Ξ June 24th, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
I figured I’d shoot out a fast update. Rosie and I split up some of the household duties this week. I got cooking since I get home earlier. Truthfully I wasn’t overly excited about it, but figured I’d make the best of it. After a week, I have to tell you .. I LOVE it. I’ve been getting really creative in the kitchen, and I’m having a great time. I think I found something I really enjoy doing. I’m totally surprised. I’ve been scouring the internet for new recipes and everything. So, I’ve decided I’ll link to a recipe here from time to time if I see something that really rocked .. like this weekends Beer Carrots. I haven’t been a huge fan of veggies, so, I’ve found a few ways that make them totally better. Cooking with beer helps.
So, on Saturday night, Rosie and I saw The Boys Next Door at the Airport Playhouse. Rosie and I subscribe for the entire season with our friends Ann & Joe. It ensures that we get together at least once a month for a double date night. It’s a nice evening out.
Today, Rosie and I went to Queens Archery. We took some lessons in shooting a Bow & Arrow. It’s loads of fun. Certainly something I’d do again. Rosie and I were DAMN good shots.
The job search is still going on. I have a few interviews this week. I’ll keep you updated.
Best Regards
Biff
Ξ June 18th, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
Father’s day was a busy one for Rosie and I. It started out with us picking up her dad in Sunset Park Brooklynand heading to Gaelic Park in the Bronx. Gaelic Park is basically a football stadium that is used to play Irish Sporting Events. Rosie’s sister K.T. plays on a Gaelic Football team. We spent the afternoon watching Gaelic Football and Hurling. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. A few icy cold brews and we were in business.
We left Rosie’s dad with K.T., and headed into Queens to see my dad. We met up with Lynn and Larry there. Mom went all out and cooked up one of her famous HUGE dinners. We stuffed ourselves, and headed into the living room to watch the NY Yankees deliver a beating to the NY Mets.
Alas, it’s back to the grind today.
Ξ June 15th, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Blog |
One of the wonders of being a consultant is that sooner or later your contract is up. That day appears to be happining for me in the next few months. The project I’ve been working on is nearing an end and while JP Morgan Chase is budgeted for me until September, I might be released sooner since a lion’s share of the work has been completed. While this tends to worry some people, I get excited. This is the part that I truly love about consulting. At the moment I’m talking to a number of companies, to see what I want to do next .. and where I want to do it. Every few months I get to work with different people doing something .. well .. different. JP Morgan Chase has been great. I’ve had a nice manager there, and the other guy on my team was pleasent as well.
I’ve been talking to companies in Ct, Manhattan, and even Long Island. They’re mostly financial and insurance companies, but it’s seriously been all over the place. The gigs have been management, development and systems engineering positions. *shrug* Like I’ve said .. no rhym or reason to it all. It’s a great market to be looking for a new gig though. It’s been a 50/50 mix of full-time gigs and more consultant gigs. I guess when the right thing comes along I’ll know it.
Aside from looking for a new gig, nothing much has been going on since I got back from San Diego. Rosie finished classes for the summer, and we’re trying to map out a few vacations for ourselves.
ooh .. also a reminder .. FATHERS DAY IS ON SUNDAY; in case any of you forgot. I’m personally not very good at remembering things like that. Birthdays, Mothers Day, Fathers Day .. all seem to pass me by. I can be oblivious to the entire thing. I’d forget Valentines day if I didn’t have searing memories etched into my mind for forgetting. Now I’m to scared to forget that one. I’ve often said fear is a great motivator.
Jim and I took a trip out to San Diego this weekend. We met up with his friend Ted from New Mexico and his friend Robert who lives in San Diego. The purpose of the trip was to see his friend Robert, who has a brain tumor and is not expected to live. While the trip had a sad purpose, it was an unbelievable experience. The whole thing was surreal/magic .. I wish I could explain it better.
Our journey began when Jim and I left for SD early on Friday morning. We arrived in SD at about 10 a, checked into our Hotel and had a few drinks while we waited for Ted to arrive. We wouldn’t see Robert until the next day. To make a long story short, we drank (to excess) poolside at the hotel and had a VERY good time. Ted is an awsome guy, and is probably the most laid back person I’ve ever met.
On Saturday we grabbed an early breakfast, and went down to the water to visit The San Diego Maritime Museum. The weather was perfect, and we saw everything!
We met up with Robert at around 2pm back at the hotel. Robert is dying, but you would never know it. His attitude is unbelievbable. He looked like a happy guy. We all sat out on the balcony of our hotel, listened to music and told stories. The four of us laughed a lot. We then headed down to the hotel pool/hot tub and continued the party there. We decided to have an awsome steak dinner, so we went over to Ruth Chris Steak House. We had an great meal, a few cocktails and headed back over to the hotel, where we picked up a few 6-packs and sat outside again, listening to music in the cool San Deigo breeze. The laughs continued till about 1:30 am when Robert had to start heading home. We walked him down to his car, and watched him drive off. We’ll probably never see Robert again, but the day we spent with him couldn’t have been more perfect. As I’ve said, there was a surreal feeling during the whole day that I’m not talented enough as a writer to explain via the written word.
During the short time I got to spend with a dying man, his attitude torwards life was inspirational, and I suspect will have a profound impact on me. I think Jim and Ted were also touched by Robert’s thirst for life, and his choice to face his illness and live to the very best of his ability during the time he has left.
As for Robert, he is starting a new round of treatments for his brain tumor. He’ll know over the next three weeks how those treatments went. There is a small possibility that things can turn out ok for him. If so, I’ll lok forward to seeing him again sometime. If not, I’ll never forget the short time I got to spend with him.
I’ll keep my readers posted on Roberts condition as I hear about it.
Just wanted to take a moment to thank my Brother-In-Law Larry for driving ALLLL the way back from Va yesterday while the rest of us fell asleep on him. Larry is a good egg!
I was the very first one on the block to install Fedora 7! I did it on Friday, and while the “UPGRADE” didn’t go so well, The “INSTALL” went just fine. Not a problem, I had my home directory backed up so when the installation process was complete, and my home directory was restored I was right back to where I needed to be. So far I have nothing negative to say about it.
Williamsburg Va is a hoot. Despite rain we’re having a great time. We had to skip Bush Gardens this time around because of the weather, but we hit the Ripleys Believe it Or Not the other day instead. After a roaring time at dinner (a quite a number of drinks), we headed back to the resort (with more drinks) and hit the swimming pool. Good times .. good times.
Rosie and I decided to pick up some Time-Share points while we were away as well. We’ve been planning on it for a while. My sister sent me on my honeymoon on some of her points, and we’ve been away several times with my sister and brother-in-law at their time share resorts and were always impressed with the resorts. So, basically it us forces to to vacation a lot more. As a result of signing up, we received a trip to Hawaii, and a number of other trips around the continental US, not to mention the points we’ve already purchased. Looks like a European tour is coming up this year.
We’re off to a roaring weekend! My sister Lynn and Brother-In-Law Larry are swinging in tonight. The whole family is headed over to Peter Luger’s Steak House. It’s considered one of the best steak houses in the city. I hope they’re prepared for the The Murphy Clan. Probably not.
Anywho, Lynn & Larry are staying over so we can get an early start to Williamsburg Va.. We’ll DEFINITLY be going to Busch Gardens. My sister and Larry characterize themselves as Amusement Park People. Who am I to disagree:)
Anyway, have a good weekend
