Ardbeg78

Vegas, Baby

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:26:09 GMT

So I managed to get my work done, and tonight is open house, packing, and trying to get some sleep. Then tomorrow, it's Vegas, baby, Vegas!

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:45:53 GMT

I had a very nice weekend. Friday night our dinner was over early and I got nearly 10 hours of sleep. I needed that. Saturday morning, it was the bourbon that put me in a good mood. And then the Coup Committee meeting went well. On the way home, however, I scratched the truck on the way out of the garage. No doubt about it, it was my fault. I was driving and I was in a rush, so there you have it. The damage is mostly cosmetic, although there is a small dent, but there is a fair amount of paint missing from the rear passenger wheel well, so I am considering getting it fixed. Anyway, I get home and tell Laura that I scratched the truck on the way out of the garage, and she says why? So I say okay, ask an intelligent question, and she says where? Close, but I already said it was on the way out of the garage, so the next question was a good one, how bad? Well, the answer is not too bad at all, but still, I should get it looked at and fixed. Anyway, Sunday I got up at 5:00 in the morning and went out to Max's to help clean the hot tub. It was dirty filthy work, but we finished in about an hour and a half and then went for breakfast and a cigar at Sapienza's. I then did the grand rounds of shopping, and came home to walk with Becky, and fit her new car seat into the truck. We then went upstairs and watched the abortion that was the football game, while Laura and Becky went out to buy someone's first pair of shoes (together with a baloon and stickers. I almost cried.) Anyway, she loves walking in her brand new shoes, and I am so proud of her. Now all she needs is some teeth and some words, and we are golden. In other news, I had a productive day at the office today, and am looking to wrap things up before Vegas baby on Thursday!

4-2

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:57:52 GMT

Los Yankees discren discendo en el kiepo mas grande siempres! And that's all I have to say about that. Ditch Johnny Effin Damon, keep Matsui, and get some more pitching damnit. I won't be going to the parade tomorrow. No access, and I have no desire to be placed in pens by whim of Shitberg's storm troopers. Other than that, I am winding things down at the office, preparing for my two very long weekends. That is all.

51-46

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:57:25 GMT

So Shitberg won. At the end of the day, it matters not that he won by a much smaller margin than he was anticipating, and that was published in the polls (which had him up by 12 to 18%) or that he spent approximately $200 per vote cast to Thompson's $34 per vote cast. All that matters is that he won. A normal human being may have been somewhat chastened by the narrow margin, but not him. Arrogant son of a bitch Shitberg, also to be known as King Michael I, will take this and ram his tax raising, liberty restricting agenda up the asses of New Yorkers for another 4 years, that us until he decides to extend term limits even fruther to run for his 4th term. Our last and best hope is that he keels over with a heart attack, and the sooner the better. That and his bicycle riding transporation commissioner, Janet Sadik-Cunt gets flattened by an 18 wheeler. That would be poetic justice.

3-2

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:02:38 GMT

Last night's game, while disappointing, shows two things. One, that I was right. We really didn't need Burnett, and his skills would have better been spent drilling Lee in the first. Not that Lee was unstoppable last night. He just had a really, really good Game 1, and I wouldn't mind picking him up in the off season. Second, how good the team really is. With a 6 run deficit, they almost came all the way back. If not for Jeter's GIDP, I think they could have, at a minimum, tied the game and sent the works into excess innings. Anyway, that was pretty much my activity for last night. Today, I am operating on a sleep deficit, and our system is down, so the only thing I have access to is the Internet Web Net. So I will make the best of what is available and see if I can actually get any work done today.

3-1

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:14:39 GMT

So I had a great weekend. Literally. Friday night I went to the big show, but almost no one was there. I did meet Alan's fiancee, so that was nice. I was able to confirm to the group the following day at the Coup Committee meeting that she was actually alive and breathing. Really, she was cute, and had what seemed to be a very good attitude (I didn't cross-examine her, because I promised to be on my best behavior), so I think he will do great, and I hope they are very happy together. I then went home for food, and drank quite heavily on a Friday night for the first time in a while. We lingered at the table for a while, which will be unavailable to me in the next couple of weeks for programming reasons. Saturday was a very light turnout. I drank some bourbon and went home. We had one guest, and ate quickly, with some whisky with the chulent. I then took a very short nap, got up to eat again, and went to the Coup Committee meeting. I then came home to host my Arabic friend, and then we bathed Rebecca and I went to the Island to smoke. There was a rain delay during the drive so the radio was useless, but by the time we got to the porch, Pettite had already spotted himself a deficit. We sat on the front porch, watching the rain and drizzle while smoking Bolivar Belicose Finos. The neighborhood rabble was out in full force, throwing frozen eggs and shit, so we got the bats out (Max thought the shotgun was overkill, but personally, that's what I would have used) as Auxillary cops kept driving back and forth up and down the block. By the time we finished smoking, the Yankees were catching up, and on the radio on the way back Pettite helped his own cause by hitting an RBI. Anyway, we stopped to eat at a fast food joint with a television, so we watched two more innings, and then listened to the rest on the drive back. Sunday morning was a lazy day, watched some television and played with Rebecca. I watched her while Laura slept in, and changed her and picked out her outfit. I also remarked to Laura that in honor of Haloween, she made a monster poop! Of course, I had to repeat the line later in the day when Laura was fully awake. Anyway, Kramer came at exactly 1:00, and we watched the abortion that was the Giants game in glorious HD. It is pretty easy to win when you have two quarterbacks throwing to your players. There is no excluse for this one. The offensive line was intact, and the secondary wasn't really the problem. Eli, the supposed messiah, kept throwing the fucking ball to people wearing green shirts. That and the running game never developed. And the secondary really did collapse on numerous big plays. Also, the coaching left much to be desired. I mean they were running the clock out on themselves starting at about 9 minutes left in the third quarter. And going for a field goal when you are down by 26 points, I mean, get real. Anyway, after that disaster was over (and Rebecca had her second nap), we went up to 92 Street for burgers. They were okay, as usual, but nothing great. For a change, though, we were out in about an hour, but Rebecca ate neither her chopped meat nor her french fries, which is unusual for her. When we got home Laura fed her her dinner, and I did various household chores, including learning the sedra and even getting a little ahead. I also cleaned up (finally) Becky's files and am starting to make a dent in the household files. We also are going to make a memory book for her as soon as we can so that we don't forget that which should be remembered, but it is a joint project, so I have to wait until maybe the weekend. Anyway, I then watched the game, and when they sang the song about Jose and the dawnzer, they should have said, "the United States, which by the way, was invented here," but they didn't. So it was a good night following an abortion of a football game, although the Yankees did make it more exciting than necessary, and the narrow view of the television picture made me crawl out of my skin when I saw Johnny Effin Damon leap to his feet and run to third, because no one helpfully told us where the fielders were playing. Unlike Jonnie Miller on the radio, who always lets you know. So that's all I have for this morning. Now it's back to work and we'll see how far we get before tonight's game. That is all.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:48:46 GMT

So we went to the wedding last night. A good time was had by all. The food was particularly good, and the band was very good as well, if too loud. We left after the main course and most of the dancing, and managed to get home by 11:30. So all in all, successful. This afternoon I have a meeting with a potential client. And then I have to leave early to go test out car seats and then go to play hockey. So that's my day in a nutshell. I have low hopes for the World Serious.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:32:00 GMT

So I had a great day in court today. I won on the important stuff, but not on everything, and although I was very nervous because I didn't have a chance to properly prepare yesterday, I held my own very nicely. Also good was that co-counsel came in and was watching me from the gallery. He was quite late, so I did not see him enter, but the argument lasted for over an hour, so I think that he saw enough to give me confidence going forward. I also got the other two things that were clogging my desk off. I am now headed off to dinner, and I will be home in time for bath time and to watch a little television with Laura. So all in all a good day. Timesheets tomorrow.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:18:44 GMT

So the Yankees did it last night. And the Giants reverted to mid-season form. As per usual. I wrote game over in MY notebook when they failed to go for it with 12 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Today was, how shall we put it, not as productive as it might have been. But I am hungry and headed out for dinner.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:25:20 GMT

Okay, so I've had a very bad end of the week last week in the office, but I have had a very good weekend so far. Now the proof will be in the pudding, so to speak, as I sit in the living room (with the HD box) and wait for the Giants and Yankees games to begin. I have the remote in my hand, and the computer set to gamecast for both so I should be able to catch both actions. In other news, I got a phone call this morning while we were in Jersey for a bris, and it seems I have to make an appearance in Brooklyn tomorrow, so so much for my plans to sleep late in the morning. Anyway, I have a very busy and very full week so we shall see what happens. Okay, now I change the channel and watch my espn.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:26:33 GMT

I had a nice weekend, but not a restful one. Friday was very unproductive, as usual. I left the office at 4:00, and Laura was home before me. I showered and shaved and went to 95 Street. It was boring, but not terrible. Adam, with whom I usually talk, was not there, but I did manage to do a little business. I then went up to Eric's for dinner. Dinner was nice, but the food was lousy. I had a very nice bottle of wine, however, and the Macallan Delagencia, which was delicious. By the time we trudged home, the Yankees had won 4-1, meaning that my buddy CC pitched well. On Saturday, I went out in the rain without any preparation. It was okay. The lecture was good, but he has definitely lost something over the years. It is not nearly as fascinating as it once was. Anyway, I got home at about 11:30, and we ate a simple lunch of just chulent, and I took a nap. I overslept a little, but was still in plently of time for the Coup Committee meeting, which was a little more freewheeling than usual. By the time I got home, the Yankees were ready to play. We cleaned up, bathed our daughter, and I headed out to smoke, listening to the game (thankfully on ESPN so as to spare me the horrid John Sterling and his lesbian partner) the whole way. I have not changed my mind. Johnny Miller makes listening to Joe Morgan almost worthwhile. Anyway, I go to Max's in the 5th inning, we smoked a robusto (a very delicious Boulivar pyramid, which was full flavored and calculate to knock my on my ass), and I stopped for a chicken sandwich on the way back, which was in the 8th inning. I listened to innings 9 through 11 in the truck on the way home, and watched the 12th and 13th innings in my bedroom before collapsing to sleep. Yesterday, I went out, came back, learned the dedra, and took care of the baby all morning while Laura slept in. I also watched McLaughlin. It was then time for football, and the Giants launched a stinker. Eli reverted back to form throwing the ball to a guy wearing the wrong color shirt three times (only one of which counted, on account of the rain), but he really couldn't get anything going, and the defense played piss poorly. It was downright embarassing. Anyway, after the game I played with Rebecca some more, and we fed her dinner, bathed her, and put her to bed. After that, I went out to have dinner in Brooklyn, came home, and collapsed. Rebecca woke up again at 3:00 this morning (after having done so at 4:00 on Sunday) so here I am with lots of things to do, exhausted out of my gazzakes. We shall see if I get anything productive done today.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:31:59 GMT

Been pretty busy at the office the last couple of days. But is seems as if I am not really getting anything done. Oh well. Baby steps. Speaking of which, Rebecca is now walking a few steps at a time without holding on to anything. I am so proud. She is extremely wobbley, though, and she does better on carpet than on flooring because of the traction, so I guess it's time to go get her a pair of shoes. Anyway, I did a massive shopping last night, and once I got out of City traffic, it didn't even take too long. I left the office early, and got to the garage before 6:30. It was nearly 7:00 before I crossed the 59 Street Bridge, but then I took Queens Boulevard, and reached Costco at 7:45 (an hour and 15 minutes travel time and then was out of there less than half an hour later, and similarly with Brach's, I finished in less than half an hour. So I was home before 10:00, but of course parking and downloading the materials from the truck took a half an hour and I was exhausted by the time all the shit was put away. So much for my evening. Other than that, the status is quo. More work to be followed by hockey at a reasonable hour, for a change.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:43:01 GMT

I had a great weekend. It's so nice to be home. Friday night, I stayed late and was the last one to arrive to the meal. It consisted of people I really didn't like, and I was prohibited from making meaningful conversation with them, so that pretty much sucked. As did the fact that they didn't heat up my food, so I ate cold kigel. Blahhhh. We did end up leaving at a relatively decent hour, though, and we got home before 11:00. I went right to bed while Laura dealt with the baby. On Saturday, I went to the first show. Disappointing spread. This guy shows up, literally, once a year, and thinks he is entitled to run the show because, after all, he provides the food, and he provided nothing. Then, when I went upstairs, I was informed that my services were no longer necessary, so I went up to 95 Street for a drink, which I had and then some, and ate a roll provided by Aryeh, and I had a talk with Adam, and then I went back to 91 Street to see if I could eat. I could not. At 12:20 they were nowhere near ready to finish so I stopped by the YI, and Laura happened to be there. They were not serving food or drink there either, but I picked Laura up and we went over to Matthews. We started late. I couldn't eat the food as it was put up to warm Saturday morning. So I had a few slices of bread and a piece of fish. At 3:00 I excused myself and went home for a short nap. I spent the evening at 95 Street, and made it home at 9:30, to eat some stuffed cabbages and fried chicken cutlets. Tasty. After too little sleep, I went to 91 Street again, and there was food. Lots of it, if not very good. All in all, okay but not great. I then went home and we all went out to 91 Street where there was plentiful food and good times. I showed my daughter off nicely and we went back home. Time of the round trip: only an hour and a half. We then finished the stuffed cabbages, and went to nap. At night, I found out the Giants trounced Oakland and the Yankees were on their way to clinching the playoffs. Unfortunately, the next two rounds feature Friday and Saturday home games. Anyone for a flight to LA?

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:20:53 GMT

So I managed to be fairly productive at the office yesterday. And today, on less than 4 hours' sleep. I left at about 7:00 last night, grabbed a small bite on Main Street, and went to do my shopping. Then, because some habits die hard, I went to 108 Street, and read mostly the whole thing. It was enlightening. I had a conversation beforehand that also managed to shed much light on my situation, and for next year. This could get interesting. We shall see. Anyway, I made record time home, and was back from making my deliveies by 11:45. Still went to sleep pretty late, and got up very early this morning. I missed my target by about 4 minutes. Which is not too bad considering. I am getting older and slowing down in pretty much everything. Anyway, Abe was there, which was good to see. I was even able to pass his message on to 91 Street, as I had to stop there on the way home to drop off some bread. Anyway, after breakfast, I went to the office and still managed to be relatively prodctive despite my lack of sleep. So now I am just finishing up two or three things, and then I will be headed home.

Stadium Review

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:41:22 GMT

So here is my review of Yankee Stadium. As predicted, I don't like it. First, a word about our seats. In the middle of the main level, at the left field foul pole. So they were as good if not better than most of the prior playoff seats I was able to have, but they were about as high off the field as the lower part of the upper deck in the old stadium. You could see the pitcher pretty clearly (the backside mostly, as both starters were lefty), but clearly not call the balls and strikes. You could also see all the electornic scoreboards, which were designed for wide angle viewing to be visible to about 90% of the park. The park itself is immense, and the entrances are set off from the sidewalk by steps, giving it a theme park feel. The interior is also surrounded by high walls on all sides, totally removing it from the surrounding community. You can no longer see any apartment buildings or the courthouse from any vantage point within the stadium; you can only see glimpses of the elevated train tracks. Entry was surprisingly easy (the stadium was also empty till the second inning, leading me to beleive many people were confused about the game's start time) and the concourses are in fact wide and filled with vast varieties of vendors. But I object to the layout. No more tunnels leading from obscured concourses, rather they are open at the top so you can see the field. This is "generic north american stadium" design, and not at all similar to the Stadium we knew. Also, unlike the old Stadium, you need to go up the escalators (or ramps or steps) to the Main level seating. You can't enter at the field level and walk up. It is actually a separate deck in much of the park. Also, the bleachers are inside the stadium, and just additional numbered sections, reachable from the main level. This puts the seats much farther from the field, but does give them better sightlines. As for the grandstand, the whole thing is pushed about 20 feet farther back from the field. It doesn't make much of a difference in the lower deck, but I am sure that the upper deck feels a lot farther away. You used to be able to sit in the front rows of the upper deck and still feel close to the field. No more. Other than the ridiculously priced Legends seats, no seat in the house feels close to the field. This lack of intimacy, coupled with a smaller seating capacity, means that there can never be the level of noise and excitement generated in the Old Stadium. Structually, they did the same thing as they did in the tennis stadium, i.e., raised the upper deck by about 30 feet to make room for a whole new level of luxury boxes. The giant plasma scoreboard doens't quite do it for me. It's distracting, and reflects off the plate glass of the luxury boxes, making for annoying light distractions. About the only good thing they did was to restore the frieze around the whole park, leaving space for many additional flagpoles, which now have banners for the National League teams (in standing order) as well. The main flagpole was somewhat obscured from where we were sitting, but I am disappointed that it no longer has a bat weathervane. The sound system is better in terms of clarity, but lacks the ballpark echo. There is no longer a tower of speakers - they are integrated into the seating area. Also, with the exception of Jeter who uses a recording, couldn't they have hired a PA announcer who at least sounds a little like Sheppard? Anyay, as to the playing, they did a workman job, but nothing spectacular. CC pitched well, but not great. He had a really high pitch count, and Mo made it interesting in the end, but overall effective. I predict 4 games. Got home by 10:30 last night. Have a busy night planned out today, so we shall see how things go.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:08:32 GMT

Got my tickets. Max is such a drama queen. After securing tickets, he decided he doesn't have time to go. He doesn't want to deal with parking and doesn't want to take the train. So he is leaving me alone. But told me I had to go pick up the tickets personally. So I sent Bruce, who gladly picked up the tickets and is coming to the game with me. Got home decently early last night. I had the greatest time playing with Rebecca on the floor before her bath time. I am also happy to report that he is feeling A-OK and had no irregularities in her eating for the past two days. I then went out for dinner after the bath, and we watched the next episode of Angry People. Nothing much else to report, I am putting in my last few minutes and then I am out of here to a certain stadium in the Bronx.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:33:31 GMT

Okay, so after yesterday's disaster finding a place for lunch, I went to find a place for dinner. It was extremely crowded, so I took it to go, and went up to 95 Street. On the way in, I stopped at the garage and saw a brand new Rolls. It was ugly, it has funky headlights, and a huge "RR" badge with the familiar logo (like the HUGE badge on the Escalade) on the hood, but no seraph. Also, it was a navy blue. Now maybe it's just me, but if I were to spend $300,000 on a car, I'd want it in black or silver. Anyway, I had my dinner, and went to pick up thte truck. The Rolls was still there, but the guy from the garage says he likes the color. Rebecca was asleep when I got home. She vomited all over the place yesterday as well, but that actually makes me happier because at least I know she was not car sick. Anyway, she was asleep, so I just did my chores, and sat down to watch some football, and finished up the Giants' route of Tampa which was in some ways satisfying, but it was also upsetting because it was clear that they didn't show up for the second half, and their inability to score at will against a weak opponent does not bode will for the future.

Today, I should find out if there is a playoff ticket in my future.

That is all.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:55:09 GMT

So I had a fairly nice weekend. But no sleep. How I managed to drive north Friday without crashing is anyone's guess. How long it took was another. But I do remember filling up with Cheap Jersey Gas on the way. We still rushed along to make all the necessary preparations prior to the holiday's commencement. Dinner at night was nice. Turkey. In the meantime, Laura's friend who was there began to tell us of her new employment. Let's just say that it is for a non-profit of which I am familiar, and I am disappointed that they actually pay a living wage. Better they should rely on volunteer workers. Anyway, that done, we went to sleep rather late. Saturday was about normal, until the evening. For some reason, Laura's family just can't get it together, and dinner was delayed until very late at night. Some 3 hours after it was supposed to start. Leaving me rather pissed off. Same thing yesterday. "Lunch" began at about 2:00 eviscerating any chance I had at some decent sleep time.

In other news, REBECCA WALKED! Anyway, she took a step. Now, in addition to being able to walk while holding on to something for support, she actually took a hands-free step herself. So how proud we are.

Last night, though, she was sick. She vomited all over the truck, but we think we were able to clean it all up. I stuck my head in the truck this morning, and all smelled normal, so I think it will be okay. Anyway, that's about all the news that's fit to be tied. The Yankees sputtered over the weekend, but managed to finish in high style. The Giants rolled over Kansas City. And I may have tickets to the playoffs. We shall see.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:16:30 GMT

So I have had like 8 hours of sleep in the past two days. With no signs of it letting up any time soon. Came home from hockey at about 12:30, packed, and showered, and finally got some sleep. I have learning to catch up on, television to catch up on, and quality time with my daughter to catch up on. Maybe over the weekend I can get some quality play time in, along with some much needed sleep. It's also suposed to rain, which could, in fact, throw a wrench in the whole system. We shall see. In any event, I'm now leaving the office to collect my daughter and start the drive upstate.

Tired

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:34:07 GMT

I am tired. I managed to leave the office quite early last night, and got home in time to play with Rebecca for about an hour before she had to go to sleep. I then watched the remaining 3 quarters of the Dallas game. My assessment has not changed. They failed to play defense throughout the entire second half. I also watched half of Friday night's Monk guest starring Mr. Loaf. I wonder if he is the guilty party. Nothing else much new. I am falling way behind here at the office. Every time something is resolved, something new pops up. Little research projects here and there really prevent me from getting the work done in the most efficient manner. Anyway, such is life. I have a deposition at 9:00 p.m. tonight again, which I really do not look forward to, but has to be done nevertheless. The client is showing up tonight so I do take some comfort in that I won't forget much of what will be asked, and we shall see where it leads. All I know is that the Chinese corporation on the other side is lying, and I have to catch them in it.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:30:33 GMT

Well, it was eventful. Saturday's proceedings were nice. A little too nice on Friday night, so I made a quick escape. Saturday we hung around for some time, which was fun. Sunday, I woke up early to do errands and pack. We changed the linens and went to Queens. It rained all day, so nothing on the construction angle, so we ate a quick meal and then I went for my annual bath. Disgusting. If women had to endure that they would never participate. Everything else was uneventful, except that our representative got sick and couldn't breathe, but other than that, it was okay. We ate dinner late last night, bathed Becky in Queens, and headed home. Late. That's all the news that's fit to be tied.

Fuck the UN Again

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:08:32 GMT

Last night, I spent an hour and a quarter on a crosstown bus thanks to these bastards. There is no excuse for shutting down a city. Really. I am exhausted-tired, not having slept nearly enough, and my daughter kept me up for about half an hour beterrn 2 and 2:30 last night refusing to allow me to leave the room, and letting me have just 2 more hours of sleep. Anyway, this shall all end soon. The older I become, the more involved with externalities of life I am, the harder it is to appreciate and participate in the holidays, high and otherwise. I wish I could slow down the pace a little, dispense with some of the work-related stress, and really concentrate on what's important. But I don't have time and life washes by entirely too quickly for that to happen just now. We shall see. It is my sister-in-law's birthday this weekend, so we need to so something. I also just realized yesterday that Carrie & Max's tenth wedding anniversary is soon upon us, and have the sudden urge to do something really nice and expensive for them. I don't know what yet, because I really don't have time to sit down and think. Tonight hockey is early, so I have to leave the office soon to purchase the Sabbath victuals and get going so I can be dressed and on the ice by 9:00. The tradeoff is that I get to be home before midnight and get some sleep. Also, tomorrow I wake up at 4:40 and it's all downhill from there: 6:30 Saturday, 6:10 Sunday, 6:15 Monday, 5:00 the rest of the week. I also have to spend next Thursday night purchasing my citron, palm branch, myrtle leaves, and willow branches. Also packing up the family to take them to my in-laws next weekend. As I say, life does intrude on things I am hoping to do, and wanting to get done. Anyway, too philosophical here. I now need to prepare myself for tonight and next week.

Fuck the UN / Mahler / Playoffs

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:16:51 GMT

Really, if thirde-world communistic countries are so good and beneficent, why are all their people trying like hell to get to the United States to spend a week in the hedonistic hell of New York. Why not move the UN headquarters to, say, Chad or Sierra Leone and see how many diplomats want to attend the general assembly there. Or better yet, move it to China and see how the protesters like it there. If all countries are created equal, let's see how they treat the gang of faloons over there. Or better yet, there are some 160 countries in the UN. How about rotating the location of the general assembly each year. I would be fine with all these clowns coming to New York once every 160 years. Really I would. In the meantime, take these anti-American fuckers who have nothing better to do than to show their privileged asses in my city and tie up traffic and disrupt our lives, and shoot them. I mean, enough is enough with this. Throw the diplomats the hell out (and while we're at it, prevent the President or Vice President from coming into town too, unless they agree to play by the rules applicable to the rest of us, meaning no "security" escorts and no secret service shutting down entire streets). I mean come on, seriously people, if you can't be treated like everyone else, stay the hell in your own offices and never see the light of day.

I went to hear Mahler's Third Symphony last night. It was the first time I heard it live. And it was great. I had a really good time, and appreciated the concert. Long doesn't matter if there is quality there.

The Yankees, along with some help from their friends, tied it up last night. I am pleased to be interested in the playoffs once again this year. I am even now trying to hit my friend Max up for some tickets, but that is a long shot as we will see.

I am still very upset and depressed about the loss of the blue brush. Laura looked for it again last night, but neither we nor the building staff were able to find it. She also called the lost and found of the school next door, but no luck there. It is gone, and gone forever. I don't think I'll ever see it again. Now I feel really terrible. I am really depressed about it, and letting it bother me.

At the office, I am really far behind on my time. Got to get it done in the next couple of days. And I really, really don't want to have to go to Mineola tomorrow.

Brush

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:59:48 GMT

I lost my baby brush. To be accurate, I lost my baby brush and my baby's brush. Although we bought Rebecca an adorable grooming kit, we had been using my blue baby brush for her hair. The same one I had used as a baby, and had been hanging around for 36 years waiting to be used again. Because of my rush and my carelessness, we lost it Sunday night. And now it's gone forever. This makes me incredibly sad. Yes, I know it's wrong to be attached to material things and to be so sentimental, but I can't help myself. I feel that I was born at the end of a generation. That as modern as things were, it was the last gasp vestiges of a society that is now gone. For instance, I had quality dolls with real bottons and bows, with glass eyes. I had wooden toys, not plastic. And Little Golden Books. And my brush that I used until my teen years was made by the Fuller company and was sold door-to-door by the Fuller Brush Salesman. My heart breaks every Saturday morning when I walk home on West End Avenue, and the red and green knife grinding trucks troll the streets slowly, ringing their bells, as I remember when this used to be commonplace in the suburban streets on which I grew up. Where moms stayed home with their kids and we were not so overscheduled. My blue brush was just such a vestige. And while my daughter will never own or experience most of these things -- her dolls have stickers for eyes, or ones painted on, and she has a whole slew of very fun, but very plastic toys -- I wanted this very much for her, and for any children we may have in the future. And there was no reason for this. It's true that Laura stuffed items in the diaper bag without zipping it up, and I didn't see her place the bag on the floor of the cart instead of hanging it from the hooks or from the stroller, but I should have seen it fall off, and certainly not waited the 20 minutes it took for the brush to disappear forever. It is now just a memory, as my dog Figaro, my lion music box, and my bunnies -- the large pink one and the small blue one -- consigned to some trash heap, never to be seen again. This makes me slightly depressed. And while I have an abundance of material goods, and looking at my surroundings, no real right to complain about any material lack, this effects me in a very negative way, and there is nothing I can really do about it.

In other news, the holiday went as well as can be expected. I had a reasonably nice time with my parents, and managed to tone down the conversation at Friday dinner when dining with 2 unionistas. Saturday and Sunday had their fair share of depressing, however. There were fewer than 20 people from what was standing room only. Even upstairs had only about 200 people, down from about 750 fifteen years ago, and over 1500 in the heyday. This is sad, but inevidable.

On Sunday afternoon, we went up to see my grandmother. She was remarkably lucid and looked reasonably well for someone who can neither see nor hear well. She taught me a new Hungarian word -- budika -- for girl's underwear, as she explored the little shorts that came with Rebecca's outfit. By the end of the visit, Rebecca did warm up to her, which was nice. We do not do this often enough, but on the other hand, with my busy schedule and her frequent state of being really unable to see us, we don't have much of a choice. It is a shame that Rebecca will never have met her great-grandfather. Truth be told, Laura met him only once. This is a connection with a previous generation that I feel very strongly about, but am unsure I will be able to transmit to my daughter.

In a similar vein, I feel really badly that I can sing Jewish songs with my father, and totally understand him when he speaks Jewish, but I don't have the depth of vocabulary to be able to transmit it to my daughter, and Laura has no facility for it. Which is ironic, because her father speaks a very good Jewish, albeit with proper grammar and inflection unlike the Galician/Hungarian version I grew up with, but has totally failed to transmit it to his family (not that he really tried that hard).

I listened to the first half of the Dallas game on the drive home. I watched the second half while unpacking. The Giants suck. Only Romo's timely interceptions and their implementation of the prevent defense in the last 4 minutes saved the Giants from themselves. The offense left at least 21 points on the field, and the defense just plain didn't show up against the run. This does not bode well, although I suppose there is some room for optimism, given how poorly they played while racking up two early-season division wins. We will see what happens when they play Philly.

I finished my refi last week. Until we move, barring another complete and total financial collapse and meltdown, this will be the last mortgage we will be taking out.

Tonight I go see Mahler's Third. Never seen it in concert before, so I am looking forward to it. I went to opening night last week and was less than impressed. I don't like the new guy. He is not German and has no gray hair. This does not really bode well, although I suppose no one gives a damn as long as they continue to sell tickets. But really, enough with the modern stuff. If the author can come to the stage and take a bow, the piece must suck.

Yesterday was a slow day, but today I have high hopes of finally accomplishing something. But first I have to go to court and get chewed out on an inane conference. Such is life.

ardbeg78@livejournal.com — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:26:09 GMT

So I took the deposition last night. It went better than expected, but not perfectly. I was able to get about 2 and a half hours worth of questions in before we were all exhausted and had to adjourn. I also wasn't feeling very well, and looked like shit when I finally did get back home. In good news, I feel a lot better than I did even a few hours ago. I am a little queasy in the stomach, but I think that's just the effects of the anti-bioticals. I am still stuffed up in the nose, but the pain is pretty much gone and so is the fever, so I think we are on the downhill cusp. We shall see.