The birthday boy.
I have posted a few photos from our trip in New York (which as of this writing is still in progress).
You can take a peek here or paste this into your browser:
http://tinyurl.com/y9prvl3
February 2010
Dressed Up.
Well we are back from our night at the theatre; tonight we saw “Avenue Q”. I knew nothing about the show before tonight and I think that enhanced my experience. I really enjoyed the show and would see it again without hesitation.
After “Avenue Q” we went to Stage Deli per our New York tradition. I, of course, had the Linda Lavin salad platter again: my choice of salad was the chicken salad. It was delicious.
Now we are trying to decide what to do with the rest of our evening. It’s just short of midnight and our plans are up in the air.
Apple Store.
So we made the obligatory stop at the Fifth Avenue Apple Store, since we were in the area and all. I took my usual photo using one of the display computers. Earl and Jamie waited patiently by the stairs.
As I looked over all things Mac, I decided to make a purchase. My MacBook Pro is performing flawlessly and I have finally bonded with it after all that time with my PowerBook G4. The audio studio iMac has been doubling as a Jamie’s photo editing computer. There have been times when we both have had creative inspirations at the same time and one of us would have to wait for the other. That’s okay, but when you’re standing in the middle of the Apple Store on Fifth Avenue, you become doubly inspired.
Hence, the new iMac I just purchased:
I’m actually quite pleased with the purchase and look forward to setting it up Monday night when we get back home. Though not equipped with the biggest screen, Jamie and I now have equally powered Macs for doing our creative work. I am very happy.
It’s all because of that e-mail I got last night that said my federal tax return had been accepted.
New York, New York.
So Earl, Jamie and I are in Manhattan for the weekend. Tomorrow is Earl’s 50th birthday and when asked what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said that he wanted to do something special that wasn’t completely outrageous. I really wanted to take him to Las Vegas, and that trip is coming sometime this year, but for now we are in the Big Apple. We are staying right on Times Square in the Hilton. We are on the 40th floor of the hotel and the view is quite nice. Had I remembered to bring my camera I would have posted a lovely picture about here. I hope to have this camera issue rectified tomorrow. I’ll probably borrow Earl’s or one of Jamie’s.
Tonight we are going out for dinner at Joe Allen’s on the recommendation of our friend greg. We’ll probably wander around a bit before and after that as the weather isn’t too bad for this time of year. We have show tickets for tomorrow night. Other than that our weekend is pretty much open and we are staying until Monday. This is all good.
Talk To Me.
Let’s dance.
I played this song HUNDREDS of times when I was on Wow-FM, The Beat of Central New York. I also had dinner with them at a radio convention in New Orleans.
Here’s Wild Orchid with “Talk To Me”.
Wait a second, that’s Fergie!
Relax.
Today is a day of firsts. I start work at 8:30 and I slept until just before 8 a.m. I still made it on time but I’m a bit scruffy. I must admit that I feel quite rested.
I have worked at this job for over five years and have spent many, many hours working in our central office, looking pensive and doing important things as I am in the picture above. For the first time since starting here I locked the keys to the central office IN the central office. I had to call upon the manager of the group to remedy the situation. He was understanding. I apologized.
I think I have relaxed considerably since accepting my new position. Perhaps a little too much.
Opportunity.
So yesterday it became official and I can now openly talk about this: I gave my resignation yesterday. My last day with my current employer is February 26, 2010.
I start my new job on March 1, 2010.
I am going to be working in a similar environment as the Network Operations Center that I currently work in, but on a much larger scale. I am very excited about the position as I will be a Tier II specialist. The salary bump is impressive and my commute has gone from 12 minutes to 55 minutes in each direction, but I am really excited about the opportunity. Honestly, I’m excited about the commute too because it will afford me the opportunity to gear up for and wind down from work.
I’m being vague about where I’m going to work because I tend to do that on my blog, being a tinfoil hat wearer and all. But the company I will now work for is publicly traded and is very large.
This is a really big step along my career path and I am most excited. I feel sad that I am leaving the group at my current job; I really like the folks I work with but I need to do what is best for me.
Ticket.
I should probably be upset but I’m not. I just got a speeding ticket whilst on my way from the office to home for lunch. I was driving 72 MPH in a 55 MPH. The freeway I was driving on is four lanes across at the point where I got stopped for speeding. He had a clear shot of me with the laser gun because no one else was on the road. The road was obviously designed to be posted 65 MPH but even it was I would still be exceeding the speed limit.
I wish I could say that I cared that I was stopped for speeding but I really don’t. I’ll just have to be a little more conscious of how fast I drive on open stretches of highway. It’s easier to be bunched up in traffic cruising along at 80. Then they have their pick of who to stop.
The trooper that stopped me is named Officer Geraldo Rivera. He probably has “G. RIVERA” on his name plate so he doesn’t catch shit for that. He looked younger than me, and the famous Geraldo Rivera wasn’t famous until well after my single digit years, so his parents probably didn’t know better. When I saw his name on the ticket I decided to not be snarky at him.
Since I was caught speeding in the left hand lane I pulled over to the left shoulder when he turned on his lights. This made him walk through a snowbank and a mud puddle.
Snark level achieved.
Showmanship.
Like many folks I have been watching the Winter Olympics. I just finished watching a figure skating performance and found it quite impressive.
It made me remember 1979, the second winter in the house my father built for us. We had a hardwood floor in the family room (it’s still there as a matter of fact) and my sister and I were inspired by watching Randy Gardner and Tai Babilonia. Even though we lived in the great white north known as the Lake Ontario Snowbelt, we opted to ‘skate’ around the family room in our socks on the hardwood floor. With the furniture pushed aside and some 45 spinning on the GE Wildcat record player, we danced around like we were skating and did our best Randy and Tai impersonation. We were not as good as “Fire and Nice” from ‘Modern Family’ but we did our thing. Who needs ice. My mother was happy because it kept her from having to dust the floor.
I remember finally getting the nerve to lift my sister in the air during a slow motion, real estate limited routine when my mother immediately stopped the show. I think she was afraid we were going to knock the oddly placed, shaped and decorated chandelier that hung in front of the fireplace off the ceiling.
Randy and Tai were safe for another year.
