Play My Cards Right

Last year I was running 24 mile long runs in preparation for the Pittsburgh Marathon.  This year I’m doing my best to keep a sick baby from crying and I’m lucky if I can get a few runs in a week.  I wouldn’t change a thing, but its amazing how much my life has changed in such a short time.

I’ve mentioned this before, but wanted to mention that the booklet is being released this month, and my contribution is indeed inside it.  Charissa is doing amazing work with this, work I’d love to do more of if I was’t so hung up and lazy.  I’m debating whether to read my contribution at the party, I’d definitely like to attend but we’ll see what happens.  The poster is of course the work of the incomparable Mike Budai.

I’m still thinking about my playthrough of Mass Effect 2 and at some point I’d like to do an epic wrap-up about it.  The game was phenomenal.  In the meantime, something for today:

We subscribe to the Sunday paper.  We have since we moved in together and Dawn already had a subscription.  There is nothing like a quiet sunday morning of going through the paper with a cup of coffee and a nice breakfast; it can be the restive moment you need to get ready for the week.  That said, we rarely read the paper, or at least rarely read it on Sunday.  We have the little one to thank for that.

So in our considering of what all we can get rid of to save money, time and our carbon footprint, the paper has come up a number of times.  At one point we got the local paper every day but could not live with the amount of newsprint we were accumulating and recycling every week.  We have stopped a number of magazine subscriptions and are purging our collections of magazines we felt worth keeping.  If we need them, most of their content is online and most likely we’ll never need them.  But getting rid of the paper is different.  Because we’re NYT subscribers we not only have access to their full archive but also their Adobe AIR based NYT Reader app that is actually quite pretty.  Of course there’s also the ad-supported iPhone app as well, should we need it in a tiny mobile format.  But both of these are missing something, or perhaps they’re adding too much?

I think the problem of trying to read the paper online is that its just too hyper. Sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, I can slowly make my way through each article, reading what I want and skimming the rest.  Dawn and I can discuss what we’re reading or point out something to look for.   We can do all this with our laptops, but we’ll also be doing a million other things, and we’ll most definitely not go further than the headlines on many articles we will choose to read if we’re looking at the paper version.  I’m not saying I read the paper end-to-end, but in its paper format, and in my Sunday state of mind, I can tolerate the slow progress through the medium.  On my laptop, I guarantee you that within a few moments of almost any article, some flashing light or link to click or url to type or status update to send will pull me away from the paper and likely never bring me back.

The printer paper model is obsolete and wasteful, and I’ll be glad to see it go, but I also can’t say what’s replacing it is better.

I haven’t really had much to say lately as we’ve been super busy rearranging the house, but I just want to give a shout out to the purge.  Today we managed to get rid of 15 years worth of accumulated detritus, all of which had some sentimental value, or at least some notion of usefulness.  Now if I could just let go of a few hundred more cds, records, dvds and vhs.

Tonight we are officially in a room that is not connected to Max’s.  We moved our bedrooms downstairs when we got a new bed this weekend and out upstairs rooms were only separated by an open wall.  Hopefully now we won’t jump at every stir but I’m sure I’ll wake up terrified when I haven’t heard him for a while.

Last weekend we had the good fortune to buy a new bed.  We ended up buying from The OG Mattress Factory because their beds seem to be of decent enough quality, they rate very high in Consumer Reports, and best of all their employees don’t work on commission.

I will never understand how salespeople can live with themselves when you’re trying to buy something that is extremely expensive and they’re doing everything they can to squeeze as much out of you as possible.  I’ve left car purchases because of it, and I have an extremely hard time conceiving of buying a house without being extremely careful about it.  I know its not everyone, but I’ve seen it enough that I just want to stay away completely.

I suppose making it seem like no big deal is all part of the plan, but jesus guy, I’m about to spend tens of thousands of dollars of my hard earned cash.  Can you at least pretend that this is a significant thing in my life?

Max is totally high-fiving me these days and I tried to catch it on video but this one didn’t work out so well. Still, I’ve been looking for a video fallback tool that will let me post a video that is compatible across all browsers. Video for Everybody got me started and linked me to this. Let’s check it out.

Hmm, formatting is a bit effed, but it seems to be working.

We decided we needed to get out of the house today, and after sliding down the street when I tried to turn the car around in our spot, quickly changed our minds.  We needed some groceries though, so we decided that I would go out on my own, fill up the car and get some groceries.  I knew it would be difficult but I’ve never been on a road that was so bad I really regretted my choice.

It’s pretty insane that we’re two days away from the end of the snowfall and most of the streets in my neighborhood are literally covered in feet of snow.  I’ve never seen anything like it.  In Hazleton when I was a kid, the plows ran through the night and the perfect tiny little grid of Hazleton is nothing compared to the incomprehensibly bizarre layout of Pittsburgh, I simply can not believe it is still not safe to leave my house in a car.

It has actually made me reconsider the possibility of purchasing a truck or SUV.  Bonus:  Work is closed for two days!

The snow has really made it apparent that being a parent is a scary and demanding job.  My parking space is more clear of snow than the street its parked on and whether or not I can get out tomorrow is really in question, which then brings up the question of emergencies, what happens with Dawn and Max at home while I’m at work, what if someone gets sick and I can’t get to them or they me.  It’s tough.

It’s been three weeks since I’ve had any serious physical workout and I really miss it.  I got word from my doctor that I can start up again when I feel like it, but even though most of my coughing and other symptoms are mostly gone I’ve developed some serious pain that’s so deep in my chest it feels like its in my back.  I tried not to get too hypochondriacal about it but I’ve been seeing all kinds of potential reasons.  My doctor gave me some more antibiotics and an inhaler to help out. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this sick, and it’s really thrown me off. Here’s hoping it all ends soon.

There are very few things that truly make my blood boil, and right now I’d like to share one of them with you:

DRUG REPS GET THE HELL OUT OF MY DOCTOR’S OFFICE

I know there are benefits to having reps drop off samples and crap, but in our overmedicated world, a rep walking into the office and being sent right back to see the doctor while the waiting room is filled with sick people is just wrong.   I’ll grant that it was nice to get a free antibiotic when I was diagnosed with pneumonia- my prescription was incredibly expensive; but there was also no generic.  I generally trust my doctor, but one has to at least wonder what exactly was behind the decision in prescribing me an antibiotic for which there is no generic option when surely there are plenty on the market.

At the very least, make the chatty outgoing rep sit with the rest of us for a while.  Just pretend we’re as important to you as they are.

Turns out I have it.  Looking back over the last two weeks I consider that I probably done a few things differently:

1) Not ridden my bike back home when I knew I was sick.

2) Not run to catch the bus last week, probably not ride the bus at all.

I’m on antibiotics now, hopefully this mess will finally come to a close.

Dawn and I dropped Max off with his grandma and headed out into the (south) hills.  Living in the city, we’re fortunate to be able visit restaurants and stores that either live in nice old storefronts or even their own buildings.   I haven’t fully formulated why yet, but I can not stand visiting restaurants in mini-malls, even if they’re pretty good.  Actually I have a few good ideas:  I moved to the city to live in the city, and I don’t really enjoy being in the suburbs.  Pittsburgh’s suburbs in particular seem so inhospitable to me.  There’s really no where to safely walk or bike, and as a result everyone drives everywhere.  Minimalls and “village” style shopping centers are everywhere, but they are so ugly.  All neon and backlight signage, parking lots, and overlit facades.

I’ve joked with my friends about how malls and big box stores are the shantytowns of the future, and to a degree I wonder if there isn’t some truth to that- what happens when those stores go out of business or decide its not profitable to have five giant shopping centers surrounding a dying city.  The thing is that even though a lot of minimalls are giving up their storefronts to pawn shops and check cashing fronts, there are also a number of genuinely good places to eat popping up in these otherwise barren symbols of lost prosperity.

Happily, Cucina Mendoza was one of them.   When we arrived it looked like so many storefront ethnic eateries- plastic chairs, fluorescent lighting, ugly tile floor.  Once we were seated we realized that they had set up a pretty nice bar, and our server quickly brought out homemade tortilla chips and fresh, delicious salsa.  When it comes to Mexican food, I really could care less about “authenticity.”  Authenticity at this point usually means strict adherence to old ideas that are no longer even relevant to the culture they’re derived- food for tourists.  I do however love a nice plate of beans and rice, some fresh salsa and something to put in a couple warm tortillas.  They got it good.

I ordered the “Reboz0″- a plate of meat, pork, chorizo, peppers, onions, mushrooms and pineapple with a generous helping of melted chihuahua cheese on top.  It was served with a few flour tortillas and an incredibly spicy salsa.  The inclusion of fresh vegetables and pineapples(!) was new to me as far as mexican goes and the whole dish was delicious. Dawn got some enchiladas and steak, which were also served with beans and another generous helping of fresh vegetables.

Afterwards we headed across the hills to another suburban ruin- Lebanon Church Road and the tusk of the Century III mall.  Delicious ice cream at Handel’s was had and at that point, we were ready to see our kid.  All in all, a nice, low key night out.

A breed I would gladly own, if I could.

Webcam chat at Ustream

I sometimes roll out the guitar, although these days it’s mostly to keep Max occupied.  It is kind of crazy how long I’ve been noodling around and how little I’ve learned.  All it would have taken was some concentration, maybe some structure, and I may have gotten a bit better.  Granted that when I was playing routinely and playing with people, I picked up a lot from the talented folks around me, but I don’t think I ever really took the time to build on it, or I let it fall away as I directed my life away from creating music.

Looking back, I think I spent a lot of time obscuring my lack of talent by using an effects pedals (although not nearly as many as most people, I do have some sense of pride in squeezing as much as I could out of my crappy delay).  We were able to get some pretty sweet sounds going, but I think I should have had some more fundamentals.  Back in the day we’d argue till morning about the value of traditional musical education versus “pure” expression of creativity and I still believe that each has its place, however in retrospect a lot of those types of music look more to me like youthful exuberance and naivete both on behalf of the listener and the performer.  Again, they have their place too.  The bottom line is when I pick up an acoustic guitar I really wish I could do more with it.  Maybe when I get some time I can do something about it, but probably not.

Being that I am slowly getting over the flu and Dawn and Max may well be on the precipice of infection, we decided to treat ourselves to some downright terrible food this evening.  And by treat ourselves I mean “cause bodily harm through eating this food.”

First up: BEER BRATS

As we obviously weren’t messing around the above Bob Evan’s Beer Brats are simmering in Pennsylvania’s Yuengling Genuine Draft with 1/4 stick of butter and a 1/4 of an onion- as per Chef Flay’s instruction.

Next up, the old secret recipe passed down through Dawn’s family for millenia:

PUKE DIP

Why yes, that is a can of Hormel chili mixed with a half cube of Velveeta.

If you enjoy dipping salty tortilla chips into a creamy, chunky salt-flavored faux-meat and cheese dip, this is most definitely your thing.  Personally I prefer a jar of Newman’s Own Black Bean and Corn mixed with the Velveeta, just for the political incorrectness of it all, but hey that’s just me.  Bon Appetit!

I consider myself a pretty lucky individual- although I’ve had my fair share of health problems I generally don’t get very sick.  When I do, it usually passes through me in a day or so and the symptoms are rarely severe.  Not this time unfortunately.

A few nights ago I fell asleep on the couch after we put Max to bed and when I woke up I was shivering like crazy.  I bundled up and crawled into bed, assuming that my sleep had chilled me a bit and that was that.  The next day I went to work and everything seemed fine until I noticed on my bike ride home that my arms were freezing.  It was cold out so I didn’t think too much of it, but by the time I got home I was lightheaded and feverish, and I’ve had a fever in the 100’s ever since. 

My body temperature generally hovers around 97.5, so when I clocked 102.5 on Wednesday night, I knew I was in for it.  So here I am, day three of what appears to be the flu.  I missed out on H1N1 shots because they were finally issued yesterday.  Usually being sick is pretty fun, if I’m bed-ridden, I can just relax, read, play games, enjoy my downtime; but everything’s changed.  I’m now stuck in bed praying that I don’t get Dawn and Max sick, and what little time I get to spend with him is gone.  It is so hard not to pick it up, today I spent quite a bit of time talking to him from across the room.   He’s only four months old and just got his second round of shots.  The last thing I’d want for him is to get the flu.  Terrifying.  So I’m doing my best to stay out of Dawn’s way and just sit in bed, switching from too hot to too cold in a matter of minutes, changing the sheets and my clothes every so often due to the sweat pouring off of me.  I hope its over soon.