The Flux Capacitor

Split Personality.

2008-11-01T22:45:00.003-04:00

So I have become a victim of identity theft. Really. At first I thought it was a Halloween trick or something, but no, it was real.

The timeline goes something like this:

Was at work, and made a quick drive at noon to pick some appetizers for our Halloween potluck lunch. I paid with my debit card, no problem.

Spent the rest of the day at work, as usual, and then headed out around 5. I made a pitstop to buy Olivia some undershirts, tried paying with my debit card, and it was rejected. I didn't think a lot of it, maybe it was just their machine, so I paid in cash.

Went to my bank. Just ran in to pick up some checking registers. But at the ATM, it would not let me take out any money, and it showed that I had a crazy negative balance (over -$800,000). I ran right back inside the branch (they closed at 6 and it was 5:50). They said that my account was put on hold for some suspicious activity. Apparently, there were 4 teller credit deposits done in Providence, RI, at different branches, starting at around 2 PM this day (they tried for a 5th, but they wouldn't let him do it). What happened was that this idiot deposited these checks, but took some cash out from those checks. So if these checks bounce (which they probably will), I would get screwed with whatever fees they would issue, and he would make off with the cash. Wow.

I got home, and i did have a message from the bank telling me to call them about this. I called back, and they recommended i go in the next day to close my accounts and open new ones. And the accounts remained blocked.

The next morning, I went online to my account, and copies of the actual deposit slips were there, and I saw that someone wrote down my name, address and signed my name (they even signed my name the wrong way, but that is obvious since it was not me!) I went to the bank, and took care of the opening/closing stuff. And today I had to update all of my online accounts.

And this is far from over. I have to call back on Monday to continue this investigation. This person also has a fake drivers license with my name and license number on it (which is how he ended up getting ahold of my account). So now I will probably have to waste more time and get a new one. And then I will have to file a report with the police.

I have no idea how somebody could have gotten my info, but they get these things in so many different ways. I just hope that he tries this again using my old account, and they catch the son of a bitch.

Three week update...

2008-09-22T22:04:00.002-04:00

I've survived three weeks of the new job so far, and it is starting to get busy.

This is definitely a new experience for me - I have always been around the bottom of my department, but now not only is that not the case, but I am supervising 14 people. And it is going well. I am already showing that I am a friendly, laid-back boss, but asking for updates when needed and signing off on stuff in a timely manner. I am grateful that I am finally given the opportunity... and my boss seems to think I am doing fine so far. I even got a compliment from the CFO today for something I took care of for him!

So far, these are the things I like about this job:

- No one worries when I get into work or when I leave, just as long as the work is done.
- I've been leaving before 5 most days. Most people in my department are out of there at around 4 every day.
- My commute - it used to take over an hour door to door, now it takes 20-25 minutes. And barely any traffic!
- I even get to make a difference - I approve financial waivers for patients that cannot afford their treatments.

Now I can officially thank my last job for laying me off. It only took a month to find this job, and it was worth the wait.

Last Hurrah In Boston

2008-09-03T21:58:00.002-04:00

Today I went into Boston for the last time in awhile - to do some shopping and to meet up with my recruiter for lunch. While I was out, I wrote bits and pieces of a blog entry, and here it is...

- Took my old commute, commuter rail to North Station (I left early so that I could get a parking space by the train). I don't have a train pass anymore, so I had to buy a round trip ticket for the commuter rail, and ended up walking around instead of taking the subway. I found a Bruegger's Bagels (they have a yummy rosemary & olive oil bagel).

- Walked to Downtown Crossing. Was going to buy some new clothes for work, but nothing was open yet - Macy's opens at 10, and it was 9. So I kept walking, mostly to get lost and find my way back.

- Almost ended up at South Station, but turned down some random blocks. Ended up at the aquarium, walked into the park by the waterfront, and sat on a bench right by the water, looking out at all of the boats. It was a perfect day to be sitting out there - sunny, slight breeze. Blasting the new Metallica & Anberlin albums on my iPod (neither have been released yet). The new Metallica sounds really good. Better than St. Anger, and better than Load and Re-load, closer to Justice sounding. Long songs, good solos, songs flow pretty well, even the complex ones.

- Just thought of people working right at this moment (9:55 AM). I feel bad for Melissa, but at my old jobs... haha. :) But next week I will be working. Oh, and I took my drug test yesterday, and the company will do the background check today.

- Ended up walking back to Macy's - got two pairs of pants and a weekend polo shirt. Walked back to Quincy Market, walked around, and waited for noon - meeting with Jill the recruiter for lunch at Houston's.

- Lunch went well. Jill got the salmon, I got a Thai steak and noodle salad. I told her the whole story about what happened at my previous six year job and what I heard about what is going on there now (it's still funny to think of how that is going!)

- After lunch, went to the Gp and got two dress shirts and a belt. Very exciting.

- Walked back to North Station, via Haymarket.

- Waiting for the 2:20 Reading train.

- On the train. Bye bye Boston, for now. I will be back, eventually - my friend got tickets to see Metallica at the Garden in January. Awesome, and again, I do really like the new album.

That wasn't so bad...

2008-08-31T21:11:00.003-04:00

So yeah, I got a job!

Of the two second interviews I went on, one of them came in with an offer, and I start next Monday. A great position - senior accountant/financial analyst with some people to supervise. It will finally put me back on a normal career path, and get me into a (hopefully) good company with a good culture (unlike my last two companies).

Now I can enjoy my last week away from work with Olivia (and get a mandatory drug test for work). I know I will look back at this time and think, wow it only took me a month to find a job, just in time for my severance to end, and I will miss the extra time I had with Olivia. But I at least got a great month with her, with all her new words and her curiosity. She rules. :)

Suits & Second Interviews

2008-08-26T21:25:00.002-04:00

Ok, I am done wearing suits. The next time I wear one, it better be at a friend's wedding.

So now I play the waiting game. I did my job - I interviewed for two positions, got called back for two second interviews, and made as good of an impression as I could. Both jobs have their pros and cons, but both would be an improvement over what I had. I hope that will here back tomorrow from both of them with good news, and then I can have an awesome problem - trying to pick one job over the other.

If one of these work out, it will really put my life back on track. I know I will look back at this time and think, that wasn't so bad. And I got to spend lots of quality time with Olivia, especially at a time in her life where she is doing and saying so much.

But again, about the suits - I had to put one on four times in the past seven days, and I am done. Why couldn't I make just as good of an impression in a t-shirt and shorts (ok, a polo or button down and khakis)?

Recruiters

2008-08-18T09:00:00.003-04:00

Last week I met up with eight recruiters. Include the one I met up with a few months ago, and two others also working for me (one I met a few years ago), that brings the total numbers of recruiters to 11.

You would think that with this many, I could get an interview already??

I remember how it works. Last time I was looking for a job, I met up with a bunch. Most of them I never heard from again. The others would give me a few updates, but nothing that was even close to what I was looking for. The one that actually found my job, I never heard of them before and they had a job ready when they called me.

I keep getting worried that this will happen again - I met up with three of them on Tuesday, and heard back from one the next day, but only to tell me that they were sending my resume to some places. Haven't heard anything since.

Last time I got my job, it took me about four months. Can I wait that long again? I'm not sure. I love spending all of this time with Olivia, and she is getting so attached to me. But I need to start working again. You know?

Eliminated.

2008-08-14T13:43:00.003-04:00

So yeah, I got laid off.

And it happened so fast. I knew that the company was not hitting their numbers for a couple of months, and they already started with a couple of layoffs, and I even knew that it could happen to me. Just not as fast as it did. It was not based on performance, but since they have a small finance/admin department, and I was not billable, I was an obvious choice. Four others were let go the same day as me, to go with the two they let go in the previous three weeks. Oh I'm sorry, the real explanation was that my position was "eliminated" and that they are doing some "restructuring." What ever helps you sleep at night.

Also the way they did it... I know this is how companies do this, but it still feels so dirty. I was called into my boss' office with the head of HR there, and they told me. They wanted me to just leave right then and there (it was 4:30 PM). They shut my computer off while I was talking to them (quickly deactivating my email and work account). They didn't even want me to grab any of my personal belongings (I did manage to grab a few things). And they kept staring at me until I left. I felt like some sort of a criminal. I was not surprised, but it still hit me hard.

This all happened right before vacation (worse - they laid off this other guy while he was on his honeymoon!) It didn't ruin the trip at all - we went to Seattle (with day trips to Portland via Aberdeen, and to Vancouver). The trip was amazing. Melissa and I took our own little grunge tour - saw Kurt's house in Seattle and where he grew up in Aberdeen, the apartment complex from the movie Singles, and West Seattle, where Eddie Vedder lives and where Easy Street Records is (Newbury Comics for the west coast). We saw fish being thrown at Pike Place, went up the Space Needle, nearly teared up in the Experience Music Project when we walked through the Pacific Northwest wing with all of the early 90's memorabilia (including hand-written lyrics from Kurt Cobain and Chris Cornell). We even went to Cannon Beach in Oregon, which is the beach in the Goonies. We fell in love with Seattle very easily.

But now we are back, and I have spent all week submitting my resume everywhere. I have gotten calls from tons of recruiters, and i have agreed to meet with all of them, hoping that someone will have something. No matter what they promise, I know what to expect from them - lots of talk, not much else after that, except maybe an interview or two. I can see ten recruiters, and may not get anything at all from eight of them. But all it takes is one.

This is all new to me. I have always done well at my job, and even at my previous job, I knew I was awesome, I just wanted a chance to move up, which they did not want to do. So now I am home with Olivia, feeling like a single dad during the day with Melissa at work. I drop her off at the in-laws when I need to meet with recruiters (which I have been doing all week). I feel bad when I am online or on the phone with recruiters and not giving Olivia all of my attention, but I have to do what I have to do. Right now, she just had her lunch and is napping on the couch, looking adorable.

So I guess I will do what I need to - if nothing comes up right away, I need to try and enjoy this extra time I have with Olivia, because when I do get a new job, I will miss this. I am getting a severance, so at least I will still be getting some money for awhile. And after that, along with unemployment, Melissa can support my jobless buttocks. I would do it for her (wait, I already did!)

Oh yeah, and Melissa's situation - when she got laid off, she didn't find a job for months, then found a crappy job, but left that one quickly and found her current job right after, and she loves it. So there is hope for me! :)

Olivia turns 2!

2008-07-21T09:46:00.004-04:00

Today is Olivia's second birthday! On Saturday we had her party, and she had a blast. She got to play in her kiddie pool, with her sand and water table, on the slide, around the yard, and ate some cake. She even played a little wiffleball.

Olivia update...

2008-07-09T09:31:00.006-04:00

The girl is growing up so fast. She is saying a ton of words now, communicating better, loves her TV programs, loves going on the swings, loves dressing up (like in the last pictures below). She's been more picky with food and throws tiny tantrums, but hey, she's gonna be two soon and that is what two year olds do!

Recent Olivia pics...

2008-05-28T11:41:00.002-04:00

It's good!

Ready to play the cymbals for the UNH band.

What can I get'cha? Twisty cone?

Future BMX star.

Mmmm, on my way to get a cookie!

Where is everyone? I guess I get the sand all to myself!

Silly Olivia...

2008-05-06T16:45:00.003-04:00

OMG, cheese pizza only $9.99!!!

Bath time is fun! Um, is that a spider up there?

Yup, you caught me.

Gorgeous.

My sunglasses rule!

What, what do you want?? Time is money, you know.

Update...

2008-04-19T20:50:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I am long overdue for a normal post. I haven't really posted anything all year, so here is an update as to what has been going on:

- I ended 2007 just getting over my throbbing tooth pain. It was a cracked tooth, and even though the first opinion I got was to pull the tooth, my dentist thought otherwise, and I had a regular root canal that did the trick. I am finally getting my permanent crown put on this week.

- Somehow, I got the gout. I have no idea how, except I can blame my dad because he three bouts with gout, and it can be passed down. It happened right before the Super Bowl (end of January), I was limping for a couple of weeks before a doctor could see me, and once on medication, it got better. And actually, the day I went in for my root canal, I had to limp in. Tooth problems and foot problems - let me tell you, it was very attractive. Especially after I got a cold/cough right when the foot was getting better.

- Work has been annoying lately. I won't get into it, but I am doing a lot of tasks that I shouldn't be, and that I don't really want to be doing.

Enough whining...

- Olivia is amazing. She is beautiful, totally cute, and a silly and smart 21 month old. The girl can say letters and numbers, sometimes just on her own, in order. She can say "thank you" at the appropriate time. And today she was actually able to catch a bouncy ball, putting her arms out and grabbing the ball... and you can tell she was very excited! She loves being outside, and will throw a little tantrum if you want to take her back inside. (she is almost 2, after all!)

- Got tickets to see Pearl Jam twice at the end of June. I am rarely disappointed seeing them in concert. Melissa and I even discussed taking a trip to Seattle if they ever announce their west coast tour. That would be so awesome to see them play there - and also take drives to Portland and Vancouver.

- Going away for a week in June to Maine - should be fun.

- Got last minute tickets to the Red Sox game on Patriots Day on eBay - great seats too, not too expensive.

Things always look up when spring is here and the weather is getting nicer. I am looking forward to stretching my hour lunch breaks to the max by taking walks and blasting some good music on my iPod. Good times.

My little rockstar.

2008-04-11T16:58:00.003-04:00

I need to post something new about everything that has been going on, but in the meantime, check out Olivia - she is growing up so fast and doing new things every day... she is awesome.

Music blog

2008-01-31T13:39:00.001-05:00

I am possibly to keep up with a music blog, talking about bands I like and newer bands I am getting into:

http://whygohome.wordpress.com

I love talking about music and bands, so why not have a forum to do so? :)

Recent Olivia pictures...

2008-01-18T15:50:00.000-05:00

Top 25 albums of 2007.

2007-12-23T22:15:00.000-05:00

1. Against Me! – New Wave
2. Bad Religion – New Maps of Hell
3. Eddie Vedder – Into The Wild
4. Anberlin – Cities
5. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – The Meanest of Times
6. Bayside – The Walking Wounded
7. Maroon 5 – It Won’t Be Soon Before Long
8. Fountains of Wayne – Traffic and Weather
9. Rilo Kiley – Under The Blacklight
10. The Donnas – Bitchin'
11. Smashing Pumpkins – Zeitgeist
12. The Bravery – The Sun and The Moon
13. Idlewild – Make Another World
14. Bruce Springsteen - Magic
15. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
16. The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
17. Kaiser Chiefs – Yours Truly, Angry Mob
18. The Killers – Sawdust
19. Alkaline Trio - Remains
20. The White Stripes – Icky Thump
21. Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light
22. Interpol – Our Love To Admire
23. Buffalo Tom – Three Easy Pieces
24. Velvet Revolver – Libertad
25. Foo Fighters - Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace

Things to be happy about around the holidays

2007-12-23T00:41:00.000-05:00

- Melissa and Olivia. And Olivia is learning and doing new things every day, it is amazing.

- Being off from work until 2008.

- The fact that my cracked tooth is not throbbing in pain, pounding in my brain, like it was a couple of weeks ago.

- That the Spears clan continues to entertain me, with the news of Jamie Lynn pregnant at 16.

- That even though I am long overdue for a haircut, my hair looks cool sticking up after lying on the couch for hours.

- Olivia again. She is totally daddy's little girl...

Who would want to wake up to this?

2007-12-07T14:25:00.000-05:00

This is so nasty that I had to post it.

Overdue Halloween pics.

2007-11-06T11:46:00.000-05:00

The many (adorable) faces of Olivia.

2007-10-22T11:49:00.000-04:00

She needs to lay off the bottle a little bit, don't you think?

Waiting for the bus.

Getting a little bit more comfortable...

How did I end up in this basket?

Ahh, this is better.

A week off with the Livvies.

2007-10-11T09:51:00.000-04:00

Ok, no talking about the Yanks. No talking about Joe Torre's future, Mariano Rivera or A-Rod's futures. Ok?

I have been home all week, just Olivia and me. She has been great - a little crazy at times, pulling out the carbon monoxide detector from the outlet every so often, pointing for her binky all the time (right now it is hiding in my pocket, so she has no idea). But she has been extremely cute - she picks up her monkey when I call for it, and gives it a big hug. She picks up a book and brings it over to me, and I read to her. And then she has these hour long naps laying on me, curled up. I've taken her out of the house for a little bit every day - to the grocery store, to Melissa's parents for a bit while I went to the doc for some blood work, and brought her to work yesterday where everyone got to see in person how cute she really is. Today we'll go to the mall, and tomorrow to Melissa's work. Good times. Better than being at work, that's for sure!

And as usual, here are some recent pics - from the weekend and from this week so far...

Anniversary fun - escaping trains, battling bugs and hating baseball.

2007-10-05T22:04:00.000-04:00

Happy 5th anniversary to Melissa and me. How happy was my day today? Let's see...

When ordering my lunch today, I asked for extra dressing for my salad. Of course, I then proceeded to drop the dressing container, spilling it all over the floor. It then took me about two hours to finish that salad, because work was so busy and I tried to finish as much as I can before taking the week off next week.

But here's the real fun story of the day...

I got all of my work done, and I was able to escape at about 4:45. Being the good husband that I am, I took a walk to Kendall Square to the flower shop to buy Melissa some anniversary roses. I then headed down to take the Red Line to the Green, to the commuter rail. When I went down to catch the train, one was pulling in, so I thought, awesome, I can catch the 5:30, which is one train earlier than the one I usually take. But soon after the train pulled out of the station, we were stopped for about ten minutes. I'm then thinking, damn, I'm gonna miss the 5:30 now, but it won't be so bad if I end up getting on my usual train at 5:52. I wanted to get home on time because I was also going to make a stop to buy some dinner at the Macaroni Grill. Finally, the train moves, but once it got out outside on the Longfellow Bridge, it stops again. This time, we are stuck for about 45 minutes. The train shuts off its power, and it feels like 100 degrees in the crowded train car. All we keep hearing are announcements from the conductor: "they are investigating a fire at Park Street, sorry for the delay." After about the fifth time this announcement came out, some people were yelling. One guy in particular yelled out, "It's hot, we're stuck in here, and we're the only train stuck between stations! I don't know about all of these other people in here, but I have somewhere to be! I have a life!" I thought, amen brother! They couldn't turn on the power or the a/c because whatever the emergency was, they had to shut off power throughout some of the tracks.

Finally (and thank god someone thought of this), some people in the car were able to pry open one of the doors, I saw people jumping out, and I thought, hell yes I am jumping out! When I got to the door, I didn't realize that the jump was kinda far! If you've ever been on the Longfellow, you'll notice a fence between the tracks and the road, and people were jumping over that fence. There were a couple of nice guys helping some people down, and one guy was nice enough to hold my flowers and bag and help me down. The funniest moment was when I noticed there were a bunch of touristy looking people on the walkway of the bridge taking pictures of people escaping the train! At that moment, I wished I had my camera too...

I then crossed over the road to the walkway (some random guy was holding up traffic to make sure people could cross over!) and passed the Charles/MGH station and walked all the way to Government Center. At this point it was already after 6, and even if I took the Green Line to the commuter rail, I would miss even the 6:15, which is the train after my normal one. And the next train after that doesn't depart until 7:10! I called Melissa, told her the situation, and went to Quincy Market and picked up some desserts to take home. I then thought about heading back to the Green Line, but with my luck today, I decided against it and walked to North Station. I got there with plenty of time before the train, so I finally got to sit and relax my aching feet.

I finally got on the commuter rail train and back to my car. I still ended up picking up dinner from Macaroni Grill, and of course, it seemed to take forever getting home after being stuck behind some of the slowest drivers. I walked in the door at home right around 8 PM.

Olivia was still up - Melissa told me that she put her to bed, but she cried after only a few minutes and took her back out. So at least after my sucky day I got to cuddle her to sleep and put her to bed. But then I walked the crappiest Yankee game ever - game two of the ALDS, Yanks were winning 1-0 in the 8th against the Indians after a strong performance by Andy Pettitte, and when rookie Joba Chaimberlain was in the game, swarms of gnats and bugs were all over the field and was obviously a huge distraction to all. Cleveland ended up scoring on a walk, a wild pitch, a sac bunt and another wild pitch - I only have the bugs to blame! The game went to 12 innings, with the Yanks losing on a bases loaded single with two outs. So here I am, tired and sore and frustrated, and now pissed off because this was a game they should have won and now thet are down 2-0 in a best-of-5 series.

At least I will be off from work next week. It'll be Olivia and me, and I can watch her being cute all of the time.

Recent pics...

2007-10-04T22:25:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I wrote an entry, hasn't it? Well, things have been busy!

Here are the obligatory Olivia pictures from the past month:

Labor Day weekend.

2007-09-04T11:43:00.000-04:00

These long weekends are never long enough. One minute you're leaving early on Friday, the next it's the night before you go back to work and you are hating it.

But it was a nice weekend - Olivia got to interact with other little kids. I still find it amazing that she is a real person in the world doing her thing. And she is great - yesterday was a milestone for her... it was the first day in her life that she did not have one bottle! She finally has warmed up to her sippy cup. This one has a straw, and she will just walk around with it and drink. She was even getting upset when I had to take it away from her to fill it up with more milk!

Here are some pics from the weekend - she had fun at her cousin's birthday party yesterday, swimming and playing.

Finally, drinking from something other than her bottle!

And of course, she looks adorable doing it.

A little trouble keeping that milk off of her face!

Drinking all of that milk is exhausting!

Bless you, my cousin Ben.

Who is ready to do a little work?

Hanging out in the pool with the boys.

Little Benny is silly.

I love milk!

Olivia in NH.

2007-08-29T16:44:00.001-04:00

Olivia went on her second mini vacation last weekend, to Laconia, NH. She travels well!

AND we got to see "SUPERBAD" (not Olivia, but Melissa, her sister Lauren and me) which was super-AWESOME (I know, real original). I would totally see it again.

Here are some pics from the weekend - cute as always.

I'll tumble 4 ya...

2007-08-21T10:24:00.000-04:00

So Olivia gave us quite a scare this weekend.

On Saturday, I was out mowing the lawn, and Melissa was holding Olivia on the couch. When I was done, Livs was asleep, and I was around the house just doing stuff. She woke up soon after that, and was down on the floor, walking and playing. We don't watch her like a hawk anymore since she just walks into rooms and grabs some toys to play with. But when I heard the gate that we have at the top of the stairs swing open, then I ran out. I guess with Olivia sleeping and me doing stuff, I didn't lock the gate, and of course she noticed this and went that way. When I ran out there, the girl already went down two step (which was amazing that she got down there), and when I ran towards her to get her off the stairs, she probably thought I was playing, and she lunged forward and rolled all the way down the stairs! I ran down and picked her up immediately, and she let out the biggest cry. No damage was done, and she was probably just in shock and scared, but it really scared the hell out of me! She was lucky she was already sitting on a stair and didn't try to just walk down... that might have been a worse spill!

Everyone I've spoken to since it happened has told me that either they fell down some stairs as a baby or their kid fell down the stairs. So there is nothing to worry about!

And here's a picture of Livvies from Sunday - of course the fall didn't affect her cuteness at all. :)

More pictures.

2007-08-10T16:23:00.000-04:00

Since my blog has now become an Olivia photo album, I thought I'd post some more pictures, taken from the past few weeks/months.

A lovely view of the beach on the Cape. I wish I was there right now, instead of being at work.

Mommy, Livvies and Daddy.

Livvies and Mommy. The two cutest faces in the world.

Grampy, Livvies and Grammy.

Livvies with her cute little smile.

Livvies in her pack n' play - that sleeper looks so cute on her!

Livvies taking a little nap on the couch.

Livvies and her new car seat - forward facing!

And look how big she is getting! Of course she has to have toys in both of her hands...

Look at Livvies walking! With the toys in her hands!

Livvies finds Daddy very amusing!

And fially, Livvies in a very adorable little dress. Am I lucky or what? :)

Long overdue post.

2007-08-04T10:13:00.000-04:00

So we had a successful birthday party for Olivia - I was busy most of the time grilling and cleaning up her highchair after she got cake everywhere. It was extremely cute - we bought her a tiny cake to destroy, and at first she didn't know what to do with it, looking confused, but then she had fun. Here some pictures from her birthday...

A new post. Yay.

2007-07-02T20:49:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I posted. Does it matter? Does anyone read this? Do I even have much time to do that? Well, I guess this is a place where I can just vent about stuff. Although even that has to be censored a bit - I mention someone by name and the shit hits the fan. Sorry, AB. Sorry, JH. Don't know who those initials are? Doesn't matter.

So what the hell is going on here? Well, I'll tell you one thing - Olivia is amazing. She is about three weeks away from being a one year old. She has six teeth; she crawls like a champ; she pulls up to standing and bounces; she just started to stand up by herself for a few seconds and tries to take steps. She has such a silly personality - her funny faces, her squealy laughs - I am in awe of her every day. And when she falls asleep in my arms after her last bottle - nothing better than that.

Melissa is great too. Poor girl is working long hours these days because of some crap at work. Poor girl didn't even get to see Olivia tonight when I put her to bed. But I know where her heart is. It is with us all of the time.

And I am going through my own crap at work. Mostly with our NY office. Long story, but most of them suck over there. I have wasted a lot of time trying to correct all of their mistakes, and trying to keep up with our own deadlines. It's been stressful trying to do so much in the period of a work day, but I try to get out on time so I can catch my train home and get some quality time with Olivia before she goes to bed.

And here are some pics of Livvies from the past few weeks. These pics speak for themselves.

What have I been doing?

2007-06-02T13:26:00.000-04:00

The days are flying by, and it seems like I either have no time to do anything or I am too worn out to do what I need to.

To understand what I mean, here is what a normal week looks like for me now:

Every day during the week, I wake up at 5:15, do my morning rituals, drop Olivia off at the grandparents. I get to the commuter rail station at 7:30, get on the 7:44 train, transfer to the T, two stops, and walk ten minutes to work.

My workday lately has consisted a lot of helping out my new supervisor (which happened after my boss went on maternity leave) - helping him out with accounts payable and accounts receivable stuff, and with ledger stuff that he normally works on. My day also consists of getting a million e-mails from the NY office bitching to me to get our invoices done (which I am always waiting on account people to get them done).

Somehow, everytime I even have a free minute to think for myself, it is 4 PM. I have already done a lot of work during the day, but there is always more. And I also try to find time to finish some stupid tasks that they threw my way - random timesheet audit checks, managing the phone system.

I try to get out of work at 5:20 - then I can rush back to the T to catch the 5:52 train. If I miss that one, the next one is at 6:15. And if work is so crazy that I even have to miss that one (which happened once before), the next one is at 7:10. If I am lucky to get that 5:52, I can get home by 6:45. Play with Olivia for a little while, change her, feed her bottle at 7:15ish, and in bed by 7:45. If I have any energy by then, we can cook dinner, otherwise we try to make random, quick things. If there is anything good on TV, or maybe a game, we can stay up awhile, otherwise we can be in bed as early as 9:30 (which we did one night this past week).

That all gets repeated four days a week. On Fridays, we try to stay up a little later (and Melissa is worn out from spending all day with Olivia).

Saturdays lately have been yard work day. The grass is growing like crazy, so I have to be out there mowing. But these past weekends have consisted of mowing, mulching, chopping out some grass to make some spots for solar lights. And of course, a million trips to Home Depot. I try to keep Sundays to relax, but there always seems like something needs to be done. Oh yeah, and food shopping.

And Olivia is a lot more mobile now. She isn't walking yet, but she is crawling everywhere. Even though it can be tiring to keep up with her, it is totally worth it. She has six teeth now and can take a bite from a cracker and chew it up. And of course, she is the most beautiful child.

I know this is what people do. They get married, have kids, get a house, work on the house all of the time and take care of the kids. But it is tiring, isn't it?

At least I know I am with the ones I want to be with - I would never trade Melissa or Olivia for anyone. But yes, it would be nice to relax and have some fun every once in awhile. Is that such a bad thing to want? :)

Too cute.

2007-05-16T12:21:00.000-04:00

Yes, I think Olivia could be a baby model. But I would never do that to her.

More Olivia.

2007-05-02T14:54:00.000-04:00

Great weekend.

2007-04-24T14:43:00.000-04:00

I must be running out of steam with the blog - I never really feel the need to update anymore. The only time I ever do is to post new pictures of Olivia. But a quick wrap up of the weekend - it was great. The weather was great. Went to see Guster on Saturday night with Melissa and her sister Lauren, and it was awesome. Drove along the north shore coast with Melissa and Olivia on Sunday. And the weather has been amazing these past few days.

These pictures are from Sunday - in her random outfit with a Pearl Jam onesie, duck pants and random socks. And a pic of her taking a bath in the kitchen sink. Is there anyone more beautiful? I think not.

Lack of wisdom.

2007-04-16T22:13:00.001-04:00

I just wrapped up a four-day weekend. Did I enjoy it? Well... considering that I spent most of it with a swollen jaw/cheek? It wasn't too bad.

Friday I finally had my wisdom teeth removed. It was a long time coming - they have been impacted and crowding my mouth for a long time. I was nervous going into it, and when I got in the chair, put on some Pearl Jam on my iPod, and it was all over in 20 minutes. I was a little wobbly after, but not too horrible. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and feeling sore. The rest of the weekend, I was sore on the left side of my mouth, where there was a little infection. The right side of my mouth felt great. I've had a lot of soup and soft foods, and I know it will take some getting used to eating without those teeth, but they won't be missed.

I took today off as a floater holiday (Patriots Day), which was good because the weather sucked. It was all rainy and windy all morning, and I only went out to do some food shopping with Olivia.

And speaking of Olivia, she has a new thing - whenever we put her down in her crib or pack n' play, she rolls right over, gets on her knees, makes it to the edge, and climbs up to standing and holds on to the edge. If she is in a good mood, she will bounce up and down and laugh; if she is in a bad mood, she will just stand there and scream/cry. Here is a picture of her standing in a good mood:

We did have a little trouble putting her to bed tonight - we'd put her down, and she would cry and get to the edge and stand. And cry some more. We would just have to let her cry it out, and eventually she fell asleep. When I went to check up on her, she was all curled up in the corner, so I straightened her out so she'd be more comfortable.

It's just a new phase for her - she is learning so much now and doing so many new things now. It is exciting to see - all of a sudden she can crawl really easily, walk when you hold her hands, pull up to standing. It won't be long before she takes off walking and calls out for mommy and daddy.

Opening day.

2007-04-03T09:02:00.000-04:00

All is right with the world again. Baseball season has started.

Everyone starts fresh, everyone has high hopes. Rookies trying to make an impact. Veterans trying to show what they still have. Players who lost part of last season due to injuries are trying to make a comeback. So much could happen over the course of a 162 game season.

As for the Yankees:

They beat Tampa Bay, 9-5. Carl Pavano made the start and was decent for four innings before giving up a bunch of runs in the fifth. A-Rod actually had an overall good game after starting the game with a strikeout and an error. He singled and stole a base during a critical part of the game, and then hit a 2-run homer to put the game out of reach.

And the Red Sox:

There is Curt Schilling crying in the dugout, as usual. The Sox lost to the Royals, 7-1, and Schilling only lasted four innings. To the Royals!

There are still many games to go, though, and anything can happen. But this marks the official start of spring, and soon we'll get the nice weather on a regular basis, grilling, sitting outside, and taking nice long drives with Melissa and Olivia.

Speaking of Olivia, she is crawling now! Soon she'll just pick herself up and start walking - need to start babyproofing everything now!

And only ten more days until my wisdom teeth come out...

Testing the new scanner...

2007-03-21T21:50:00.000-04:00

When I bought the new MacBook, it came with a free printer/copier/scanner. What they don't tell you is that it doesn't come with the USB cable to connect to the computer. So I went to the Apple store today during lunch and got one. And here is my first scan - this is a picture of me, Jeff Ament and Ralph at the Wetlands in NYC when Jeff's side band Three Fish performed. It's one of my favorite pictures.

Kids are expensive.

2007-03-19T16:03:00.000-04:00

I must start off by saying that this is the cutest picture of Olivia that we've taken in a long time. All of her pictures are cute, of course, but everything about this - the standing, the big smile, the teeth showing - it is perfect.

Olivia did have a rough weekend, though. On Friday, she accidentally knocked the iBook off of the couch, causing the screen to break. Melissa and I took it to an Apple store to get it fixed, letting them know that I have the Apple warranty, but accidental damage is not a part of the warranty, which I didn't know. And to repair it, it would cost us $750. Just for the screen! The laptop is almost three years old, and a new computer (with my college ID, which I can still use) would cost $1,100. So we bought a new MacBook. The good news is that they were able to take our whole hard drive from the dead computer and copy it all over to the new one. But it would be ready the next day.

On Sunday, Melissa met up with some friends, and i was going to take Olivia to go grocery shopping and pick up the computer. After her 3 PM, bottle, I tried calling the Apple store, and kept being put on hold, and the whole time I was on the phone, Olivia was crying. I found out that the store put down that the computer would be ready by 6, but the store closes at 6. But they did tell me that I came by around 5:30, it would probably be ready. So I packed up the little one and headed to the supermarket to get some food. At the store, Olivia started crying in her car seat, something she never does in the supermarket. I had to take her out of the car seat and carry her around the store, and when we got to the baby isle, she spit up on herself and a little on me. Poor girl.

After we left the grocery store, we drove to the mall to go to the Apple store. She cried most of the time in there, and some random lady actually calmed her down by talking to her. Got the computer and headed back home. She fell asleep in the car on the way home, and slept for a good half hour after we got home. When she got up, it was time for her dinner, but she cried and cried and would not eat her turkey and rice. She did gulp down her bottle, but cried randomly. She finally calmed down, and then Melissa got home, and she fell asleep on both of us.

After Melissa gave her the last bottle of the night, she tried to put Olivia to bed, but she was crying really loud. She even rolled over, and when we went to check up on her, she was on her hands and knees, looking out through the bars of the crib, tears rolling down her cheeks, crying. It was so sad! Melissa had to pick her up and cuddle her, and I can't blame her. But when we put her to bed after, we let her cry until we all finally fell asleep.

Then at around 3 AM, Melissa went to go check up on her, and Olivia must have heard because she immediately started crying. But at least it wasn't for very long. She even fell asleep on her belly!

Olivia seemed to be her normal self this morning, and I hope she had a good day. I want to see her smiling again, just like in these pictures:

I am sure it must be because of teething - she has another tooth coming in on top, with many more on the way soon. She is growing up so fast!

I am the patron saint of lost causes...

2007-02-28T15:35:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy week. Let's go in order, shall we?

Saturday: as mentioned in the previous entry, we went to Kowloon, the mecca of Chinese food. My first time there, and it was sure overwhelming. We had a good sized party, and this whole place was a good sized party. The lobby was packed, and there were middle aged women pushing us aside to get to the scratch ticket machine. I've never seen so much demand for those scratch tickets. The walls were covered in autographed pictures from sports stars, wrestlers, comedians. There was a lounge singer singing Roxette and Gnarls Barkley. The food was great, but it seemed like everything happened so fast. And we all got full quickly. It was an interesting experience, that's for sure!

I do recomment the Saugus wings. They were DELICIOUS.

Sunday: My friend Jack drove up for the day/night to check out this band Anberlin, who were playing at Axis that night. Jack got me into them, and they just released a new CD, "Cities," that I love. We got there early to meet the band and have them sign our CDs. There were three opening bands, and one of them sucked, but the other two were actually really good. And Anberlin put on a really good show. The lead singer, Stephen, seems like such a nice guy - he looked so happy on stage and was thanking us for singing along and supporting the band. I felt really old though, because I seemed like the oldest person there - I was probably double most of these kids' age!

After the show, we did meet the band again, and I got my picture taken with Stephen:

When we got back home, Jack and I devoured some Cabot cheddar cheese.

Monday: Nothing special. But tired after going to bed at 12:30 the night before.

Tuesday: Dentist - got my first filling, ever. Wasn't so bad.

Today: Busy at work.

Also, Melissa and I are starting to change up Olivia's schedule. Last night was the first night we let her cry herself to sleep. Usually it breaks our heart and we go and pick her up. She loves when we hold her to sleep, but the second we put her down, she cries. She is spoiled, and we know it and sometimes can't help it. She is at the age where she knows what works on us. So now we have to be the parents who will "do this for your own good" and let her cry it out. It worked last night - she cried for about a half hour and then wore out and fell asleep for the night. I didn't have to get up for her once.

And speaking of Olivia, here are a few recent pics of her - she is such a cutie.

My birthday present...

2007-02-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

Today is my 32nd birthday. Very uneventful - I guess the older you get, the less you want to make a big deal about your birthday. However, we will go out on Saturday to Kowloon, the mecca of Chinese food in the area.

Anyone who wished me a happy birthday today, I would just mention that Olivia turned 7 months old today. When I got home, she was so funny - laughing, babbling - even making sounds that sounded like "yahyahyah" and "dadada." And the biggest smile. But the lovely present she gave to me - I picked her up over my head, and she looked me right in the eye...

And puked, all over my face.

Warm, formula-ish gush, all over my nose and mouth.

Melissa instinctively laughed, and I was actually laughing too. What else could you do in this situation?

Oh Livvies. This beats the huge poop on Monday that took three wipes to clean.

Tired daddy...

2007-02-20T12:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday while Melissa had to work, I spent the whole day with Olivia. As much as I love the little girl, it is hard work taking care of her all day! She now eats three meals a day, and still has five bottles a day. We also can't leave her on the couch by herself anymore because she has learned how to roll over and could fly right off of the couch. She sits up like a champ now. And if she gets overtired, she whines until she can get in that comfortable napping position. I was definitely worn out at tired by the time Melissa got home.

She is still the cutest and the best baby we could have possibly produced. And here are some two pics of her from the past two days:

Sitting up and smiling in her cute froggy sleeper:

I know all the Red Sox lovers I know (including Melissa) do not want to see this, but look how happy she is in her cute Yankees sleeper!

Britney has lost her mind.

2007-02-17T16:46:00.000-05:00

Britney has gone to rehab, left rehab in like a day, and then got some tattoos and even shaved her head. And this is after her mad partying and flashing her coochie on camera.

Mother of the year?

Sometimes, things just suck.

2007-02-16T23:18:00.000-05:00

I had one hell of a week. It all started last Saturday:

- I just turned off all of the lights, but forgot to shut off the baby monitor in the living room. I turned around, took a step forward, and smashed my pinky toe right into this red British telephone cabinet that we keep our DVDs in. I bruised it and cracked the nail, and it still hurts today. It has not been fun limping all week, especially when running for the subway train.

- Wednesday, I couldn't go to work because of the snow and ice. It was nice being home with Melissa and Olivia, but I did go out and do some shoveling, which sucked. I got through as much as I could, but it was all unneccesary - our neighbor was kind enough to plow our driveway.

- Thursday morning I had a dentist appointment: round two of a deep cleaning. Two weeks ago, I had the right side of my mouth cleaned, and after the numbing wore off, I felt great. Not this time. It really hurt. In fact, my mouth still feels a little weird right now.

- After I left the dentist, I drove to the commuter rail station to go to work. The road before the highway was jammed. The highway was jammed. But since I was only going one exit, I decided to go in the breakdown lane. Quarter of a mile. But what happens - I get pulled over and get my first ticket ever. All for going two seconds to get off of the next exit.

At least the weekend is now here, and I had a fun time tonight hanging out with work people celebrating this one girl who is leaving the company. And I have off on Monday for President's Day. And Olivia is still awesome. Here is an adorable pic of her smiling before the Super Bowl:

And her first Valentine's Day:

Reflections.

2007-02-03T23:24:00.000-05:00

Melissa went out with the girls tonight, so it was just Olivia and me all night. We had a nice evening together - she had a lovely bowl of rice cereal and carrots for dinner, and we watched "Anchorman" on TV while falling asleep on the couch. I just gave her the last bottle of the night and put her to bed. Such a cutie.

It is now February, meaning that I will be turning 32 later this month. I must say that I am pretty happy with where I am in my life now. In a happy marriage, with an amazing little daughter, with a good job and a nice house. I guess what still amazes me sometimes is how I once thought a long time ago that life would never be that great. Growing up, I lived in a crammed little apartment with my mom who was sick and my dad who had a bad temper as a result of that, going to a school I didn't care about. The only friend I didn't mind bringing over to the house was Ralph, because I was embarrassed for anyone else to see. Half of my family was insane (especially my crazy aunt) and tried to brainwash me into being all ultra-religious many times. At times I felt as if I would never be able to escape all of that.

I feel extremely lucky to have met Melissa, who helped me get away from all of that. She stuck with me even after my crazy aunt threatened her on the phone. We got away and have had a good time in Massachusetts - living in an apartment, then a condo, now a house. She has a great family and great friends, and my depression I had from my childhood went away. And I do think that it was all meant to be, especially after creating the most amazing little girl.

And amazing she is. I find myself staring at her sometimes, in amazement that she is my daughter. She looks at me with those big eyes, so sweet and so perfect. She is moving along in her life wonderfully - she passed the six month old mark, and she is just starting to get her first two teeth. She loves making all sorts of funny noises, is eating everything we feed her, and still sleeps pretty well throughout the night. Even at Melissa's grandfather's wake and funeral, she was great throughout the whole thing - being passed around, being held by everyone, lightening up the mood a bit. The girl could be a baby model right now - perfect baby cheeks, pudges in all the right places, long eyelashes, a funny little laugh and a smile that can warm you up on a cold day. And when she falls asleep - whether in the crib, in her boppy, or in your arms - one can't help but to just stare at her and smile.

Having a family really does change your outlook on life. I don't feel the need or cravings to want to go out and drink all the time - not that I ever was a big drinker, anyway. Once in awhile it is still fun, to catch up with friends and have a good time. But now, everything is about the girl. Making sure she is on her regular schedule, making sure she is happy. Making sure the house is clean and making improvements whenever we can. Sure it gets tiring, especially being so tired after work and not wanting to feed Olivia that last bottle, but somehow we find the will go get up and do it, because we have to. Because Olivia is helpless and needs her parents right now. And one day, when she is older, we will remind her of all of this. :)

So yes, things are good. Last year was an extremely difficult year with so much going on, but it ended up being all good stuff and we got through it ok. It was hard trying to sell our condo and there were doubts in the beginning as to whether we would be able to get this house. The work situation sucked but I found a better place. School sucked but I graduated and made some good friends out of it. And Melissa went through most of this while being pregnant, but all worked out with that as well, obviously.

So as I approach my next birthday, I am thinking about what will happen next - how I can become more visible in my role at work, especially with my boss about to go out on maternity leave. How I will ever get through taking down all of the wallpaper borders in the living room and the bedroom, which is becoming more of a pain than I originally thought. And what funny and cool things Olivia will do next - when she will begin to crawl or walk, when her teeth will fully grow in, how she will react to eating new foods and drinking with a sippy cup, when her hair will grow in more so we could put her in pigtails. All good things.

Melissa, I hope you had fun tonight. But just know that Olivia and I were thinking about you, and that I am happy knowing that I get to crawl into bed with you every night, and there is a little girl in the next room who loves us more than anything in the whole wide world.

Livs.

2007-02-01T15:36:00.000-05:00

The bad news: Melissa's grandfather passed away.

The good news: Olivia was so good during the wake and funeral. Here are some pictures of Olivia after the funeral (and what she wore):

Political frustration...

2007-01-25T09:47:00.000-05:00

I looked up the definition of dictatorship:

"A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)"

While he is not a dictator according to the definition as a whole, President Bush is somewhat of one. He is driven by ego and does not care what the majority of the population thinks. He has evil people working for him in his administration, and those are the people that he listens to. Congress does not back him up. No one wants this war in Iraq to continue. Bush could just admit it was a mistake, but his ego will not allow him to completely apologize.

Bush keeps making the argument, that if we pull out of Iraq now, it will be a mess, and that "America must not fail." Well, what have you been doing for the past few years? Just letting this escalate, costing American troops and Iraqi civilians' lives in the process? Did you ever have a plan as to how we were going to win and what we were going to do? I guess he didn't, but he would never admit that. Instead, he wants to send more troops and cost more lives.

As we are trying to impose our "democracy" on Iraq, Osama bin Laden is still out there. And our relationships with the rest of the world suck right now. But Bush doesn't care about making friends - he will just continue to make enemies.

And now the people of this country are voicing their dissatisfaction with Bush's plans for Iraq, and the majority of people oppose his decision to send more troops over to Iraq. But does he care what people think? No. "Just give it a chance" is all he can come up with. We have given it a chance for years now, and there have been zero results.

I still cannot believe we are now in the seventh year with Bush as our president. I wonder if all of those idiots who voted for him in the past two elections now regret their decision. I miss the days with Clinton as our president, and I can't wait for the Bush era to finally end, no matter who replaces him. Anyone else has got to be better than this. Although Mitt Romney might be close.

Now on to more exciting news: you can gain access to Paris Hilton's old junk on ParisExposed.com. Letters, phone numbers, naked pictures, etc. Like she needs any more exposure. Why do people still care about her? She is an idiot with no talent! Just like Britney, who has abandoned her kids to party - it has gotten so bad that even K-Fed has tried to convince her to go to rehab because she is being a bad parent. When even K-Fed tells you this, you know you are bad.

Ok, enough ranting for one day. Pitchers and catchers report in a couple of weeks, so not all is bad in the world, right? :)

Car trouble...

2007-01-18T11:08:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile since my last post, I see. Well, I have all the time in the world today because I am stuck at home. When I left the house this morning, I realized that the car was having problems, and then noticed that I had a flat tire. I called AAA and they were going to arrive in about 40 minutes. It is cold, Olivia is in the back seat... fun. Melissa's dad did come by to pick Olivia up, and AAA did come when they said they would, but now I have a little donut on the car. I couldn't possibly drive to work with that thing, but I did find a local tire place that ordered some tires for me and could get them on today. But in the meantime, I am at home trying to do some work and watching "The Price Is Right."

So what has been going on? Well, "24" is back on, so all is right with the world again. Olivia is great, Melissa is great, work is great. But it is so damn cold!

That is all for now... nothing else interesting to write about. Catcha later...

Police blotter from the suburbs...

2007-01-07T22:16:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite moments of the week is when the local town newspaper arrives in the mail. Not because I care about the news and happenings of this town. It is because of the "police blotter" column that I find very amusing. It's funny to read about the hijinks that go on in this regular suburban town. Here are some items that I copied out of this past week's newspaper:

"Thursday at 8:40 PM police received a report of a large house party on [street]. Police found the area quiet." Who calls the police about a house party at 8:40 PM? Was there excessive drugs and alcohol at this party? Apparently the party disbanded once the 5-0 made their appearance and all of the partygoers were in bed by 9.

"A [street] resident reported Wednesday at 2:30 PM items had been moved in his yard." Ok, so some random person went into this person's yard and decided to rearrange things around? Without taking anything?

"Youths were reported bothering customers in the area of Marshalls Friday at 5:20 PM." You have to understand that every week there are "youths" doing something that warrants a call to the police. Whether they are starting a fight or driving recklessly or hanging out at the park late at night. I guess this week these youths decided to harrass people at Marshalls.

"A caller reported Friday at 10 PM food was thrown at a vehicle on [street]." Imagine you are just driving along, and all of a sudden food is thrown at you. Who does that?

"A resident reported receving a letter from Canada regarding fraudulent lottery winnings." Those damn Canadians, always trying to get away with something.

"An incident of road rage was reported Friday at 8 AM. A caller said when he pulled into work on [street] the operator of another vehicle pulled in and punched the window of his car." People are nuts. It's scary when I am driving around and someone cuts me off, I honk, and they get pissed and almost get out of their car (which almost happened to Melissa and I this weekend). Imagine someone gets out to punch the window of your car? Freak!

And the best one of the week was:

"Friday at 9:30 AM a resident reported that her mailbox was removed and replaced with a handicap sign."

Ok, when I first read that, I was laughing hysterically. Just picture this. You go outside to check your mail, and your mailbox is gone. Not only is it missing, but there is a handicap sign in its place. That is classic.

Olivia videos, part 2

2007-01-03T09:45:00.000-05:00

I finally figured out how to download them with sound. Here are four videos of Olivia:

This first one is one that I found that I took on my digital camera when she was little. She is so tiny!

Here is Olivia eating cereal:

Here is Olivia saying a few things:

And here is Olivia with her presents and paparazzi:

So cute.

2007.

2007-01-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

Welcome, 2007.

2006 ended nicely with friends and drinks. Melissa and I dropped off the baby at the grandparents, who were kind enough to watch her overnight. We went to Red's "Naughty or Nice" New Years Eve Party, and she was a wonderful hostess. We had a Yankee Swap where I won a pair of naughty dice (with roll combinations such as the popular "lick" "coochie"). One weird thing was that one of Red's friends that we met for the first time decided to leave early without even saying goodbye to anyone (and left his infamous carrot cake that he brought). The other weird thing was discovered during a walk outside with Professor K - we saw some party going on nearby with middle-aged hippie naked people (Melissa and Red actually went up to the party but was denied entry).

It was Melissa's and my one night out away from Olivia and although we missed her, it was nice to have a night out with friends and just be dumb and have fun. We ended up going to bed at 4 AM, woke up after 9, and went to pick up Olivia and had breakfast. The rest of the day has been laid back and relaxing. But after a week and a day off from work, it's back to the grind tomorrow.

We did make a nice discovery this weekend - Melissa and I found the coolest channel called Current. It's a bunch of short little shows made my regular people - basically news from and for the younger generation. And they also show those funny little political cartoons mostly making fun of President Bush. Check it out here: http://www.current.tv/network/pods/supernews/

And finally, here are some adorable pictures of Olivia from the end of 2006 - finally got her to smile on camera:

Olivia videos

2006-12-26T19:12:00.000-05:00

Testing this YouTube thing,,,

2006 - Year In Review.

2006-12-22T12:02:00.000-05:00

This past year was something else, wasn't it? I still cannot believe all the stuff that happened, and the fact that I actually survived it all. Let's recap by month, shall we?

January - After getting my incredibly shitty raise from my old company, I find out that my boss is leaving. I have to interview for this position that I basically have been doing for the past two years - 3 hours with 6 people. But also, my "ex-friend" L also interviewed for the same position. She only knew about it because her boss and the VP of finance are friends.

Also, we revealed to everyone that Melissa was pregnant!

February - So they didn't give me my old boss' job. And they gave it to L instead, very undeserving. So for the next couple of months at my old job, I am basically a ghost. I try to talk to as little people as possible. I tried to be civil to L, especially since we still had classes together, but I could not forgive her for what she did. Even though it was all for the best.

I started the interview process, which was mostly a lot of recruiters and some regular interviews. Seemed like the whole process took forever!

Other news - we found out it was a girl!

March - L started at work. We barely spoke. We did have lunch one day to talk about the situation, and she really tried to defend her position but it sounded bad. Her best line: "if you were my best friend in the world, I wouldn't have taken the job, but since I just knew you from school, I had to think long term." That just told me how we always stood as friends. I do know that if it was me, I wouldn't have gone for it - didn't matter if we were best friends or not, we were friends.

I do know that the people that I worked with the closest there all were in my corner, and they all knew that I got screwed over. Too bad the finance department didn't think that way. Assholes.

April - Started looking for a house, and put our place on the market. And more interviews. And more avoiding all of the idiots in the finance department.

Dane Cook at the Garden! That was a good time.

My second to last semester of grad school ended!

May - This is where all of the fun begins! First, the Pearl Jam shows. Two shows at the Garden, which were awesome. One show at the Letterman studio, which was an amazing experience. And the new album came out, which of course I LOVED.

And I finally got the new job! That was a big weight lifted off of my shoulders.

Only one more month of school!

And we got a new house! Still trying to sell our condo though!

June - New job started, and it's great!

Moved into the new house, and it's great!

Sold our condo, and even though it was a big pain in the ass, it was great to be done with it!

Classes ended, and that was GREAT!

June was an insane month - so much happening in just one month. And all while Melissa was big-time pregnant! But somehow we survived it all.

July - OLIVIA! OLIVIA! OLIVIA!

She made her appearance on July 21. And she was perfect (and still is). It was so nice to be done with all the other things we had going on (school ending, new house, new car, selling condo, new job) and focus all on the baby.

We also got central air, which was a big thing!

August - More fun times with Olivia. But also very tired. And my commutes to work were sucking big time because of the heat of summer somehow effecting the tracks.

And I had my graduation ceremony, which put some closure to school. L wasn't there becasue she didn't graduate yet, and that was a good thing.

September - Things are still great. Melissa, Olivia, work. And Olivia loves her "Olivia song" that we sing to her and make her dance to.

October - Melissa went back to work, and Olivia spends most of her days at her grandparents, who love her so much.

I also got sent to our NY office at work, which was fun. Nice to be around the Times Square area and see my dad and my friend from my old job, who was also in town for work.

We got a new garage door!

November - Olivia continues to be awesome. She smiles and laughs, makes all sorts of funny noises.

And I keep hearing reports from people from my old job that L has been doing a crappy job and that they are so behind in their billing there now. Gee, what a shock, right? :)

And Britney split up from K-Fed!

December - The end of the year is finally upon us. Got to see a free Guster show, Olivia is now eating cereal and bananas with a spoon. Good times!

So that's it... 2007 couldn't be as crazy as this, could it? :)

My top 20 albums of 2006.

2006-12-21T09:44:00.000-05:00

Gee, big shock - I chose PJ as my #1. But it is a great album. The Killers and Guster albums battled for the #2 position, but I think it was the Killers' bonus disc that I got from Best Buy that had "All the Pretty Faces" and "Daddy's Eyes" on it that won me over (I consider that as part of the album since it's at the end of the "Sam's Town" playlist on my iPod). The Guster album was awesome as well, which featured two of their best songs ever - "Satellite" and "The New Underground." All of the albums in the top 10 I was obsessed with at one point in time, which was pretty cool. I hope 2007 will be a good year for music, and I hope that my friend Jack can introduce me to some more good new bands as he's been trying to for the past few years.

1. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam
2. The Killers - Sam's Town
3. Guster - Ganging Up On the Sun
4. Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
5. Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
6. Audioslave - Revelations
7. The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth
8. Lostprophets - Liberation Transmission
9. Head Automatica - Popaganda
10. Tenacious D - The Pick of Destiny
11. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium
12. Rise Against - The Sufferer and the Witness
13. Snow Patrol - Eyes Open
14. Damone - Out Here All Night
15. Anberlin - Never Take Friendship Personal
16. Editors - The Back Room
17. Heavens - Patent Pending
18. Rock Kills Kid - Are You Nervous?
19. The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
20. Hawthorne Heights - If Only You Were Lonely

Olivia's tale...

2006-12-18T10:03:00.000-05:00

Who is this boy? Boys are yucky!! Go away! Shoo!

How can I get him to stop bothering me? Hmmm?

I know, I will tell him I have to ship out! Thank goodness my mommy bought me this little sailor outfit!

Ok, I sure fooled him! Now what is on TV? Ooh, it's the Phantom Gourmet! Uh oh, this show is making me hungry. Mommy?? Daddy?? Food now please!

Oooh bananas! Keep it coming!

I love bananas!

I am so full! I think I will take a little nap next to daddy. My parents are the best!

Behind the Music.

2006-12-14T15:34:00.000-05:00

I was just talking with a couple of the youngins that I work with, and they have never heard of Leif Garrett. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, but I was still shocked that they have never seen his episode of Behind the Music on VH1. That still remains the best episode of that show ever. So dramatic. And the reunion with his old buddy Roland - classic.

That gets me thinking: why don't they have more episodes anymore? Do they? Does anyone even care anymore? Were all of the good stories done already (Leif, Vanilla Ice, Motley Crue, etc.)? How many times can they tell the same story: artist/band gets famous, drugs and alcohol sent his/their career into a tailspin and near death, and then the big comeback. Here are a few episodes I am sure no one wants to watch (with a little help from Melissa):

Sting - Behind the Music: he was famous, and then he stayed famous. and then he was respected. And then everybody seemed to like him but nobody could quite explain why.

Phil Collins - Behind the Music: he was boring when he was in genesis. Then he wasn't in Genesis anymore but he was still boring. He then explains why he wrote sususudio for a half hour. And the following questions will finally be answerwed: who, exactly, is the easy lover? Who is Billy, and why dont you want him/her to lose that number? Is the number 867-5309, by chance? Are Billy and Jenny cannoodling? Does Tommy Tutone know about this?

Clay Aiken - Behind the Music: is he or is he not gay?

Will Smith - Behind the Music: he was the Fresh Prince. He had a TV show. He made movies. And he never did any drugs. And the question the world has been asking: do parents ever understand?

Shakira - Behind the Music: watch as she shakes her hips for one hour straight. Do hips always tell the truth?

Good Charlotte - Behind the Music: they sucked, and then they sucked some more.

And maybe there are still a few that they could cover:

Britney Spears - Behind the Music: how she went from a virginal fantasy of every dirty old man and going out with Justin Timberlake to her TWO failed marriages, and how she left K-Fed to resurrect her career but was spotted partying with Paris Hilton without any underwear.

Kevin Federline - Behind the Music: watch as he procreates and makes a fool out of himself trying to rap. He reveals all of the secrets to being a successful freeloader.

Oh, Dane.

2006-12-11T13:35:00.000-05:00

You know how Britney Spears has been recently photographed by the paparazzi with no underwear a numer of times? And you know how there are many ways to describe her, um, privates? Well, here is a quote from Dane Cook, courtesy of his website:

"By the way has anyone noticed that in all of the pics of Britney Spears getting out of the car with no underwear her vagina looks like a stroke victims mouth?"

Priceless.

Weekend.

2006-12-11T12:10:00.000-05:00

This weekend my dad came to visit - not really to see me, but to see Olivia (obviously). And Olivia put on a wonderful show. What I am really proud of is that she has been eating cereal with a spoon like a champ.

Last weekend was our first attempt to feed her with a spoon. It was the wrong time - it was one of her late bottles, she was a little cranky, and she cried and would take anything. On Friday, Melissa tried again, this time with a morning bottle, and she was great. I was able to witness this on Saturday morning, and she was even better this time. And yesterday was also a fun time - she was even giggling during her feeding! I captured some of yesterday's feeding on video (I would post it, but I was having some trouble last night).

And what was also great yesterday was that Olivia went to bed at around 9:45 PM, and slept through the night without any problems. That is one amazing little girl.

You're my satellite.

2006-12-10T14:28:00.000-05:00

On Friday, I played hookie from work for a few hours (don't worry, my boss knew) to go into Boston and check out a free show at the new Borders on Boylston St. - Guster. I got there an hour before they were scheduled to perform, and the place was already packed - mostly high schoolers skipping out on third period French class. They only played for a half hour, but it was fun. For their last song, "Jesus On the Radio," they decided to play somewhere other than their stage setup, and they played the song right in front of me. After their performance, they hung around to sign some autographs. I had them sign my CD to "Melissa Joe and Olivia." When I got up there, this was our conversation:

Ryan Miller: And who are these other people?

Me: That's my wife and four month old daughter.

Ryan and Joe Pisapia: Congratulations!

Me: My wife wanted to thank you guys for helping her get through her labor - we listened to your albums in the delivery room.

Joe P.: Didn't she get an epidural?

Me: Well, yeah, but the music helped, too!

Adam Gardner: How old is your daughter?

Me: Four-and-a-half months old.

Adam: Congrats! That's awesome.

That was it, really. Nothing to write home about, but they were really nice guys and I had a fun time. Here are some pics:

Stupid commuters.

2006-12-05T21:16:00.000-05:00

For all you commuters out there - when going to and from work/school/wherever, do you always see the same group of people, some of which annoy the shit out of you? Do you sometimes wish you could give them a shoulder block or at least slap the stupid looking grin on their face? Well, I do.

There is this one guy that I see almost every day - mostly when I am heading home. This guy gets off at the same station as me. And every day he is sitting in the same seat next to the doors. And every day, right before our stop, he gets up as the last person is getting off that stop just so he can make sure that he is first to get off the train. And when he gets off, he flies across the street where he has a waiting SUV. I suppose it is his wife picking him up, except it appears like he makes her scoot over to the passenger side so he can drive. They never kiss, and I don't even see them look at each other when he gets in the car.

There was even one day when I almost got in front of him, and he somehow slithered his way to the front anyway.

I remember when I was working in midtown Manhattan, I used to see the same woman get on the 4 or 5 train at Atlantic Avenue. She would basically push everyone out of the way so that she could get on first, and would fly to the first available seat that she can find. Unfortunately for the people sitting next to her, that seat would usually be the smallest space in history - a space that even Nicole Ritchie would probably have to squeeze into.

Sorry, just venting a little bit. That's what this blog is for though, right?

Sequels.

2006-11-30T09:20:00.000-05:00

I was hugely disappointed in "Clerks II." I finally saw it last night, and it was not nearly as funny or as quirky or as smart as the original. Dante and Randall are so old now, and Kevin Smith has to stop putting his wife in his movies.

Maybe if Smith didn't wait a decade before making the sequel, it might have been better. And it is quite possible to make a really good sequel. Here are a few that I think are just as good, or even better, than the original:

Back To The Future II
Superman II
The Empire Strikes Back
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Terminator 2
The Godfather, Part II
Rocky II (although Rocky IV is the best in the series)
Aliens
National Lampoon's European/Christmas/Vegas Vacation

I'm sure there are others, but this is all I can think of at the moment.

Thanksgiving weekend.

2006-11-27T10:22:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving was great. The weekend was great... it was nice to have four days in a row off from work, and being around Melissa and baby the whole time. Here is how Olivia's weekend went:

Olivia at her grandparents on Thanksgiving, in her walker. That turkey outfit was so cute on her.

Olivia's new friend, Jacques the giraffe.

Another cute pic of Olivia on her tummy.

What a face. Look at those cheeks!!

Olivia on daddy's shoulders. Is there anything cuter than this?

Beautiful baby.

2006-11-19T21:58:00.000-05:00

I am so lucky.

Today was one of those awesome days - a Sunday where we had nothing to do but hang around, watch tv, and watch Olivia do her thing. And she had the most amazing day.

Yesterday, we kept her busy. We went to see Red and her parents, which was fun, but Olivia had her fussy moments. Melissa's parents, uncle and aunt came over at night, and Olivia was cute as usual, but was loud wanting her bottle. I was so exhausted myself after they left that I ended up passing out in bed early, and Melissa took the last bottle of the night duty.

But today, Olivia has been extra special cute. She woke up a little later than usual in her usual good mood. She napped a few times in both Melissa's and my arms. She was practicing her new sounds (which look and sound like she is blowing rasberries, and another where she sounds like she is saying "what?"). We would wrap her up in her blanket, cuddle her, and she would get so comfortable and fall right asleep. In fact, right now she is napping in her boppy right next to be, with her blanket keeping her warm.

I really do feel lucky. She is usually so well behaved for a baby, and loves to smile and open her mouth wide with excitement. She is interacting with her toys now. She grabs my fingers and even scratches my arm. She licks me goodbye every morning when I drop her off at her grandparents. She lifts her legs up on her changing table to help me change her diaper. She lets us sleep all night. And she can fall asleep in our arms, and wake up smiling at us.

This is just the beginning of a beautiful life for Olivia. She has amazing parents (if I do say so myself) and she will be spoiled (in a good way). She will get everything she needs in life, and we will always love her. And I don't think I will ever stop staring at her in disbelief that we could have produced such an amazing baby girl. She is perfect.

Appreciation.

2006-11-17T20:40:00.000-05:00

Today, I felt something unlike anything in a long time. Work was really busy, I had a late lunch. And I felt pretty good about it all.

I have been at this job for about five months now. There have been times when I have been bored, and there have been times when I felt like I was wasting some time. But for the past two weeks, work has picked up for me. It seems that more people are starting to realize how much of a help I can be to them, and I have been getting more involved in helping out with the budgets for some major healthcare accounts. And I have even been drafted to be a part of the renovation team (our office is going through some renovations, and i am helping out). The people at this place have been great - my boss is really nice, and I have not had any problems with anyone. In fact, i got invited to go for drinks after work last night, and we had a really good time. I actually do not mind being around these people all day.

What a change from the last place. There weren't many people over there that I cared to see on a regular basis. And most of those people I was forced to see, or at least pass by their office every day. I think the problem there was that most of the people in my department were really weird. And of course, after all of the crap that they put me through, I had no use for them anymore.

For the last few months at that place, I dreaded walking through the door every day. I got my tiny raise after being told I was "topping out at my position." I was told that I was not getting the managers position after my old boss left because they didn't think that my "heart would be into it." They give the job to this girl I knew, and I knew I was so much better than her. And for awhile, I felt like a ghost there, barely talking to anyone. I didn't get any respect, and I was definitely taken for granted.

But look at how times have changed. I have gotten reports that since I have left, things have gotten really bad there. When I was there, we would get all our invoices done by the end of the month, and that doesn't happen anymore. They hired this new guy, and he has actually told office managers that it would take two weeks for their request to get done. Two weeks? Used to take me less than two days. And LW, the girl - I have heard that some people do not even know what she even does. Does she do anything? One office manager even told the VP, "maybe it is because I was spoiled by Joe, but I am not used to waiting this long." Someone else even said that they thought the department was in "disarray." I would love to be a fly on the wall during that review!

But for me, after years of feeling depressed there, I left that place, got more money at this place, and I am in a position where I have the freedom to do my work as I feel it should be done. I actually feel appreciated for a change. Someone even told me that they were surprised to learn that I was only at this place since June - it seemed to them that I was there for a lot longer than that.

Thank you.

Sleeping beauties.

2006-11-14T22:01:00.000-05:00

Melissa and I had an amazing weekend. She posted all about it on her blog.

But right now, I have the best seat in the house - watching both Melissa and Olivia nap on the couch. There is nothing better than watching my two favorite girls looking so peaceful sleeping next to each other.

Indecision 2006.

2006-11-08T09:21:00.000-05:00

We should all stop watching "real" coverage of elections and tune into Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert. At least then you'll really know what is going on.

Decisions, decisions:

Decision #1: Deval Patrick is the new governor of Massachusetts. Good for him. Better than Kerry Healey.

Decision #2: A "no" vote, not letting supermarkets and convenience stores sell alcohol. The only good point I heard about this was that if supermarkets could sell liquor, all of the small liquor stores would basically be out of business, because there is no way they could compete with a Wal-Mart. I still voted yes, because a person has a right to buy what they want where they want. Except guns. Or weed.

Speaking of weed, I read a story in the newspaper this morning where some cops found weed in their burgers at a Burger King. I wonder how much flavor that would add to it... I also wonder if it would make you think you were actually consuming real beef.

Decision #3: Britney Spears filed for divorce from K-Fed. It was only a matter of time, right? I've been waiting for this day. Not that I care, really, but I love when celebs marry idiots and then it "surprisingly" doesn't work out. Reese and Ryan - I thought they would make it. J-Lo and Marc Anthony - still awaiting the word.

Decision #4: More people saw "Borat" than any other movie this week. I totally want to see it.

Favorite movies of all time.

2006-11-03T11:02:00.000-05:00

After my conversation with Red, I began thinking of my favorite movies of all time. I am going to attempt to compile a list. They are not in any order, except maybe the first few listed:

Singles
Clerks
Chasing Amy
Pulp Fiction
Back to the Future
Back to the Future II
Goodfellas
Dazed & Confused
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
The 40-Year Old Virgin
Napoleon Dynamite
Office Space
The Godfather
The Godfather II
Rocky IV
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Star Wars
Superman II
The Breakfast Club
Reservoir Dogs
Private Parts
The Goonies
National Lampoon's Vacation
National Lampoon's European Vacation
National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Billy Madison
The Wedding Singer
Tommy Boy

Commute from hell.

2006-11-02T11:34:00.000-05:00

I cannot catch a break this week. After Tuesday's insanity trying to get to work, I had to deal with delays on the commuter rail going home yesterday. In all, it took me THREE HOURS to get home last night after work. From what I heard, some stupid 17-year old kid drove on the tracks, maybe or maybe not being chased by the cops, and his car got stuck on the tracks. So when I got to the station at 5:45, the 5:52 train was delayed until around 6:30, and when they finally made the announcement, they said that it will go express and skip right past my stop. The next train on the board was 6:15. That too was delayed. I waited and waited, and almost decided to take my chances on the subway and bus, but they finally made an announcement that the train was arriving. This was at 7:30. The train finally arrived, and left at 7:50. I didn't walk in the door at home until 8:30. All because of one stupid kid.

I think the last time my commute was this long was when I was working in NY - one morning the tracks in the subway flooded, and all lines were delayed. I remember standing on a crowded train, inching along, not knowing when I would be able to make it to my other train, which was also delayed. I think that commute took me about three hours as well, maybe a little bit less.

In NY, though, my commute usually sucked. There were always delays - congestion ahead, sick passenger, malfunction. Going from South Brooklyn to midtown Manhattan would take a little over an hour each way, sometimes more if there were bad delays.

After we moved to Massachusetts, and I was working in Harvard Square, my commute kicked ass. It was only one stop on the T, and on a nice day I could walk home. That all changed once my company moved to Boston. But when we moved to Watertown, my commute was fairly easy, taking the express bus from the square to Copley. Mostly reliable, and I could usually get a seat on the bus.

My commute now is much different than it has ever been. Now I actually have to drive to the train, which actually isn't all that bad. I think doing this drive every day has really boosted my confidence in my driving, so much to the point where I had no problems driving to work the other day, despite being stuck in traffic and having to drive through Cambridge/Boston.

Anyways, I hope my commute is normal tonight. I want to get home in time to make some marinated chicken and spaghetti.

My little pumpkin.

2006-11-01T09:33:00.000-05:00

Bob Barker retiring after 50 years on TV.

2006-10-31T17:17:00.000-05:00

So he is finally retiring. Say it ain't so, Bob!

There was nothing better while sick on a weekday than to watch "The Price Is Right" with Bob and some idiot playing Plinko. You will be missed.

Rush hour sucks.

2006-10-31T10:25:00.000-05:00

So first off, I didn't win the costume contest yesterday. I was definitely screwed - the winner was someone who dressed as Madonna with a baby. Damn celebrity current events.

Also, we are having our driveway repaved and widened - I know, exciting. They started yesterday and are going to finish up today. However, when I got home last night, they paved it not the way that we had previously agreed upon. So when they came out this morning, we had the discussions and came to a compromise. They will finish the job today, and it should be ok the way they end up doing it.

Anyways, I left about five minutes later than I usually do, but still with enough time to get to the commuter rail station and catch my regular train. Except when I got there, the parking lot was completely full. Nowhere to park! So my only option then was to drive to work.

Now to get to my work, you have to take both major highways in the area. So I take Route 95 to 93, and once you get on 93, it turns into a parking lot. And this happens on a regular basis.

So I was stuck in the "parking lot" today. Took me almost two hours to get to work. Sucked big time.

Hopefully it won't be as bad going home...

Did you turn back the clock? Father Time will remind you...

2006-10-30T10:19:00.000-05:00

Saturday night was Red's spooky Halloween party, and a good time was had by all. There was a haunted house where we had to find the "treat" and I was scared by a demon in the shower and Kate and Steve with their spooky sounds. Lots of good conversation and weird beer, and delicious cookies.

My costume was Father Time. This was the result of an inside joke at work... well, not much of a joke, really. I can explain...

Today there is a Halloween party at work. Now since I deal mostly with invoices here, I also deal with people's billable hours, meaning I deal with their timesheets (a lot of dealing going on, I suppose). Employees have to go through this whole process to correct something on their timesheet from previous weeks... they have to send an e-mail to this NY e-mail account that was set up under the name "Father Time" and explain why the timesheet needs to be reopened. Sometimes Father Time will ask for more details, sometimes this person will take awhile to respond. Since this whole "Father Time" thing just became an issue a few months ago, and someone here planted the idea in my head, I managed to put together a costume that consists of a black robe, a top hat, a white beard, a cane (a pimp cane, to be exact), and a clock that Melissa rigged up so that I can wear it around my neck. It got a good response at Red's party, so hopefully it will get a good response at the party today. And the best costume gets a $50 check card!

It also so happened that we had to turn the clocks back for Daylight Savings Time this weekend, so Father Time made sure to remind everyone about that. Today I will just remind everyone to make sure their timesheets are in, otherwise Father Time will haunt them and beat them with my pimp stick.

Coffee.

2006-10-27T09:59:00.000-04:00

Most mornings before I get on the commuter rail train, I grab a cup of coffee at this place across the street. They actually have really good coffee there, and in my opinion it is even better than the famous Dunkin' Donuts as far as pure consistency goes. Sometimes a cup of DD coffee will be amazing, and sometimes it will disappoint. On the train this morning, while sipping my delicious coffee and trying to read the Metro, I was thinking about the other places I've gotten coffee from before. I will try to think back to some good, and bad, cups I've had in the past.

I probably had my first cup at this diner/restaurant in Brooklyn, near the first crappy apartment that I lived in with my family. I used to always get french toast (with a side of toast)and a chocolate egg cream, but one day I finally made the switch to coffee. It was good there.

There's this other diner on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn that I would go with my dad to for breakfast (and we still go there whenever I visit). Their coffee there is amazing - there really is nothing better than good diner coffee, and that was some of the best.

And continuing on the diner kick, Ralph and I got some good cups of coffee at the Washington Square Restaurant in Manhattan. Maybe it was better because Ralph kept going nuts about getting free refills, although most diners do that anyway.

The Comfort Diner coffee - yum. But so is everything at that place.

When I used to go to school and work in the city, there would be these little street vendors where you can get a cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese for $1.25. The coffee there was always really sweet, but I enjoyed it. Except for when there would be a big lump of sugar at the bottom of the cup.

In Massachusetts, the coffee at Friendly's is ok, but it gets cold when they leave the pitcher on the table. Besides that, there aren't a lot of really good diners to talk about. There were a couple in Watertown with decent coffee (and decent food), but we didn't get to go to those all that often (mostly when my dad would come to visit). There is one little diner around where we live now, but I've only gone there, again, when my dad came to visit. Decent coffee there.

I always prefer Dunkin' Donuts coffee to Starbucks. I do like the Caramel Macchiato at Starbucks, but extra caramel is not a good idea.

There's this little place on my way to work in Cambridge, and after a few times, I finally stopped getting their coffee - it was really bitter. Probably one of the worst, if not the worst, cups of coffee I've ever had.

Coffee you can get at work - always tastes too bitter to me. I always prefer making hot chocolate. But they do have this Milky Way coffee/coco here at work that I love.

And of course, I can never make a good enough cup of coffee at home. We would get a really good coffee maker, but it would either come out too light or too bitter.

Ok, now I will go make myself one of those Milky Way coffees. Happy Friday!

Evan.

2006-10-25T15:14:00.000-04:00

After telling that story about Ralph, I thought it would be a good idea to think about some of my older stories and retelling them. I had some of this stuff on diary-x, but I don’t think that is up and running anymore.

Today’s story will be about Evan.

I met Evan at summer camp in 1993. We were both counselors in the same group. He seemed like he would be ok – we were both Yankee fans and he seemed to be interested in getting into the bands I was listening to at the time.

As the summer went on, I began noticing weird things about him. Whenever Ralph and I would head out to get something to eat after camp was over for the day, Evan would basically join us without an invite. Ralph was extremely amazed that he chose to hang out with us instead of get a ride home with these two good looking twin girls.

Evan always made his presence felt at the worst times. I could think of three times when Evan showed up while I was hanging out with this one girl I kinda liked. One of those times, he even made a point to mention how much hair I had on my body. Another time, he made sure to sit right in between us.

So the summer of 1993 ended, but somehow Evan would still get in contact with Ralph and me. We actually went over his house that September to watch a football game, and we noticed more weird things: he had every newspaper for the entire baseball season opened up to the Yankee box score. He had tons of free cheap sneakers that he got from his dad’s company. He had a mini bowling alley in his basement with a jukebox that played Motley Crue and the Alarm. And he had this second floor that no one lived in, that looked totally abandoned, and when we went up there, he told us to make sure we keep quiet, or else “we’ll be sorry.” He never explained why. But when Ralph and I joked that we should move in there, he got all excited and was hoping we weren’t joking around.

Then there was time when Evan called all the time. And I mean ALL THE TIME. I would get home from school at 3 PM, and he would call me at 3:05, like he knew when I walked through the door. He would call me with nothing to say. The conversation would go something like this:

“Hello?”

“Hey, what’s up.”

“Nothing. You?”

“Nothing.”

Then silence for awhile.

“I gotta go eat. Later.”

But then he would call me back ten minutes later. And I’m not joking, it was really ten minutes later. And I’d have to think of another way to get rid of him.

One time he actually did have something to say. He wanted to tell me that he hated his mom because she wouldn’t heat up his pizza, but then he loved her because she got him a box of Ring Dings. Oh joy.

Another time he asked me what the normal time was for a guy to be “in a girl.” Yup, you know what he is talking about. I ask him why, and he goes, well I was in this girl for ten minutes. Now I think he was lying, because he used to talk about this girl “Georgia” that I never met and who I never thought was real.

And then one day the weirdest thing happened. I was on the phone talking to Ralph, and then Evan calls on the other line. I pick up, tell him I am busy, click him off and continue talking to Ralph. And I then tell Ralph about this top ten list (like Letterman) that I made about why everyone hates Evan. Ralph is laughing like crazy, and we’re enjoying this. After we’re done talking, Evan calls me and tells me he heard the whole thing. Now I know I clicked him off, so how was he listening? I asked him, and he goes “I have my ways.” Freaky!! As punishment, Evan forced Ralph and I to hang out with him (can you believe forcing people to hang out with you?) I got out of it because of my class schedule, but Ralph wasn’t so lucky. The night of the infamous “hanging out on Kings Highway” day, Ralph calls me and tells me that it was the most awkward and worst day of his life.

I never saw Evan in person after this, but it wasn’t because he didn’t try. He would still call me asking to hang out. I would flat out tell him no, and he would say “ok, I am flexible! We can do it another time then.” And we would go through this over and over again.

The following summer, Evan was considering returning to camp as a counselor, but Ralph and I did not want him ruining our summer. So we told him that we had other plans for the summer and weren’t returning. So he goes to me “well, if you and Ralph aren’t gonna be back, then there’s no reason for me to return!” No joke. And he didn’t come back. When he found out later that we really did return, I just told him we had a change of plans.

But he was there the summer after that. And it was extremely weird. We barely spoke all summer, and whenever we’d pass each other, we would try to look the other way. I think he realized what Ralph and I thought of him, finally. But we were usually around in the same places during that summer, so it was always weird. But we managed.

And then he finally stopped calling me.

My mom and dad suck for taking a picture of me with Kramer hair.

2006-10-24T12:06:00.000-04:00

Ralph.

2006-10-23T08:56:00.000-04:00

Today is the five year anniversary of my best friend Ralph's passing. I can't believe it's been five years already - so much has happened during this time. But I still can't forget my friend and all of the good times we had.

I met Ralph in summer camp many years ago... he was friends with our friend Jeff, and the two of them were Mets fans. But we all got along really well and hung out all the time. Since Jeff lived in Staten Island, we didn't get to see much of him after camp, so it was mostly just Ralph and me. We made camp extremely fun - always talking about girls, going to get pizza after camp some days, making up our fake rock band. And when camp ended for the summer, we would already start the countdown to next year's camp orientation. We both loved it so much because it was a big change from the rest of the year, going to Jewish private school. The ugliest girls were in my grade, and Ralph didn't even have any girls in his school. So we cherished every moment we could.

Ralph was a unique individual for sure - he was the only Mexican Jew I have ever met. He had a weird sense of humor, and his idol was Howard Stern (he was determined to become the next Stern). He had this theory that it was a waste to spend a lot of money on food because after you consume it, it would be gone for good; however, if you bought something like a CD or a rock t-shirt, that would stay with you forever. And if you bought a sports jersey, it would always be best to buy one that had a really long name and/or a big number (double digits, especially) - for example, Ralph loved Jason Isringhausen (no. 44) when he came up with the Mets. His prized possession was his Wayne Gretzky Rangers jersey that he bought from Cosby's at Madison Square Garden - it was an official jersey and Gretzky had the largest number they could put on a jersey - number 99.

We spent money on food wisely - either hot dogs from Gray's Papaya (they were 50 cents each back then), or pizza at Ray's (huge slices, worth the money). For breakfast, we'd head to Washington Square restaurant on West 4th for some silver dollar pancakes and unlimited coffee (anything unlimited to Ralph was a very good thing).

Even though he was frugal with his money when purchasing food, there were some exceptions: when we felt like being "fancily" we would go to BBQs on 8th Street for some ribs (and of course, BBQs is not even close to being fancy or "fancily," but it was for us during that time). It was also at BBQs where Ralph would feel bad for the servers if he wanted to ask for more napkins - his hands would be completely dripping with rib sauce. When he finally got some napkins, he would not lick his hands first - he would try to wipe it all off with tons of napkins, ripping every one.

The two of us went through a lot together - we both had the same taste in music, so we went to tons of concerts together. We met Jeff Ament when his side band Three Fish played the Wetlands. We went through the whole "Evan" situation (which would be another long entry itself). We both almost passed out at the Soundgarden concert at the NYS Armory (where it felt like it was 100 degrees with no air conditioning). We snuck bottles of Rolling Rocks into CBGB, because it was cheaper across the street. We both hung out with the band Dandelion at the CBGB restaurant (when it was still around) and wrote our names in the bathroom there. We hung out at Z Bar on Avenue A many times because they played rock music on the jukebox and they made the best Kamikazes ever.

Ralph had this crazy sense of humor despite being dealt a crappy hand. His dad passed away before I met him, and his mom passed away from cancer. He hated his brother, who hated him back just as much. Ralph was so miserable when he had to move in with his brother and his wife after his mom passed away that he moved out even before finding a place of his own (he spent three weeks in my room before finding his own apartment). He had his own place in Brooklyn for awhile, but soon after moved to the Syracuse area to live with his girlfriend Marissa.

Ralph and I did have a falling out of sorts, and this was right before he moved to Syracuse. But we got back in touch in 2001, and he came to visit Melissa and I in Boston in August 2001. It was like old times - we took a walk to Harvard Square where Ralph loved checking out all of the lesbians by the T stop. The last time I saw him was when we drove him back to his train, but with all the traffic, he missed it and had to wait a few hours until the next one. Melissa and I felt so bad, but there was nothing we could do.

I spoke to him on the phone a few days after September 11th, and he was really depressed about it, as we all were.

And then I remember one day after work, I got home, and there was a message on my machine from Marissa. I called her back, and she told me the bad news. Ralph was having trouble breathing one day, and got a ride to the hospital, where they told him to take some aspirin and he'd be ok. After leaving the hospital, Ralph started having convulsions and stopped breathing. It was later determined that he had a brain aneurysm that went undetected.

Ralph's brother took care of the funeral arrangements, but I didn't even know the details about it, and Marissa wasn't invited because they didn't like her (mostly because she was half-black and they were all "religious"). But there was a memorial held for him by Marissa and her parents in Syracuse, and Melissa and I went there (and even my friend Jack made an appearance there for a little bit). It was nice to see a big crowd - Ralph made a ton of friends up there. We all exchanged funny Ralph stories (I told a story about the weird way he used to eat his Chinese food - first the egg roll, then all of the fried rice, and then the meal). They even gave me his Gretzky jersey, which I still have.

And now here we are, five years later. Ralph's memory lives on - in Watertown, whenever our China cabinet would turn on by itself, we'd say it was Ralph. Whenever wrestling is on and Ric Flair is there, I think of him. When CBGB closed down last weekend, I thought of the times Ralph and I had there. I think about how Ralph once mentioned that he was thinking of moving to the Boston area eventually. And how he would have made a great best man at my wedding. But instead, all we have are the memories from our past. And they were good ones.

Another Olivia photo entry.

2006-10-16T12:08:00.000-04:00

Olivia takes the best pictures. And I love sharing them.

Olivia's boxing outfit. She is ready to KO somebody.

Don't you wish they made these for adults? How comfortable does she look?

I can't believe the Tigers swept the A's! I hope the Mets and the Cards actually make it interesting!

You! Yeah, I see you!

Hanging out with her bear friend.

The little bumpkin with her bunny friend.

Waving to her adoring fans.

She looks like she is ready to hibernate.

CBGB - an end of an era.

2006-10-15T21:52:00.000-04:00

Last night, CBGB hosted its final show. The rock/punk mecca in the East Village in NYC would not be allowed to renew its lease, and after many battles, owner Hilly Kristal finally gave up.

With CB's closing, it got me thinking to all the memories that I have of that place. I've spent many nights at that place, either with Ralph or by myself, watching bands for cheap. I'd take the F train from Brooklyn, get off at either Broadway-LaFayette or West 4th Street, hang around the Village for awhile, and walk my way east towards CB's. Maybe I would cut through Astor Place, work my way to St. Marks Place, and walk down what is pretty much 3rd Ave. towards CB's.

I spent Ralph's 21st birthday there. We ordered Long Island Iced Teas and Kamikazes, made a pit stop at the Continental for another drink before heading to the subway - both of us stumbled towards the N train, transferred to the F to that crappy apartment where I lived, and devoured chicken wings until we both passed out on the floor.

Other moments:

* Ralph and I sneaking in Rolling Rocks that we bought from across the street.

* Getting to see Bush play their first US show ever, for 8 bucks.

* Getting to see Bad Religion at CB's and Coney Island High, for 5 bucks each.

* Getting to see Weezer (with That Dog opening) and basically watching them from the front of the stage.

* Making a weird new friend named Hommy (pronounced Homie), and going to see H2O with him (and seeing that band many times in a short span).

* Going with Ralph to see this girl Laurie's band, who I went to elementary school with - she used to be this girl in school who was extremely smart and loved to debate, and now she was a bass player in a death metal band.

* Hanging out at the old CBGB restaurant next door, which loungy chairs and pizza. Ralph and I dreamed up our fake band there, called Maverick, and we even wrote in the bathroom there that "Maverick was here."

Those are just a few moments I've had there. That place was so grimy and grungy, and I loved it. I've been there when it was packed and when there were only a few people there. I've peed in the nasty bathroom downstairs. I've even been in the backstage room where the bands hang out (thanks to The Muffs).

I haven't been there in awhile, not since I still lived in NY. It would probably have stung more if I was younger, still living in NY, still going to shows. But with CBGB closing, it really won't affect my life right now, but it doesn't mean I will forget the good times I had there. It just reminds me about how much I loved hanging out in the East Village - all those used CD shops and the awesome pizza in St. Mark's, Nevada Smith's bar, Webster Hall club, BBQs on 8th, and those silver dollar pancakes and unlimited coffee at Washington Square Restaurant. I could just wander around for hours by myself on a Saturday, buying CDs and getting 50 cent hot dogs at Gray's Papaya. Or meeting Ralph on the train, bullshitting for hours, and buying t-shirts from the places on 8th or in St. Mark's.

I wish I had more time in NY when I went for work - it would have been cool to see the old hangouts again. Although it wouldn't have been the same - I'm in such a different place now that I wouldn't be thinking of going to a show or buying tons of cheap CDs. But I would be missing this girl a ton:

She, and Melissa, are my life now.

But also, thinking about this stuff makes me think about Ralph again, and what a shame it is that he is no longer with us. I can only imagine what could have been if he was still alive. Would he still be in Syracuse, getting back together with his gf that he just broke up with? Or maybe move out to the Boston area, and make a life for himself here? Thinking selfishly, I think if he moved here, I would have that best friend nearby that people need - someone who you can call up out of the blue and ask if they wanna hang out (Melissa had that with her friend Amanda). Someone who would have been my best man at my wedding. Someone who, despite a stretch where we didn't talk because of arguments, would always be there for me (and me for him) because we have been through so much together. Dammit Ralph, I still can't believe you're gone.

And now, CBGB. But at least i have a wonderful family, living in a wonderful house (with a wonderful brand new garage door).

12 weeks old.

2006-10-13T09:53:00.000-04:00

Can you believe that it's been 12 weeks already? She has grown from a tiny little baby with no neck control to a bigger baby who smiles, giggles, tries to talk, and has a routine. Not to mention a sweet bear coat with ears on her hoodie to keep her warm!

Sucky news:

I had an appointment with an oral surgeon yesterday. I finally scheduled to take out my wisdom teeth. It won't be done until April 2007 because I have four appointments in February and March at the dentist first, for deep cleanings and fillings. 2007 will be the year of the dentist, I suppose. But I would rather get everything fixed than be like my dad who had so many problems with his teeth (now he has no problems with them, because they are all fake!)

Better news:

The new Killers album kicks ass. Almost every song gets stuck in my head at one point or another. Even the bonus disc I got at Best Buy has two amazing songs on it.

Our new garage door should be finally completed today. Now we will actually get to use the garage for not just storage - although we still need to decide when to fix up the driveway to make it even easier to get the cars in.

Happy Friday the 13th!

R.I.P. Cory Lidle.

2006-10-12T10:39:00.000-04:00

Whether you are a Yankees fan or a Red Sox fan, you wouldn't want anything like that to happen to anyone. It's scary enough when a plane crashes into a building, but it's weird when it is someone you know (a friend, someone famous, etc.). It is a real shame.

That's all for today.

A day in the life of Olivia.

2006-10-10T10:30:00.000-04:00

Good morning! Who is this person in my bed? Oh, it is daddy!

OK, I am ready to get up now!

I just had my bath, and now I smell delicious.

I'll just sit over here. Where's the remote?

Kick off my socks. Ahh, comfy.

Time to go? Where are we going?

Oh, you took me to dress me up as a pilgrim? Is this a joke?

The least you can do is take off the hat. Ahh, thank you.

Ok, all this excitement is making me hungry. Where is my bottle? Is it behind me? Are you really going to make me eat my fist? Actually, it is quite tasty.

So where the hell is that bottle? Are you going to make me climb for it?

Hungry, irritated...

Ok, now I am pissed.

What's that you say? My bottle is almost ready? It's about time!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Yum yum yum.

What a busy day! I am so sleepy... good night and don't let the bed bugs bite!

New York.

2006-10-09T10:38:00.000-04:00

So last week my company sent me to the NY office to meet the people there and for some training. Of course, I get sent right in the middle of the Yankees playoff run, which unfortunately did not last very long. Here's how my last couple of days went:

Wednesday: Took the Acela train to NY. That train kicks ass. Roomy, fast, better than taking a shuttle to NY. And you get dropped off at Penn Station, much better than LaGuardia or JFK.

Walked to the office, which was only a block away from Times Square. Good group of people there. There was one other who came, from SF.

Actually did some work there, and some training. At 6, I left to check into my hotel (which had a wide screen plasma TV), and then I met my friend (who works at my old job, and he was in the NY office for work as well). We went to ESPN Zone, all ready to watch the game, but it was delayed until late, and it was eventually rained out. We still got dinner and hung out which was cool, and then back to my room to watch Lost and pass out on the bed.

Also, today was Melissa and my anniversary. I did remember, and I preordered some flowers that she got. And she got to spend the evening with Red, who took my place as husband for the night. Thanks, Red.

Thursday: It was nice rolling out of bed, showering, and getting to work in a short amount of time (the hotel was a half block away from the office). More work, found out that the boss there is really good friends with the guitarist from My Chemical Romance (so good that he is the godfather of one of his kids, and has gotten him backstage when they opened up for Green Day). I went to lunch with the SF guy and watched half of the Yankee game, which was rescheduled for this afternoon. But they ended up losing, tying the series at 1-1.

After work, I met up with my dad and we went to dinner at BBQ, my old favorite. It was good, as usual, and it was good to see my dad, even though he is falling apart (which is nothing new, though).

Friday: Back to the office, more work, but I got to split at 2:30. Walked back to Penn Station, bought a huge pretzel from a vendor to take on the train, got back to South Station at 7:15, and took a cab home.

Saturday: Getting back into the groove. Lots of Olivia time, who was cute as always. But I totally forgot that my friend had a BBQ - I could have gone, since he only lives like 10-15 minutes away, but with me being away in NY and the fact that we couldn't get on the computer for too long (because the plug to our iBook was broken), I totally forgot all about it.

Sunday: Olivia's christening. She was so cute in her little white dress and bonnet - she looked like a little pilgrim. She was the cutest of all the babies there, and the most animated. The rest of the day was just with family at our house, and Olivia was so tired from having such a busy day. Her schedule was all off, and I ended up feeding her at 12:15 AM.

This morning: Before grabbing Olivia to pack her up and take her to her grandparents, she looked up at me in the crib and gave me a huge smile, as if to say, "I haven't seen you in a few hours, and boy did I miss you!" I put her in her bear coat (which I will have to take a picture of her in soon - so cute!) and drove her over before going to work. And now here I am, at work. Could be worse, though. Although could be better, if Olivia was in my arms right now...

An e-mail from Olivia.

2006-10-03T11:30:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day that both Melissa and I are at work, and Olivia is with her grandparents. And here is an e-mail I received this morning:

Hi Mommy and Daddy!
Here's a message from me to you:

sjhbfxlvcuwM; YEVLBUTFCvuinvk!!! I typed this myself!

It means I miss you so much but I'm having a good day with Grammie and Grampie!
I had a little nap this morning and Grammie and I have walked around the house and deck a few times. I sat with Grampie for a while too. I've been smiling a lot and they seem to like that. I sat in my chair and batted the blue and orange giraffes a whole bunch. It's almost time for my bottle so I better get Grammie to put it on for me.
So have a good day and hurry home to see me!
I love you both a whole bunch!!!!!!!

Hugs and Kisses,
Olivia
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The poor girl had a bottle at 5 AM and then proceeded to spit up half of it, all over her shirt that Melissa just put on her. So now she is wearing this cute little cardigan that I bought for her from Baby Gap. And of course, it is adorable on her.

Happy holy day.

2006-10-02T20:46:00.000-04:00

I am finally going on my first business trip. I am being sent to our main office in New York, Wednesday through Friday. I will miss Melissa and Olivia, obviously, but it should be fun - staying at a hotel in Times Square, taking the Acela train, and possibly meeting up with family and/or friends.

And Melissa went back to work today, and came home not feeling well. Poor girl. But at least when she got home, we got Olivia to talk a lot. Nothing is cuter!

And with Melissa at work today, I stayed home. I took the day off for Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. It's a day of atonement for sins and all that crap. You are supposed to fast, but i don't do that anymore. I guess I finally realized how much of a big deal it really isn't.

It makes me think of living in Brooklyn as a kid, going to yeshivah, surrounded by rabbis and people trying to brainwash you. I remember sitting in high school, not talking much in the Hebrew classes. I remember the "holy" rabbi in one class snorting snuff and giving it to some of the students. And the history teacher making rude comments to the girls in the class.

I never really fit in during my high school years. Mostly everyone was part of the "community" - everyone lived within a one mile radius, except me. There were a few of us that we considered the outcasts - when my friend finally had a car, we would drive during lunch to get whatever non-kosher food we could get. And we were always trying to pull pranks.

Most of the people in this "community," including most of the kids in my class - I didn't like them. Too religious, too full of themselves, too fake.

And not to mention that most of the girls in my school were not that attractive.

So I used to fast all the time on Yom Kippur, eat no bread on Passover. Even go to temple on the big holidays. But why? Will i go to hell if I don't fast? Will all of these fake, closed minded people go to heaven for eating a little matzah? I doubt it. It should all be about being a good person, not about fearing what God is going to do to you if you don't follow some rules that some rabbis a long time ago probably thought up. Besides, who made the decision that you can't use electricity on the Sabbath? Moses certainly didn't know what electricity was back in the day!

If you're going to have a holiday, it should be about friends and family getting together and having fun. There was no fun in going to temple for hours, not even being able to drive there. Ralph and I did used to make the most out of going to temple. We would meet up and walk over, and spend most of our time outside, running into people we knew, and checking out the girls.

The worst was having this one guy come to meet with our class for "spiritual guidance." We were basically medidate in a conference room, right before he would ask us to consider going for our first years in college in Israel. This was the beginning of the brainwashing. If you considered this and went, you came back to Brooklyn totally brainwashed. If you were a bully who made fun of everyone, you came back praying all the time and wanting to be a rabbi. They tried to get me to go, but I wasn't having any of that.

The most fun I had during my high school years was during my senior year. Every year, all the students went on a weekend "seminar" - either in New Jersey or upstate New York, a getaway mostly to talk about all sorts of Jewish stuff. I didn't go on any of them except for the last one, because me and my friends planned on enjoying ourselves. It was on Halloween, and we decided to bring masks and all sorts of weird stuff. We got fake soap and actually got someone to use it and turn himself all blue. We ran around the hotel in masks (I had a Jason hockey mask and a rubber ax). And the best - my friends and I met this guy in the room next to us, some guy with a guitar. We hung out in his room, drinking beer and ordering pizza (not kosher, of course). The rest of our grade was in this one room, singing songs and talking. Lame stuff. In our bag of pranks, we brought rope, and we actually tied up their doorknob with the one next door, basically locking them all in. They were locked in there for hours (and they were trying to get out!) When they finally escaped and (naturally) thought it was my friends and me, we blamed it on the guy we met (who let us do that). That same guy also ran into their room with a mask on, screaming, and scaring the shit out of everyone.

It was always fun fucking with people I didn't like.

Then after Melissa and I were together and got engaged, it felt like I had the whole "community" after me, trying to "bring me back." Those brainwashing experts calling me at home. Rabbis calling me at work. And my crazy aunt writing me a 28 page letter, and sending books to my apartment. And, of course, screaming at Melissa on the phone to "get out!" Those were fun times. Do I miss seeing them every day?

I can only imagine what life would be like without Melissa and Olivia, still being near that "community." There is no way I would have been brainwashed, but how much pretending would I have to do? Would i even meet someone that I would be happy with there? Probably not. I think I made out pretty well - better than anything. And I have the wonderful wife and daughter to prove that.

Don't miss:

2006-09-25T16:50:00.000-04:00

This Saturday, 11:30 PM

NBC

Saturday Night Live season premiere

Featuring musical guests, the Killers

And hosted by..........

DANE COOK!!

Awesome baby.

2006-09-25T09:23:00.000-04:00

I know I keep saying what an awesome baby we have, but we have such an awesome baby. She is so chill - sure she cries sometimes, but she is generally good natured, in a good mood, and just loves to look around and look cute! This past weekend was no exception. We took her out Saturday evening to dinner with friends, and she was awesome hanging out in her car seat. And I had friends come over yesterday, and she was definitely showing off - well behaved, letting people pick her up and cuddle her. Her neck muscles are stronger, she sleeps through the night, and she loves taking a bath (and we love giving them to her!) Here are some new cute pics of Olivia (with comments helped out by Red):

"I am Olivia. Now feed me."

"When I wake up, there better be a bottle ready and my diaper about to be changed. But keep the hoodie on. I look FANTASTICAL."

"Nobody puts Olivia in a corner. Except for a cute picture."

"Nah, I'm good. What's up with you?"

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

"Daddy, you are so going to spoil me rotten."

Celeb rant.

2006-09-20T09:43:00.000-04:00

I know lately I've been mostly blogging about baby Olivia. It's hard not too... she is such a cutie. But today, while bored at work, I will discuss a topic on my mind this morning - celebrities I hate.

The place where I get my breakfast in the morning always has some trash mags by the counter. So while waiting for my bagel to get toasted this morning, i flipped through one. Now I've seen these many times before - US Weekly, People, etc. - and I just can't stand most of the people in them. I used to have a list of my top celebs that I hated, and I will have to rethink that right now. Here is a new list, not in any order, but they all suck:

* Paris Hilton. Is there anyone who has less talent and is also so unattractive? Why does anyone even give her the time of day? Because they know she will always make a fool out of herself?

* Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Poor Katie. I didn't really like her much before, but not enough to put her on a list. She got mixed up in the Scientology crowd. Suri is in for a lifetime of weirdness with those parents

* Britney and Kevin. Not that I care for Justin Timberlake, but Britney at least had more credibility when she was with him. K-Fed? Please.

* Lindsay Lohan. How many times do we have to hear about her partying, her dehydration, her fueds with other stupid celeb girls?

* James Blunt. Because he sucks.

* Jennifer Lopez. Even though she isn't in the news much anymore, she still sucks.

There are others, but that is the short list for now.

And as I was doing a little research on usmagazine.com, I remember what else I hated - the "stars, they're just like us" section. As if to remind us that, yes, celebrities are really people! They drink coffee! They pump their own gas! They jog! They actually do their own grocery shopping!

If they really wanna me "just like us," why don't they get a real job, and sit in a cube for eight hours a day for $40,000 a year? But then how would Paris be able to afford her exotic animals she wants as pets, her nasty clothes, all those drinks, and tons of In-N-Out burgers after getting pulled over?

I suppose, though, that having bad celebrities around is a good thing. Because then what would we have to rant about?

9/11/06.

2006-09-11T22:24:00.000-04:00

So it's hard to believe that it's been five years since the attacks. It's funny how it took some time for people to get back to normal, to now where Paris Hilton and Tom Cruise make headlines for stupid crap. But thinking back to that Tuesday morning, and the days that followed, we didn't know if and when things would ever get back to normal.

First, I think back as to what could have been. What if Melissa and I stayed in NY? When the first plane hit, we both could have been on the subway somewhere. And it is possible we both could have been stuck in the city, or even on the subway under the WTC. Luckily, this was not the case.

But then that day... finding out what was going on while at work, trying to get through to my dad who was working across the river in Jersey City, and when I finally did get him on the phone, he was watching the towers collapse. When the two planes hit the towers, and then another hitting the Pentagon, no one had any idea how many others were out there. Work sent us home just to be safe, and Melissa and I spent the rest of the day glued to the TV watching what was going on.

And then the crap that followed. Bush declaring war on terror, but not capturing Osama Bin Laden. Accusing Iraq of having weapons of mass destruction and linking them to 9/11, and capturing Saddam Hussein. And Ground Zero is still empty with no memorial, with arguments still going on about the design of the new buildings.

But regardless of how I think the government is handling things, one thing I can say - I cannot understand why these terrorists think like they do. Melissa told me that these people were brainwashed while they were teenagers - living in areas with no jobs, no education, no purpose in life, so it is easy to sway these kids into something like Al Qaida. And I can totally see that. Even where i went to high school, kids were getting brainwashed into becoming all religious. I don't even speak to one side of my family because of their extremist beliefs.

And these terrorists love "Allah" so much, but why would "Allah" be ok with killing tons of innocent people?

Anyways, those are my thoughts today. It's a day I will never forget, as well as all Americans.

7 weeks.

2006-09-11T10:24:00.000-04:00

Can you believe she is 7 weeks old already? She is really smiling more often and making cute little faces and noises. Here are some more pics of the cutie:

Smiling!

Cutie in baby blue.

Minutes later... unhappy!

Nothing cuter than a perfect little baby sleeping.

Olivia... da ta ta ta ta.

2006-09-08T09:09:00.000-04:00

So what has been going on? The usual... work, baby, baby and baby. Work has not been busy at all - I am not complaining, but I get tired from doing nothing. Still much better than that other place. I still think about it sometimes, about how they screwed me, how they didn't appreciate anything that I did for them, and the whole situation with my boss' job. From what I hear, though, they are having problems getting the work done on time, and they still haven't replaced me. They deserve it. But no need to be bitter... I am in a much better position now.

And the baby. Olivia! She is awesome. And she is 7 weeks old today. She had a little bout with some dry skin, but it is much better now. She has gotten into her crazy screaming phase... for no good reason, she will just cry and cry. She was fed, changed, rocked, but still crying. It doesn't last too long, but it sure breaks your heart to hear her do that. Sometimes I can get her to quiet down by making her do this little dance and sing a weird "Olivia" song. Maybe she just quiets down because she thinks I am so weird.

And she is starting to try and smile now! This morning before I left for work, I went to check up on her in the crib, and she totally looked right at me and smiled!

But with all this going on, it will be nice to have a weekend away, which Melissa and I will do in November. Nice little hotel in NH, with massages... sweet.

And now, here are some newer pictures:

One of her first attempts at a smile.

Not happy to have that hat on.

Sticking her tongue out at the world.

Ahh, phooey.

Ed and Olivia.

2006-09-05T11:55:00.000-04:00

How cute.

MBA.

2006-09-01T11:49:00.000-04:00

So my grad school graduation was last night. Melissa, Red and Chillier all made it out to watch the boring ceremony with the weird guest speaker. But I was there, I received my diploma in person, and I can now move in from that part of my life.

Thinking back at the long three year journey, I can honestly say it was not fun. With the exception of a few people, I did make some good friends in the program. I am sure I will keep in touch with a couple of them. But here are some memories of things I will not miss:

- First semester, having to meet up at the school library and at Panera to work on group papers.

- The rest of the semesters, having to meet up at all for any group projects (and one, in particular we were at school until 1AM working on a paper that one of the group members ended up changing the whole thing anyway!)

- Wasting my weekends working on assignments, leaving Melissa to go out without me.

- Sitting through boring classes with some assy professors.

- Having to commute home after class by taking the T to the T to the bus (until Sue's fiance/now husband gave us rides home!)

- Either arguing with a group member about something I know they are being stupid about, or trying to pull up the weight of a member who wasn't doing anything.

- Finding out how one of my "friends" basically screwed me over.

There are countless other little things I am sure, but that's all I can remember for now.

We did have some fun... writing little notes in class to friends, quarters nights, popped collars. But whatever fun I did have, I am so glad that I will never have to go to class ever again.

More cuteness...

2006-08-22T12:26:00.000-04:00

Ok, this blog is becoming a photo album for Olivia. That's not a bad thing, right? :)

Happy one month!

2006-08-21T09:47:00.000-04:00

Today Olivia turns one month old! I can't believe it was exactly a month ago when Melissa and I were in the hospital, and Olivia finally made her appearance. Time really does fly! And to cap off her one month, she slept through the whole night for the first time!

Ok, on to other things:

Yankees are kicking serious ass against the Red Sox. They are playinga key five game series, and the Yanks have already won the first four games in this series. They scored over ten runs in each of the first three games, basically shelling the Sox' bullpen. And last night it looked like Schilling had the Yanks under control, but they kept fighting back and even scored a run in the 9th against uber-closer Papelbon to tie up the game. And Giambi hit his second homer of the game in the 10th, followed by a blast by Posada, and they won 8-5. Yanks now have a 5 1/2 game lead. Go Yanks.

Oh, and thanks to Red for her lovely "Yanks ssssuck" text that she sent me the other night.

And last night, while the Yanks-Sox were in a rain delay, I watched some of the Teen Choice Awards. I watched it for three reasons: 1) Dane Cook co-hosted; 2) I love to see how stupid these teen celebs are; and 3) I HAD to see K-Fed's TV performance debut. Now Dane was his usual Dane self, but he had to kiss ass to all those celebs - Jessica Simpson especially (who he will be in a new movie with soon). And I hated how everyone was screaming over the cheesiest stars - Jesse McCartney, Fall Out Boy, and people in shows I didn't even know existed or were still on TV. And then to close out the show was Father of the Year Kevin Federline. Britney even introduced him, and it was just so bad. I'm sure he lipsynced. He had to have all these dancers around him to try to keep the attention away from him. How could anyone think of him as a serious musician, er I mean, rapper? The thing is, a lot of people there were really looking forward to seeing him perform! And they weren't even joking. Blech.

Who likes watermelon?

2006-08-17T20:40:00.000-04:00

Another extremely cute picture of Olivia:

The CUTEST picture ever.

2006-08-14T21:17:00.000-04:00

Little face.

2006-08-14T10:40:00.000-04:00

I can't believe how much I love this little face. It really does suck to have to go to work and be away from her all day. I even left a few minutes late this morning, just looking at her in bed with Melissa, and I just barely made my train because of that. But it was worth it!

And I apologize to Melissa for making her stay home between 1 and 3 this afternoon to wait for the Comcast guy. We are getting our 47th box since we moved in (or maybe 5th or 6th, but who's counting). The problem this time: the box froze (it was on FOX and displayed the time at 9:39, and the time didn't change and I couldn't change the channels). Then I unplugged the box and plugged it back in, and it wouldn't even work. I know Comcast rebuilds these refurbished boxes, and they all suck. I pay my bills on time, I am a good customer, so why keep screwing with us? First, the box wouldn't work properly - needed a new box. Then on-demand wasn't working - new box. Then the DVR didn't work properly - new box. And now it froze. What next - a 24 hour marathon of "Flavor of Love?"

Sunshine.

2006-08-13T22:05:00.000-04:00

I love Steve Carell. There is something about him... maybe it's his quirky characters, or maybe he is just funny in a plain, normal kind of way. And his characters are always very likeable. Like in "The 40 Year Old Virgin." And you can't help but root for Michael Scott in "The Office." And this past weekend, Melissa and I saw "Little Miss Sunshine," and Carell plays a suicidal brother of this weird family trying to make it to their daughter's beauty pagent. It wasn't even that much of a comedic role for him, but I still loved him in it.

And I am really looking forward to seeing "Dan In Real Life," starring Carell and Dane Cook. Overload! Overload!

Right now Olivia is in her swing, sleeping. if she falls asleep in that thing, odds are that she will last more than the two hours she waits between each feeding. Right now she is going on three hours.

She continues to be incredibly cute... she has been trying hard to lift her head and control it. She has been pretty fussy for part of the day, but after a couple of friends came over, she settled in nicely. Here are some more pictures of Olivia, from this past weekend:

Crying because we didn't get her bottle quick enough.

Wanting more formula!

In the mood for some cherries?

Thank you daddy for changing and feeding me!

Where is everyone? Mommy?? Daddy??

On a very special episode of the Flux Capacitor...

2006-08-10T16:21:00.000-04:00

Red found this wonderfully entertaining link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_special_episode

I'll leave it to her to talk more about it, but there are a few that really come to mind: Arnold and Dudley being kidnapped in the bike shop, Jesse Spannow's problem with pills, Blossom's virginity, and all of the racial profiling of the 80s.

Anyone have any favorites?

More tired, but better.

2006-08-09T23:01:00.000-04:00

Last night was brutal... after i wrote that entry, I practically passed out on the floor near Olivia's bassinet, and when I fed her before I went to bed, I was a complete zombie. But I managed to settle her down and pass her off to mommy. I ended up waking up a little late this morning, but still made my trains ok. I did feel like shit for most of the day... but a bagel and a coffee did help. So did a nice walk during lunch on a perfect day, and the discovery of some good Chinese food restaurants in decent walking distance.

Tonight has been a different story. After dinner and after Melissa went to bed, Olivia has been pretty chill for the most part, and when she woke up, I changed her (and she started pooping right when I took off her diaper, but I managed to catch it all with the dirty diaper), swaddled her, and fed her, and now she's sleeping again. And I've managed to stay awake this time. How did I do that? Just by staying active... I've been going through stuff in the office that has just been sitting around, and I put some stuff away and straightened stuff out in there. Just staying active has really helped a lot.

Ok, I am getting sleepy again. Time to do something while I'm doing nothing.

Tired.

2006-08-08T21:45:00.000-04:00

Olivia is finally asleep for now, but it really takes awhile before she settles in. Since I got home from work tonight, she's been fed twice, changed a couple of times, and randomly cried for no real reason at all (maybe a good reason for her, but i have no idea). It is really taking a toll on me... I was actually falling asleep on the couch while feeding her. Most nights it seems as if I pass out on the couch for an hour or two, and when I finally get up, she's up at the same time, wanting something.

But despite the sleep issues and the crying, I love her so much. She has the cutest little face, and even her cry face is adorable (although I like the calm face better!) It'll be great once she can keep control of her head, and when she really recognizes people and things and starts really smiling.

Since I am writing this entry to keep myself awake to watch Olivia, let's see what else is going on:

Work has been fantastic. It never gets that busy, and even when it does, it isn't that bad at all. Everyone there is really nice, and my commute has finally gotten a little better.

Graduation is August 31. I will finally get my diploma and make it all official. I would hope that we could bring Olivia, but who knows how she will react being around so many people for so long.

The house is awesome. Even better with central air. I love it.

Anyways, I am falling asleep right now.

To the jerkoff in the PT Cruiser...

2006-08-08T08:20:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'm talking to you. I was riding behind you on Haverhill Street in North Reading, on my way to the train so I can go to work. Yes, I was riding a little too close to you, because you were going too slow and there was nobody in front of you. Not only were you aware that I was right behind you, you took it upon yourself to slam on the brakes for no reason, maybe hoping that I would slam into you? Due to my wonderful driving skills, I did not slam into you as you had wished, but you then proceeded to roll down your window, pull your whole arm out and give me the finger.

Now I understand I might have been riding your ass a little too close. But I deal with assholes like you all the time... in the 'burbs, it seems that people think that the speed limit is 30 MPH. I can lightly rest my foot on the gas and I am going at least 45. But what I do not understand is why you decided to slam on your brakes. Did you really want me to hit you? What would that have solved? Wouldn't it have made more sense to actually just go the speed limit?

So, Mr. Macho PT Cruiser driver, you suck. You deserve to get into an accident very soon. Just not with me.