friends, voices, stories, laughter, joy, the making of memories. These things are priceless to me -- thank you, dear neighbors and friends!!

I sleep tonight with a sense of peace and a sense of longing... longing to know what's next; longing to bridge these worlds and to share this excitment. I also long to be doing interesting things, writing interesting words in this blog, sharing interesting adventures, while also nesting and making this place become mine in every particular.

I also long to crash and sleep hard -- Gary, this word is for you. :o)

Good night!!

Mother Nature is fickle. Part 2.

It was a chilly morning in New York this morning -- enough to merit a bit of a heavier coat for the brief walk to the subway. Clear blue sky. Crisp spring morning. That was 8AM...

8AM -- clear sky, chilly morning. Maybe 40-45 degrees
10AM -- BLIZZARD!!!
6PM -- partially cloudy with sun. Probably 40-45 degrees

I tried to catch the snowfall on camera from our office windows, but the pictures didn't do the morning justice:

This is a shot of the Empire State Buidling from our office -- a shot I took in late February. Today, this was not visible:

In as much as I said I could get used to NYC, we're encountering a bit of an impasse with Mother Nature (that bitch!).

In other news, I'm enjoying Adventures in Showering! The shower is incredibly flexible when it comes to water pressure and temperature -- I never know what I'm going to get! Good thing the pressures not too high else the burns would be worse. And, the cold water that immediately follows the scalding has helped to stop the burns from spreading! Great news, right?! My shower this morning was taken with a clogged tub however, and I'm not home to a bathtub full of water. Where's ACE when you need one? So, I'm off to find the nearest little convenience or hardware store -- wish me luck!

Still not having been hit by a cab or attacked by a subway rat -- and loving every minute of it,

Todd

Mother Nature is fickle.

I'm enjoying The Change in Manhattan. From 75 and sunny yesterday to overcast and POURING today. Welcome to an East Coast Spring! Not that I got drenched walking all of four blocks outside this afternoon -- am loving having a subway system in my life again! -- but you KNOW I don't have an umbrella!

Yes, as I mentioned, yesterday truly was a Sun Day and folks were out en masse. I rode the subway on a few errands, but decided to walk home the 30 or so blocks and enjoy the day. I followed that with some time watching people from a blanketed hillside in Central Park behind the Metropolitan Museum with my friend Michele and her sister-in-law Angie. Speaking of which, I joined the Met yesterday! I can't wait to enjoy both the park and the museum with frequency, particularly as my apartment is a mere four blocks from Central Park and five from the Met.

From there, I met my friends Jim and Amy for a margarita around the corner from my place. Showed it off on the way to ice cream, saw Jim's studio about four blocks north, and came home and attempted to do my taxes (Steph, thank you!). What's awesome about this apartment, neighorhood and New York in general is that your world is within two blocks... restaurants, dry cleaners, liquor/wine shops, grocery stores, friends, big box retailers, movie cinemas, Central Park, the Met... all right around here. It's just awesome.

This morning, friends Gary, Jim and I met and took the subway to Eisenberg's Sandwich Shop for breakfast. More for the piping hot coffee and eggs any style. The place has been around since 1929 -- with the same menu signs and coffee brewing techniques used back then. A bacon, egg and cheese toasted bagel and it was off to work!

I could get used to this real quick.

NOT a Cry for Help. I repeat. NOT a Cry for Help.

The adventures never cease in the Big Apple!

I spent four hours at the Mt. Sinai Emergency Room on the Upper East Side (UES) last night with my good friend Gary in tow. Unfortunately, I chopped my finger trying to get a bag of goodies I had bought from BedBath&Beyond open and I knew I had to head to the ER.

Four hours and more friends later, Gary and I walked home with me the lucky recipient of two stunning sutures (and yes, I used the word suture in honor of friends Chris, Casey and Daniela):

The perp and its victim.

There are a few key things I learned from my experience last night -- key to my future survival in NYC:

1. Do not sustain a life-threatening injury here. You will die.
2. NYC is all about customer service! I had two RNs, two Residents and one Doctor to treat my wound. What care!!
3. There are still people in the world who type with their index finger: my father and the Triage Nurse to name two. Granted, she was enjoying well-done, spicy chicken wings with extra blue cheese dressing in the other...
4. Any bodily cut in Manhattan requires the following line of questioning: "Have you ever had bouts of depression? Were you trying to hurt yourself? Is this a cry for help?"
5. Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? I got like six (6) free band-aids last night! That's right. SIX!
6. Gary Little is a SuperTrooper for joining me on The E.R. Adventure last night. Unfortunately, he thinks it a crazy dream sequence.

All this is to say that I've not even been here 40 hours and already I've had a celebrity sighting and a visit to the E.R. I mean, come on! Who gets this life?!?! I'm one lucky man!

I suppose I should address #4 above, however, as I'm sure you're wondering. Answering all three is too personal, but I will tell you this: no cry for help! At least not today! Today is a kitchen stock and TV purchase day. That's right, I'm going shopping again! WOO HOO!

This actually comes on the heels of the news that my former company, Allrecipes.com, announced their acquisition by Reader's Digest yesterday for $66MM. Rumor has it that current shareholders will be paid out $1.08/share as AR becomes a part of the RD public family. This means I stand to make a pretty penny on the stocks I bought for $81.23 in October 2003! So, that windfall and my taxes -- which I still need to do -- mean positive cash flow for a city that's butt expensive.

Me shopping for a TV with an incredibly relevant and timely ad.

See, that said, now why would I go try to chop off my finger?

And the answer is not to be like Mike. :o)

Happy Weekend!!!