Nothing too topical here. Just some random thoughts from the past week.
I can't believe how quickly a 5 year old can make a mess. Of anything. At light-speed. Seriously, I can be looking right at her while she's eating some lunch, say a bowl of noodles. I look away for a nanosecond, and when I look back, there is Ramen on the chair, floor, and pink sticky stuff all over the counter. She's not even drinking anything! Where does the pink stuff come from? And why is it always pink?
Kids don't really care what they do yet. They just want to do what the other kid is doing. We had the kids' cousins over to Annie's (yes, I used her name, I'm so over the paranoia) house Saturday night, 2 boys. Ages 2 and 5 maybe. And 2 neighbor friends, maybe 6 and 8 or so. So 6 little monkeys of varying age. From the 2 yr old to the 8 yr old, it didn't matter. Someone grabs a piece of paper and a marker and starts drawing? They all want to draw. They're all drawing stuff within minutes. Someone wants to watch Flushed Away? They all want to watch. Within minutes, they're gazing in awe at the animated British rats. (This lasts for, oh, 18 seconds. Then they're back to drawing and spilling pink stuff, even the boys.)
Did you see Rasheed Wallace's 3/4-court shot last night? I didn't either. Until hours later on SportsCenter. The cable network "Altitude", presumably out of Denver, showed clearly on the cable menu "Denver Nuggets at Detroit Pistons, 5:30 PM (that's Mountain Time, yo)" - Hooray! Steve finally gets to see a game! Only what was being shown instead? COLLEGE HOCKEY. And get this little nugget of irony: It was coverage of the regional tournament games being played at Van Andel Arena... that's in Grand Rapids, MI for those who don't know. Which is near sea level. So why is it on Altitude anyway, hmmmmmm?
I'm working again. For Grabber, the same company, as a part-time "consultant". I used those "quotation" "marks" because I don't really consult, I just read emails and review files and look for spelling errors or misplaced logos. It's good work if you can get it. And the best part: I can wear anything I want. That's right baby, it's no pants necessary! A smart pair of khaki shorts does just fine. Sickos.
3/27/2007
3/19/2007
More Pics
I added some pics to the NYC trip photo album from A's camera.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sj.gingrich/NYCTrip
Additionally, I wanted those of you who've never been in Salt Lake to get an idea of the landscape, and the views I'm now familiar with, but still amazed by.
First, some general shots. I spend most of my time Southeast of the city, where my apartment and A's house is. If you go due East from her house, you climb the foothills of the mountains, and these shots are from that 'bench' area:
This picture is looking SW across the valley, in the early morning.
Here you can see downtown and the north ridge from the same viewpoint.
Here is part of the Wasatch range that borders the Eastern edge of the valley. In about 20 minutes, I can drive into the canyons of this range. After taking the pic of downtown, I just turned around and this is the view.
Here's my new apartment. That one with the door, way down there at the bottom. Yeah, it's pretty sweet. Since it's mostly underground, I don't have views from my apartment, but here's a shot from just out front.
http://picasaweb.google.com/sj.gingrich/NYCTrip
Additionally, I wanted those of you who've never been in Salt Lake to get an idea of the landscape, and the views I'm now familiar with, but still amazed by.
First, some general shots. I spend most of my time Southeast of the city, where my apartment and A's house is. If you go due East from her house, you climb the foothills of the mountains, and these shots are from that 'bench' area:
This picture is looking SW across the valley, in the early morning.
Here you can see downtown and the north ridge from the same viewpoint.
Here is part of the Wasatch range that borders the Eastern edge of the valley. In about 20 minutes, I can drive into the canyons of this range. After taking the pic of downtown, I just turned around and this is the view.
Here's my new apartment. That one with the door, way down there at the bottom. Yeah, it's pretty sweet. Since it's mostly underground, I don't have views from my apartment, but here's a shot from just out front.
3/17/2007
NYC Trip
This is my second draft, as an inadvertent touch-pad swipe somehow deleted my first 2 days' summary, which blogger couldn't recover. Ugh. Still my biggest pet peeve of laptops, those over-sensitive touch pads. I had picture links and everything. Since I just wasted 30 mins., I'll just provide some links to pictures here. Sorry.
Shortly after I moved here, A had some corporate meetings at Ikea in Philly, so we decided to take a weekend trip to NYC. She took a train into Penn Station, and I flew in to LaGuardia on Friday night (Mar. 2). I decided to save money, and took the Super Shuttle to our hotel in Times Square. While a responsible financial decision, the 6pm Manhattan traffic made my shuttle ride longer than my connecting flight from Cincinatti. After checking into the Renaissance Times Square, we headed over to John's Pizzeria for a delicious brick oven pie. Then we hiked to Caroline's Comedy Club to see former SNL-er Tracy Morgan. Although a bit too vulgar, we enjoyed his goofy style and a great MJ impression for a verse of "Man in the Mirror".
Saturday turned out sunny and 50, a great day to bump around Times Square and get some walking in. We headed over to Rockefeller Center and took the long elevator ride to the top. The clear day gave us great views of Central Park, the Empire State Building, and even a tiny Statue of Liberty way off in the distance.
After a quick beer at the Pig 'N Whistle, we got in the TKTS line at the Marriott Marquis, where you can get 1/2 price Broadway tickets. You have to wait in line, and it's cash only, but after about an hour in the queue, the line moved quickly and we got our RENT tickets, 11th row center, at the Nederlander Theater. Great seats and great show. Heavy subject matter, but it was amazing to see people performing at the top of their craft. Throw in a quasi-celebrity cast member in the form of Frenchie, from American Idol infamy,and you've got "five-hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes" of memories. Before the show, we were treated to Italian goodness at Cascina, in the Hell's Kitchen area. A five-foot-nothin' old man, as big around as he was tall, was our kindly waiter. I had some sort of homemade wide noodle dish, and A had gnocchi. An excellent outcome considering we didn't have pre-show reservations, and caught the last open table in the bar area.
Sunday, our flight home didn't leave until 8pm, so we took the opportunity to explore more of Manhattan. We started with a cab ride to the World Trade Center site. Other than a few picture memorials, there isn't much to see. Sad memories and lots of construction. We were on foot the next 3 hours or so, walking north through Chinatown and Little Italy. We stopped at a corner pizza shop called Pomodoro, and tried their signature Vodka Sauce pizza. A said it was the best she'd ever had. I think it's because the waiter was flirting with her. He 'happened' to deliver the pie while I was in the closet-sized men's room, presenting it with some 'Mickey Mouse ears' just for her - it was 2 paper plates sticking out from under the tray. HILARIOUS!
From there we did some window shopping in SOHO and somehow avoided spending any money. We probably saw 5 Sephoras that weekend, and A bought: nothing. There's a first time for everything I guess. While trying to catch a cab back to the hotel, we passed a huge throng of protesters in front of a Starbucks, saying the chain was killing the Greenwich Village local shops. We would've grabbed a non-fat grande mocha latte, but we couldn't get in the door. Oh well.
That's about it..., okay not quite. We took a cab to JFK and flew JetBlue back to SLC, our first flight together and our first experience with that airline. I wish I could say the flight was uneventful, but that just wouldn't 'fly' (har). A 1-hour tarmac delay made us jittery due to JetBlue's recent highly-publicized problems. Once we got in the air, we settled into our seats, flipping channels on our personal TV monitors. Shortly thereafter, I started feeling a little light-headed, got up to use the bathroom, and promptly passed out in the aisle. I was probably dehydrated and the plane was extremely hot, and I went down like a ton of bricks. After filling out a short medical report and drinking 12 of those teensy bottles of water, A and I had a laugh about what a great impression I made as a travelling partner. Thankfully, the rest of the flight was uneventful and we made it back safe and sound.
New York City is a great place to visit. Despite some claims that the people are 'rude', we experienced nothing but great service, and people willing to make recommendations and help us find our way around. Here's some pics from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/sj.gingrich/NYCTrip
Shortly after I moved here, A had some corporate meetings at Ikea in Philly, so we decided to take a weekend trip to NYC. She took a train into Penn Station, and I flew in to LaGuardia on Friday night (Mar. 2). I decided to save money, and took the Super Shuttle to our hotel in Times Square. While a responsible financial decision, the 6pm Manhattan traffic made my shuttle ride longer than my connecting flight from Cincinatti. After checking into the Renaissance Times Square, we headed over to John's Pizzeria for a delicious brick oven pie. Then we hiked to Caroline's Comedy Club to see former SNL-er Tracy Morgan. Although a bit too vulgar, we enjoyed his goofy style and a great MJ impression for a verse of "Man in the Mirror".
Saturday turned out sunny and 50, a great day to bump around Times Square and get some walking in. We headed over to Rockefeller Center and took the long elevator ride to the top. The clear day gave us great views of Central Park, the Empire State Building, and even a tiny Statue of Liberty way off in the distance.
After a quick beer at the Pig 'N Whistle, we got in the TKTS line at the Marriott Marquis, where you can get 1/2 price Broadway tickets. You have to wait in line, and it's cash only, but after about an hour in the queue, the line moved quickly and we got our RENT tickets, 11th row center, at the Nederlander Theater. Great seats and great show. Heavy subject matter, but it was amazing to see people performing at the top of their craft. Throw in a quasi-celebrity cast member in the form of Frenchie, from American Idol infamy,and you've got "five-hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes" of memories. Before the show, we were treated to Italian goodness at Cascina, in the Hell's Kitchen area. A five-foot-nothin' old man, as big around as he was tall, was our kindly waiter. I had some sort of homemade wide noodle dish, and A had gnocchi. An excellent outcome considering we didn't have pre-show reservations, and caught the last open table in the bar area.
Sunday, our flight home didn't leave until 8pm, so we took the opportunity to explore more of Manhattan. We started with a cab ride to the World Trade Center site. Other than a few picture memorials, there isn't much to see. Sad memories and lots of construction. We were on foot the next 3 hours or so, walking north through Chinatown and Little Italy. We stopped at a corner pizza shop called Pomodoro, and tried their signature Vodka Sauce pizza. A said it was the best she'd ever had. I think it's because the waiter was flirting with her. He 'happened' to deliver the pie while I was in the closet-sized men's room, presenting it with some 'Mickey Mouse ears' just for her - it was 2 paper plates sticking out from under the tray. HILARIOUS!
From there we did some window shopping in SOHO and somehow avoided spending any money. We probably saw 5 Sephoras that weekend, and A bought: nothing. There's a first time for everything I guess. While trying to catch a cab back to the hotel, we passed a huge throng of protesters in front of a Starbucks, saying the chain was killing the Greenwich Village local shops. We would've grabbed a non-fat grande mocha latte, but we couldn't get in the door. Oh well.
That's about it..., okay not quite. We took a cab to JFK and flew JetBlue back to SLC, our first flight together and our first experience with that airline. I wish I could say the flight was uneventful, but that just wouldn't 'fly' (har). A 1-hour tarmac delay made us jittery due to JetBlue's recent highly-publicized problems. Once we got in the air, we settled into our seats, flipping channels on our personal TV monitors. Shortly thereafter, I started feeling a little light-headed, got up to use the bathroom, and promptly passed out in the aisle. I was probably dehydrated and the plane was extremely hot, and I went down like a ton of bricks. After filling out a short medical report and drinking 12 of those teensy bottles of water, A and I had a laugh about what a great impression I made as a travelling partner. Thankfully, the rest of the flight was uneventful and we made it back safe and sound.
New York City is a great place to visit. Despite some claims that the people are 'rude', we experienced nothing but great service, and people willing to make recommendations and help us find our way around. Here's some pics from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/sj.gingrich/NYCTrip
3/13/2007
First update
Not that nothing has happened since Feb. 22nd when I arrived at Salt Lake airport to begin 'living' here, but this is the first time I've felt compelled to share some experiences. Why? Well, the past 3-ish weeks have been spent living out of a suitcase at A's house, and included a weekend mini-holiday in New York City - which I will recap at some point in the near future, pictures and all. Nope, no job yet, no mind awakening revelations, and no Mormon conversion. Not that there'd be anything wrong with that. But...
...I finally signed a lease today! A quiet, ground floor apartment in an eclectic area known as Sugar House is now in my name. For you West Michiganders, think a more upscale Eastown, complete with local shops, coffeehouses, oxygen bars, hippies, and the ubiquitous gorgeous mountain views. Seriously, it never gets old. Every day, everywhere you look, towering peaks and slicing canyons are visible. This is neither unique to the west, nor new to me after many visits to Salt Lake, but it is truly the defining characteristic of the area. A large city literally plopped down on the edge of a valley immediately after passing the western slopes of the Wasatch mountain range. That's pretty cool.
As anyone reading this is probably aware, I moved here solely to be with A. Not to enjoy the fresh powder or because I got a great job offer. As such, the majority of my time here has been simply enjoying our day-to-day life together. She's a rare woman with brains, wit, self-confidence, strong character, and a natural sexiness that's not lost on these blue eyes. I will continue to spend a lot of time at her place, where I recently helped fix/replace the entry door lock/deadbolt and re-paint the living room. How domestic! I even take out the trash sometimes!
Being the new 'man' around the kids has been fun and stressful at times. I'm trying to suck it up and be a trooper for A, but it's hard to go from single and living alone to the constant questions, demands, complaints, spills, and thrills that children can bring. I did have some great bonding time with Z this past Friday, including 2 hours of Legos, some Disney trivia, helping her roller blade around the parking lot, and falling asleep on the couch while she narrated her favorite movie, the Phantom of the Opera. Master P is a smart, thoughtful little guy, but I find it harder to connect with him. As long as we get in some NASCAR racing or Guitar Hero on PlayStation, and maybe wrestle a little bit, I'm a pretty cool playmate. He also started playing basketball for a junior league, so this summer I'll give him some tips and have him dunking left-handed by fall. ;)
That's it for now. I'll get up some pics of my new home, the NYC trip, and a few other things very soon.
...I finally signed a lease today! A quiet, ground floor apartment in an eclectic area known as Sugar House is now in my name. For you West Michiganders, think a more upscale Eastown, complete with local shops, coffeehouses, oxygen bars, hippies, and the ubiquitous gorgeous mountain views. Seriously, it never gets old. Every day, everywhere you look, towering peaks and slicing canyons are visible. This is neither unique to the west, nor new to me after many visits to Salt Lake, but it is truly the defining characteristic of the area. A large city literally plopped down on the edge of a valley immediately after passing the western slopes of the Wasatch mountain range. That's pretty cool.
As anyone reading this is probably aware, I moved here solely to be with A. Not to enjoy the fresh powder or because I got a great job offer. As such, the majority of my time here has been simply enjoying our day-to-day life together. She's a rare woman with brains, wit, self-confidence, strong character, and a natural sexiness that's not lost on these blue eyes. I will continue to spend a lot of time at her place, where I recently helped fix/replace the entry door lock/deadbolt and re-paint the living room. How domestic! I even take out the trash sometimes!
Being the new 'man' around the kids has been fun and stressful at times. I'm trying to suck it up and be a trooper for A, but it's hard to go from single and living alone to the constant questions, demands, complaints, spills, and thrills that children can bring. I did have some great bonding time with Z this past Friday, including 2 hours of Legos, some Disney trivia, helping her roller blade around the parking lot, and falling asleep on the couch while she narrated her favorite movie, the Phantom of the Opera. Master P is a smart, thoughtful little guy, but I find it harder to connect with him. As long as we get in some NASCAR racing or Guitar Hero on PlayStation, and maybe wrestle a little bit, I'm a pretty cool playmate. He also started playing basketball for a junior league, so this summer I'll give him some tips and have him dunking left-handed by fall. ;)
That's it for now. I'll get up some pics of my new home, the NYC trip, and a few other things very soon.
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