Shocking, Shocking!

They said yes, I can go to the HOW Conference! Yeeeeeha!!! I guess I'm on board til summer, then! See you in Chicago!

Dave

Stumblin' along EighthAve

Oy, sorry so long since an update. I guess things just haven't been so exciting the past week and a half. At least at work. I'm bored out of my skull. I'm afraid it's time to move on soon. I was told I wasn't likely to get my old boss' job, so really I'm stuck where I am. I'm out of the loop on what seems everything, so when I get the gumption up to start looking harder (ie, getting my resume and portfolio together), I'm rollin'. Since there really isn't anywhere else to go from here that I'm interested in, I gotta move on.

Of course, I'm waiting for answers to a big question, whether I can go to a conference to decide how soon "soon" is. If I can go, I'll hang in for a while, but if not, "Hi, nice to meet you, I'm a team player..." The circumstance isn't all their fault, I need a leader unless I'm in charge of everything. I've used the analogy of "I'll be the lead dog on the sled team, but I still need a driver." Unless, as I said, I'm at the controls, and I'm definitely on the bottom rungs in a corporate structure with about 2000 rungs between me and my current boss' position.

Anyway, that's work. Over the weekend, we got to spend Saturday with my niece. She and my son spent nearly all of their first two years together in daycare, so they are great pals. If you look up the "Christmas in 5 parts," you can see a photo of her. For those who don't know, her mother died about a month and a half after she was born. She's had a rough couple of years on earth so far. But she was a delight as we went to get springy/Easter photos taken, went to lunch and played at the park and had dinner before she had to go back home. Little boy was exhausted afterward. Power-napped Sunday for about 4 hours! Too much fresh air, I guess. It was a really nice day compared to the past several weeks, everyone was out and about, shaking cabin fever.

So, that's for now. Hope to keep up better this week.

Dave

A boy after my own heart

 

I brought my little boy into daycare this morning and put him down, took off his gloves and he took off his coat; he had barely turned around when every girl in the room (except one that was eating breakfast) came over to give him a hug! "Hi," they said. He said Hi back with a little encouragement from me, but then he got hugs. One girl turned to the teacher, pointed to my son and said "He's MINE!" Then a couple of other girls also laid claim to him.

 

Not that he seemed all that caught up in it. He wanted the tool belt from the toy box. Then he started playing Bob the Builder with another little boy. (You have to leave the ladies wanting more...) Too cute!  

 

Dave

Savor the moment

I have definitely learned something about myself, and it is probably half the reason I got to the size I am. There is a candy out there called Hershey's Eggs that I absolutely love. These are not the ones that you unwrap the foil to get to the goodie, these are more like peanut M&Ms except they are a little bigger and don't have peanuts. (Not these, but THESE!) They are delish. Lately, I've only seen them in Targets. There are also Reese's Eggs which are the same thing, only with peanut butter inside instead of chocolate.

Anyway, since I'm trying to cut back on snacks between meals, resisting these treats has been difficult. When I bought the bag, I made a promise to myself to eat no more than three per day. I've done well to keep it. But that first day I felt the urge. The urge to eat half the bag at once. I ate the first one and realized I put it away so fast I didn't even really taste it. That's when I remembered that when I ate them before, I would have eaten 5 or 6 before the taste really hit me. So, now that I think about it, I take more time eating these, actually tasting it instead of just tossin' it down the hatch. Savoring is definitely the way to go, it's less filling and tastes great, so to speak.

I've also cut WAY back on Coca-Cola, too. I haven't completely stopped, but it's nowhere near the level it used to be. I used to have 2-3 a day, whereas now it's 2-3 a week, if that. I drink a lot more water now, and I hate diet sodas. blech.

Clothes are already fitting better than they have, so I'm heading in the right direction. Still have a ridiculous spare tire, but hope for steady reduction.

Dave

The coldest beer is in Heaven

Baltimore lost a truly legendary baseball and football broadcaster this weekend. Chuck Thompson, the voice of the Orioles for virtually their entire existence (his last broadcast was in 2000) died of a massive stroke Sunday morning. I only really got into baseball and listening to games on the radio in 1989 or so, the last 11 years of Chuck's career, but it was long enough to realize he was a real treasure. His might not be as well-known a name as the likes of Harry Caray or Vin Scully, but his place in the Baseball Hall of Fame is every bit as deserved. He would have continued to broadcast games after 2000 if he hadn't been losing a battle with macular degeneration, which robbed him of a significant amount of his vision.

I think that perhaps one of the best pairs of broadcasting partners was Chuck and Jon Miller before Miller was forced to move on to San Francisco, a move on the Orioles part that I'll never understand. Every ballgame that they called was simply a treat. I'm glad I was able to understand that while they were together.

I met Chuck Thompson once while I was an intern at a television station. The building also housed the radio station that carried the Orioles. It was only a passing "Pleasure to meet you" exchange, but it stuck with me because he said it in his voice, that voice. There was also a time I was walking into a restaurant, and as we made our way to our table, I happened to hear that voice ordering crab soup. I turned around and sure enough it was him. I was about to say hello, but thought better of it. He was there with his wife just trying to have dinner. He noticed that I recognized him, gave me a quick nod and a smile, which I returned and left it at that. Hm, the things you remember when it comes to brushes with famous people...

If you click on the link at the end of this post, you might understand better the subject line of this entry. One of his signature lines after an Orioles win was, "Ain't the beer cold!" I also thought about "Go to Heaven, Ms. Agnes" because his other signature line was "Go to war, Ms. Agnes!" I should also note that he was the voice of the Baltimore Colts for a very long time, though I didn't live in Baltimore until shortly after the Colts moved to Indianapolis. The highlights I have heard convince me that he was equally adept at calling football as he was baseball.

Listen to the one about his induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame, then you would understand why everyone that paid any attention to Baltimore Baseball, knew and considered Chuck a friend, including me. Chuck Thompson Radio Highlights

RIP Chuck Thompson, 1921-2005,

Dave

Hi Frosty!

So, a couple of weeks ago, I promised a photo of the boy and his first snowman. He's saying "Hi Frosty!" here. I have a couple other better photos where I remembered to use the flash to help with the really bright background, but this was the cutest. I'll have another of him hiding under the sink before long.

He got the kit for the snowman from his grandmother for Christmas. It's kind of neat. There's still something to be said for home-made eyes and hats and stuff, but it still looks neat. My first thought when I look at it is that it looks like John Lennon. What do you think?

Click here to see the photo, it's big and screws with the page layout.

Man, I really need to get some creative exercise with the camera. This last roll was nothin'-but-boy shots. I love taking photos of him, don't get me wrong, but something else now and then would be nice. Plus, he doesn't stay as still as he used to, so unfortunately, it's hard to take nice, more artistic shots of him. He either wants to play in the other room or with the camera. I hear it gets better though...

Dave

What a great weekend, what a great woman!

I wish every weekend could be like this past one. I couldn't be happier that Mrs. Dave is in my life. Every once in a while she'll surprise me just to keep me off-balance and it's wonderful. I won't go into the details here to protect the devilishly innocent, but dare I say there are many men across america that would also love to have Mrs. Dave as their wife. But it's all about trust, and we have tons.

But I can tell you that the evening started out at The Wine Market. Great place, not much of a website, but a great restaurant. We went with some good friends of ours for a Grown-up Night Out (they have boy-girl twins). We each had a flight of somethin'-er-other. Basically, it's a 3 oz sample of 3 different wines. These happened to be fruitful Spanish wines that were fantastic. I had a regular glass of one of them and a nice buzz.

I was a little concerned as I ordered the "Airline Chicken" but I needn't have been, it was great. Served on a bed of bacon mashed potatoes, mmmmmmm. I also got some of the best damn Macaroni and Cheese I've ever had. It used aged cheddar that was just perfect. I could have eaten a meal of just that. We also had a dessert of chocolate mousse on a heath bar base thing. I forget what it was called, but it was perfect.

One unusual thing about the place was that they had human size portions! After we were done with dinner, we actually had room for dessert! Which is a good thing! And the dessert was light, but wonderful. Just can't say enough about the place. If you're in Baltimore, it's worth a visit. There are other great restaurants, too, but this one probably won't be on the radar much for tourists/visitors. It's in a renovated warehouse and has exposed brick, air ducts, rafters, etc., pretty cool. When you first walk in it looks like you're just in a small liquor store, but when you go to the archway in back, that's where the restaurant is.

If you go sometime, let me know what you think. Til then, Enjoy!

Dave