wow, it's a bliazzard! i can't even see the sky scraper down the street. it's been going since 10 this morning, and it's really piling up now. I hope this is winter's last hurrah, because i'm sick of it. bring on spring!
spring is also tax time. i e-filed the beginning of last week (?) and i just noticed while i was at the atm that i had a lot more money than i expected. sure enough, my federal tax return has already been direct deposited into my account. hopefully my new york cash will come in soon too.
March 16, 2004
March 11, 2004
it's come to my attention that i am not very consistent with my blogging. i guess i forget that people might actually be reading this. sorry.
the three-day fast ended well. that last day, though, my tummy protested once in a while if i accidentally started dreaming about food. i tried to avoid the thought of food and what i was going to eat once it was over. i thought i was getting lasagna from my roomies, but they didn't come through. it was for the best though, since the tomato soup that i had was a better way to ease back into eating.
the services each night were great. we sang a sort of off-the-cuff song service. the pastors interrupted a lot with things to pray for. we usually had a ten minute sermon, tops, and the rest of the time was spent praying. We prayed collectively, independently, in groups, out loud, and quietly (well, mostly loudly) for purity in our lives, against fear of sharing our faith, and similar topics.
but now my computer got sick. i have to figure out how to get past these stop errors. they can be pretty devastating. and i don't know if this is related or not, but i'm sick too. i almost didn't come in to work today--i've been saying that i need a day off--but i was feeling better today, and it is payday; you don't want to miss that, right?
what i really need is a trip to the beach.... ahhhhh.
the three-day fast ended well. that last day, though, my tummy protested once in a while if i accidentally started dreaming about food. i tried to avoid the thought of food and what i was going to eat once it was over. i thought i was getting lasagna from my roomies, but they didn't come through. it was for the best though, since the tomato soup that i had was a better way to ease back into eating.
the services each night were great. we sang a sort of off-the-cuff song service. the pastors interrupted a lot with things to pray for. we usually had a ten minute sermon, tops, and the rest of the time was spent praying. We prayed collectively, independently, in groups, out loud, and quietly (well, mostly loudly) for purity in our lives, against fear of sharing our faith, and similar topics.
but now my computer got sick. i have to figure out how to get past these stop errors. they can be pretty devastating. and i don't know if this is related or not, but i'm sick too. i almost didn't come in to work today--i've been saying that i need a day off--but i was feeling better today, and it is payday; you don't want to miss that, right?
what i really need is a trip to the beach.... ahhhhh.
March 3, 2004
it's lunchtime on day two of the three-day fast. my stomach is growling in protest, but it's not unbearable. i usually can't go two hours without shoving something in mouth, so i know that i'm not doing this all on my own. i've allowed myself to drink juice, but otherwise it's only water. i bought some chicken broth for dinner last night because i heard somewhere that it was acceptable; too bad i didn't know it was gross. i guess i was expecting chicken noodle soup without the noodles or the two chunks of chicken. yech. i skipped it and had a glass of water instead.
oh, yeah, my church is doing a three-day fast this week, and holding services each night. i don't think i've ever fasted more than a day... actually, i think the last time (only time?) i fasted, it was just morning and afternoon, and then we ate. But it has been a good experience so far... and dinner thursday night or breakfast friday morning should be fantastic. i wonder when we break the fast? i'll have to find out at church tonight. To find out why we are fasting, you'll have to listen to the sermons from Februrary 8, 2004, on the Times Square Church website.
oh, yeah, my church is doing a three-day fast this week, and holding services each night. i don't think i've ever fasted more than a day... actually, i think the last time (only time?) i fasted, it was just morning and afternoon, and then we ate. But it has been a good experience so far... and dinner thursday night or breakfast friday morning should be fantastic. i wonder when we break the fast? i'll have to find out at church tonight. To find out why we are fasting, you'll have to listen to the sermons from Februrary 8, 2004, on the Times Square Church website.
February 29, 2004
what a night.
yesterday, i was exhausted and ready for bed at 9:00. I had taken my first bike ride of the year earlier that afternoon, and i never thought to ease into it. well, i thought about it, but when i ride, i like to go all out the whole time. i crossed the williamsburg bridge into manhattan, something i'd never done before. I'm not sure why i haven't until yesterday, since it is just a few blocks from my house. anyway,getting onto those bridges is just one long continuous, steep hill climb. once in manhattan, i rode along the east side highway through a long park that i never visited before. It was full of people playing soccer and baseball on large astroturf playing fields. (since the long sliver of a park is between the highway and the east river, i think it's probably hard to get maintenance equipment over the pedestrian bridges.) I rode the bike path down to the tip of manhattan, battery park, and continued around to the west side, familiar territory. i took the bike path there up the west side to perry street, where i stopped for a water break in a nice little park on the hudson river. there were tons of people out lounging or playing with kids and dogs. i snapped a few pics of the richard meier apartments across the street and turned back for home.
so for my first exercise of the year, i went pretty hard. admittedly, i stopped a lot to take pictures--like the brooklyn bridge, the parks, the WTC--but i was pooped once i got home. all i wanted to do was put my feet up and moan. and i did for a while, until my room mate sliced his finger open in his haste to dish up some much-anticipated ice cream.
accidents happen, this is life, but why must they be such an ordeal? our first problem was getting christina to stop saying, "oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" then we had to convince ryan that he shouldn't stitch it up himself. most importantly, we had to find out where the nearest hospital was. we had no clue. we were looking online, through the yellow pages, asking the operator, etc. we ended up grabbing an address in manhattan and walking a few blocks to hail a cab. well, our address was wrong, but the cabbie had a little book that gave us info on a close hospital.
and after about four long hours of chatting with christina, watching the corner television, trying to guess what the other people were in the ER for, ignoring the crazy cane-wielding voodoo lady, and dozing in poorly designed waiting room chairs, ryan came out with six stitches and we were able to return home.
so then it was about 4 am, and i was supposed to get up in like three hours for church... r i g h t . no, i called the choir hotline and told them i wouldn't be making the morning service.
what a night.
yesterday, i was exhausted and ready for bed at 9:00. I had taken my first bike ride of the year earlier that afternoon, and i never thought to ease into it. well, i thought about it, but when i ride, i like to go all out the whole time. i crossed the williamsburg bridge into manhattan, something i'd never done before. I'm not sure why i haven't until yesterday, since it is just a few blocks from my house. anyway,getting onto those bridges is just one long continuous, steep hill climb. once in manhattan, i rode along the east side highway through a long park that i never visited before. It was full of people playing soccer and baseball on large astroturf playing fields. (since the long sliver of a park is between the highway and the east river, i think it's probably hard to get maintenance equipment over the pedestrian bridges.) I rode the bike path down to the tip of manhattan, battery park, and continued around to the west side, familiar territory. i took the bike path there up the west side to perry street, where i stopped for a water break in a nice little park on the hudson river. there were tons of people out lounging or playing with kids and dogs. i snapped a few pics of the richard meier apartments across the street and turned back for home.
so for my first exercise of the year, i went pretty hard. admittedly, i stopped a lot to take pictures--like the brooklyn bridge, the parks, the WTC--but i was pooped once i got home. all i wanted to do was put my feet up and moan. and i did for a while, until my room mate sliced his finger open in his haste to dish up some much-anticipated ice cream.
accidents happen, this is life, but why must they be such an ordeal? our first problem was getting christina to stop saying, "oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" then we had to convince ryan that he shouldn't stitch it up himself. most importantly, we had to find out where the nearest hospital was. we had no clue. we were looking online, through the yellow pages, asking the operator, etc. we ended up grabbing an address in manhattan and walking a few blocks to hail a cab. well, our address was wrong, but the cabbie had a little book that gave us info on a close hospital.
and after about four long hours of chatting with christina, watching the corner television, trying to guess what the other people were in the ER for, ignoring the crazy cane-wielding voodoo lady, and dozing in poorly designed waiting room chairs, ryan came out with six stitches and we were able to return home.
so then it was about 4 am, and i was supposed to get up in like three hours for church... r i g h t . no, i called the choir hotline and told them i wouldn't be making the morning service.
what a night.
February 21, 2004
computers:
i got a new computer at work! it came thursday, but i waited to set it up until friday. my work load was pretty heavy on thursday, and i thought that setting it up would be a fun thing to do on friday. i needed to transfer all my documents from the (barely) older computer, so i brought in a crossover cable and just networked them together directly. it worked great.
my boss, steve, is taking my old computer to replace his relic; you have to give it a good kick to shut it up. it's so outdated that it's last upgrade was to windows 98! but it's still working, and since he's bringing in someone to update his database into a newer program that can print through a usb printer, he doesn't really need my old computer yet. so friday was a day of multitasking to the extreme. i thought that dual monitors would be nice, but i had two computers to work on. while one scanned, i cadded on the other. i was really having fun. but then i got sucked into some construction documents, and the old computer basically just played music.
and speaking of playing music at work, i'm kind of in a dilemma. well, it's not really a... anyway, the new computer came with five speakers and a subwoofer! do i really want to set it up? what i really want to do it keep my old speakers and bring the new set home for the computer in my bedroom. it would be nice for watching movies... but i don't know if they'd go for that. but do i really want all those speakers at work? maybe i can just set up a few of them.
and one last item. all this windows xp at work, and trying to network with ryan at home... i gave up and 'upgraded' to xp on my machine. at least i got the network to work, and now have 3dmax 6.0. ;)
i got a new computer at work! it came thursday, but i waited to set it up until friday. my work load was pretty heavy on thursday, and i thought that setting it up would be a fun thing to do on friday. i needed to transfer all my documents from the (barely) older computer, so i brought in a crossover cable and just networked them together directly. it worked great.
my boss, steve, is taking my old computer to replace his relic; you have to give it a good kick to shut it up. it's so outdated that it's last upgrade was to windows 98! but it's still working, and since he's bringing in someone to update his database into a newer program that can print through a usb printer, he doesn't really need my old computer yet. so friday was a day of multitasking to the extreme. i thought that dual monitors would be nice, but i had two computers to work on. while one scanned, i cadded on the other. i was really having fun. but then i got sucked into some construction documents, and the old computer basically just played music.
and speaking of playing music at work, i'm kind of in a dilemma. well, it's not really a... anyway, the new computer came with five speakers and a subwoofer! do i really want to set it up? what i really want to do it keep my old speakers and bring the new set home for the computer in my bedroom. it would be nice for watching movies... but i don't know if they'd go for that. but do i really want all those speakers at work? maybe i can just set up a few of them.
and one last item. all this windows xp at work, and trying to network with ryan at home... i gave up and 'upgraded' to xp on my machine. at least i got the network to work, and now have 3dmax 6.0. ;)
February 18, 2004
i just finished my first full week of choir. i must say that's it's pretty fun. i've gotten the 'sway' down, but i still worry that i'll open my eyes and find myself going in the wrong direction. thankfully, that hasn't happened yet, and i'll try not to dwell on it any more. since i've just started, i don't know the specials that we sing during the service, like during the offering, etc. i kind of chuckle as the music starts, because i don't have a clue as to when to sing, what notes to sing, or any of the words. i should be terrified since thousands of people are watching me. but i watch the director and listen to those around me, and pick it up easy enough. other than that, i was a little worried about how large a time commitment this is, but i think it might be okay. i mean, i really don't have much else to do outside of work. and it keeps me from watching too much tv.
another thing about choir is that i have to start wearing ties, since it is a requirement to be on stage. now, one of the big benefits of being an architect is that we don't generally wear ties. (maybe it's the one thing we do to try and make up for the low salary.) and then i go and join something that makes me wear them again. sheesh. so i'm still trying to determine what kind of ties i like. sunday i wore a brand new tie from barneys, and tonight i wore an old tie from salvation army. i guess i've already about run the gamut. and by the way, the barneys ties was from their warehouse sale, so i didn't pay $80; it was 75% off. can you do the math? no? well, that means it was only twenty dollars.
speaking of saving money: i know this is not the blog about being frugal--that's tracy's--but i just got a notice that since i signed up for direct deposit for my giant school loan repayment, they lowered my interest rate by a quarter percent. that's not much, but it means that it's down to 2.750%. plus, i've overpaying a little. thanks, Dad!
another thing about choir is that i have to start wearing ties, since it is a requirement to be on stage. now, one of the big benefits of being an architect is that we don't generally wear ties. (maybe it's the one thing we do to try and make up for the low salary.) and then i go and join something that makes me wear them again. sheesh. so i'm still trying to determine what kind of ties i like. sunday i wore a brand new tie from barneys, and tonight i wore an old tie from salvation army. i guess i've already about run the gamut. and by the way, the barneys ties was from their warehouse sale, so i didn't pay $80; it was 75% off. can you do the math? no? well, that means it was only twenty dollars.
speaking of saving money: i know this is not the blog about being frugal--that's tracy's--but i just got a notice that since i signed up for direct deposit for my giant school loan repayment, they lowered my interest rate by a quarter percent. that's not much, but it means that it's down to 2.750%. plus, i've overpaying a little. thanks, Dad!
February 3, 2004
i've eaten really well lately. first a lamb burger with spicy stuff (francilla or something) and then chicken in a red wine sauce with dill potato salad (thanks christina). food is so good. oh, plus i made chocolate chip cookies.... ahhhhhh
positive: MoMA Queens was good this weekend; finished a little side job; the aforementioned food; "you have rainbows in your hair! . . . oh, it's gone."
poopie: too much work today; fording the streams and ponds on the walk home from work in the cold; a nasty paper cut under my finger nail (oww!); you, for laughing at my spelling of poopy.
positive: MoMA Queens was good this weekend; finished a little side job; the aforementioned food; "you have rainbows in your hair! . . . oh, it's gone."
poopie: too much work today; fording the streams and ponds on the walk home from work in the cold; a nasty paper cut under my finger nail (oww!); you, for laughing at my spelling of poopy.
it was like hitting the lottery. friday night, to kill time before a church event at 7pm, i swung down to herald square to hit a few clothing shops. i took an unfamiliar subway line because of trian delays and ended up in the manhattan mall. i discovered a new store, but that's not the point of this. on the way, i saw a shop window sign advertising "no tax." i thought, "how so they get away with that?" then i saw huge banners all over macy's proclaiming tax free sales... wow! that little store's sign was legitimate. but, alas, i had to run off to my church event. (story note: the church event i tried to attend wasn't going on that night. either it wasn't happening because of a special youth rally, or it wasn't the weekly even that i thought it was. oops.)
anyway, i found out that night from christina that it had been tax free "week" and that the next day (saturday) was the last daythat clothes were to be tax free. i guess they do it a few times a year now. so saturday i went on a small shopping spree and bought nice jeans and a great button down shirt. not on sale, really, but i saved the 8.5% tax that i'd normally pay. does this qualify me as frugal?
anyway, i found out that night from christina that it had been tax free "week" and that the next day (saturday) was the last daythat clothes were to be tax free. i guess they do it a few times a year now. so saturday i went on a small shopping spree and bought nice jeans and a great button down shirt. not on sale, really, but i saved the 8.5% tax that i'd normally pay. does this qualify me as frugal?
January 27, 2004
the thermostat over on the warm side of the office says that it is 63 degrees in here, and the one next to it says it is 61 degrees. why doesn't it warm up in here? the heat is set for 75 and it appears to be in order. I am, of course, sitting on the opposite end by the bank of windows trying to type this with fingers that don't quite feel the keys like they're supposed to. the chill is setting in.
On the plus side, i have a warm lunch today. Ryan made manicotti last night for dinner, but i had already eaten grilled cheese and tomato soup... sooo good.
okay, i'm getting hungry now. and i'd better do some work now before i freeze up.
On the plus side, i have a warm lunch today. Ryan made manicotti last night for dinner, but i had already eaten grilled cheese and tomato soup... sooo good.
okay, i'm getting hungry now. and i'd better do some work now before i freeze up.
January 24, 2004
i'm suddenly busy. well, not quite yet, but my weekly schedule just got a lot of entries. i just received an acceptance letter to... college? no. but it felt like it. i got into the mass choir at church. I'm required to be there sunday morning, sunday evening, tuesday evening, and wednesday evening for rehearsal. plus special holiday rehearsals and outreach events. i passed the entrance interview and audition. three cheers for Josh. i think i'll go out tonight and party to celebrate. the fact that it's really a birthday party for a friend of a friend of a friend will not diminish my festive spirit.
wow, what a friday night that was. i should be a social planner.
so have you detected the sarcasm yet?
the funny thing about last night is... i liked it. i don't quite understand working all week and then wanting to do anything but go straight home on friday. i've always been like that. i never really felt up to friday night happy hour during school, and especially not going out somewhere else after that. give me some television and some home organizing.
so here is the evening: grocery shopping, and then going out for pizza. ridiculous, i know, but i really wanted a few slices. a little tv on tape from the other day, since nothing is on the tube friday nights. with that over, i tackled the fridge. no, not eating again; i switched the doors so now it opens into the room instead of into the corner. yeah, i still try to open the door the old way. next, i believe, i rebuilt part of my cubes so that it forms a night stand for my bed now that i've moved the stereo into the living room. then i relocated the bicycles in the living room and setting up some shelves for the new roommate with some found objects, wood and CMUs. finally, i took down my mini blinds and scrubbed them in the tub.
i'm sorry you had to miss the excitement. note the sarcasm returns.
so have you detected the sarcasm yet?
the funny thing about last night is... i liked it. i don't quite understand working all week and then wanting to do anything but go straight home on friday. i've always been like that. i never really felt up to friday night happy hour during school, and especially not going out somewhere else after that. give me some television and some home organizing.
so here is the evening: grocery shopping, and then going out for pizza. ridiculous, i know, but i really wanted a few slices. a little tv on tape from the other day, since nothing is on the tube friday nights. with that over, i tackled the fridge. no, not eating again; i switched the doors so now it opens into the room instead of into the corner. yeah, i still try to open the door the old way. next, i believe, i rebuilt part of my cubes so that it forms a night stand for my bed now that i've moved the stereo into the living room. then i relocated the bicycles in the living room and setting up some shelves for the new roommate with some found objects, wood and CMUs. finally, i took down my mini blinds and scrubbed them in the tub.
i'm sorry you had to miss the excitement. note the sarcasm returns.
December 22, 2003
It's my last day in New York before I leave for the Holiday, and I've managed to finish most of my Christmas shopping. One project didn't get finished (and I'm still deciding what to do about it), and I need to buy another thing once i get to Sheboygan, but otherwise I'm DONE.
Overall, I need to do better next year. A few things are arriving in the mail, and since I didn't order them soon enough, they'll probably arrive too late for the Christmas morning paper ripping. So sad. And I was thinking of doing Christmas cards, but they never happened either. I considered turning the idea into New Year's cards, but... too little too late, probably.
Overall, I need to do better next year. A few things are arriving in the mail, and since I didn't order them soon enough, they'll probably arrive too late for the Christmas morning paper ripping. So sad. And I was thinking of doing Christmas cards, but they never happened either. I considered turning the idea into New Year's cards, but... too little too late, probably.
December 17, 2003
December 7, 2003
I miss my 5 week Christmas vacation. Speaking of which... the movie of that title was on TV tonight, but it just isn't the same after they censor it. I guess I need the DVD version.
I hope I even have a Christmas vacation. The flights are pretty dang full already for the holidays. I guess I've always traveled much earlier, and have thus skipped the rush. Aww, there's three seats left; what am I worried about?
I hope I even have a Christmas vacation. The flights are pretty dang full already for the holidays. I guess I've always traveled much earlier, and have thus skipped the rush. Aww, there's three seats left; what am I worried about?
I almost bundled up to go outside for my fourth shoveling of the storm, but I decided that it can wait until tomorrow. The snow just keeps piling up; 14 inches is a lot of snow. Luckily, my Wisconsin roots have prepared me for this sort of thing.
That's where my quirky obsession with shoveling developed. I know that it's supposed to be a chore, but I look forward to it. Perhaps my parents tricked me into enjoying it; I remember jumping out of bed to get outside before my mom had shoveled all the good stuff without me.
When I moved into this apartment in June, I noticed right away that there was a shovel in our seedy little entryway. And with only three apts in the building, I knew that shoveling duties would be up to me. Nobody's going to balk at that.
So I'm a little off... get over it.
That's where my quirky obsession with shoveling developed. I know that it's supposed to be a chore, but I look forward to it. Perhaps my parents tricked me into enjoying it; I remember jumping out of bed to get outside before my mom had shoveled all the good stuff without me.
When I moved into this apartment in June, I noticed right away that there was a shovel in our seedy little entryway. And with only three apts in the building, I knew that shoveling duties would be up to me. Nobody's going to balk at that.
So I'm a little off... get over it.
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