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Independence Day Weekend

The downside of the consulting assignment I'll be doing over the next three months is that I've had to agree to work some kind of odd days, like July 2nd, 3rd & 4th for instance. I've consoled myself by thinking that the truly American thing to do to celebrate the birth of our country isn't with fireworks and picnics, but with good, honest, hard work; dedicating the day to taking one more small step up our country's meritocratic ladder. Of course, that begins to fade a bit after the 7th straight hour sitting like this:

Luckily, I've found a few ways to lessen the disappointment of missing the holiday while some people are caravanting around the wilds of Maine. First, I've decided that, regardless of whether people written their names on the packaging, I am entitled to as many Jello snackpacks as I can find in the company fridge. The one's that specifically write "Do Not Eat" on the package lose their Jello first. And second, I've temporarily lifted all bans on the amount of coffee I'm allowed to drink in a day. This is especially nice since, as I'm all alone in the office and all, I can stick a whole office coffee dispenser thing in the fridge to make a nice, big batch of iced coffee.

Of course, none of that changes the fact that I'll be lifting off the runway at Logan on my way for another week in Houston just as the Pops start playing. Luckily, it isn't suppose to top 95 degrees there this week.

My Four Days of Unemployment - Day Four

My last day of unemployment was a good one. Below you'll see the result of the day's most difficult decision: Should I get a side order of bacon?

More Fenway

The view of Boston over the right field wall...

...and of Fenway from the same spot.

Pesky Pole among threatening clouds. There is actually a guy stationed next to the pole after games specifically to stop people from approaching the Pole with markers to sign their names.

502 Feet?

My Four Days of Unemployment - Day Three

Day three of my unemployment was spent at Fenway, watching the Sox drop the Indians 5-2, courtesy of back-to-back 8th inning home runs from Doug Miribelli and Mark Bellhorn. The tickets were out in the bleachers, which are really pretty decent seats. Unless you are willing to plop down some serious cash for Field Box or Loge seats, the bleachers are really the place to go at Fenway. Grandstand & LF Box seats (Boxes 86-88 excepted) generally aren't worth the price since you never know which way the seats will be facing (some face center field, believe it or not) or what might be in your way.

Jason Varitek warms up Mike Timlin above.

And the most important picture.

Ominous Clouds

Nail

At The Squeling Pig in Mission Hill
Boston, MA

My Four Days of Unemployment - Day Two

I had originally planned on posting something each day during my four days of unemployment between my full-time job ending (June 24) and my consulting assignment starting, since I'd obviously have some time on my hands and had nothing more planned than strolling around Boston looking for Wi-Fi hotspots. Sadly, I was so into the whole doing nothing business on day one that I neglected to make a post, oops. Anyway, the highlight of the day was just missing a run in with the Cleveland Indian's Kevin Millwood at the bar in the Radisson. The gentlemen at the bar insisted that he was a very nice guy.

So today, I decided to take it up a notch and throw a little culture into Day 2. I stopped at the Christian Science Mapparium, since walking inside a giant stained-glass globe seemed like it might be fun and I've walked by the building about 700 times in the last 8 years without going in. Sadly, they didn't allow photography inside the Maparium, so you'll just have to take my word that, while pretty, it wasn't exactly awe inspiring. On the way out, the tour guide allowed each of us to whisper any "thoughts or encouragement" to the world, to which I'm sure the most common response is to lean in towards Iceland and gently whisper, "this wasn't worth six bucks."

Another little exhibit they had there was the "Hall of Ideas," which was basically a light display flashing inspiring quotes on the walls and in a fountain like so:

Other than that, it was basically a bunch of Mary Baker Eddy and/or Christian Science Monitor propaganda - they are both really great, according to the museum. My favorite part of the whole thing were these ceiling lamps:

After that I went to play pool for two hours and had a couple Dunkin' Donuts iced coffees; not much of a cultural event. But then I stopped by the Boston Public Library to peek at the Boston Ink exhibit about the Boston Society of Printers' history. It was both free and interesting, I learned some things about the history of the Western Alphabet that I'm sure can go right onto my resume.

That was it for Day Two, other than to report that I got a haircut today and, lets just say that in the future if the barber is an ex-military man I'll refrain from insisting that I want my hair "really, really short." Also, we'll be heading to a little barbecue later on. I've heard reports that the steaks, "really do look good," so I'm looking forward to that.

Stay tuned for tomorrow, I'll be dropping by the Sox v. Indians afternoon game at Fenway.

Asta La Vista Houston

Well, the last full day of Houston living is upon us. One of the odder phases of moving is always the use-up-what's-left-in-the-fridge type meals towards the last days. To that end, here's a look at my Friday lunch, a big plate full of obscure beans that Sara bought (obviously) and a martini to help empty out the booze cabinet:

Later on that night, with the beans thankfully gone and with the tonic water sadly gone as well, we concocted the lime martini, which Sara refused to drink but I actually thought wasn't half bad:

After the lime martini was done, we were pretty much out of options. We decided that the pasta and olive oil martini or the orange popsicle martini, while tempting, might be more of a sign of a problem than efficient use of cabinet contents. So we just called it a night, dignity intact.

Throwback Night

Sara and I are listening to the radio broadcast of the Sox v. Indians game right now, kind of a taste of the 50's. Except that we're picking it up online courtesy of mlb.com (for a modest fee), they didn't do that in their poodle skirts.

Update: And the Sox tie the game in the 8th, to the chagrin of the Indian's broadcast team!

Summer of Frequent Flyer Miles

Well, the first day of summer is finally here and I've decided to dub this the Summer of Frequent Flyer Miles. My tenative schedule, courtesy of a consulting arrangement I've worked out with my soon to be ex-employer, between the Summer Solstice and the Autumnal Equinox goes a little like this:

Fly to Boston; Fly to Houston; Fly to Boston; Drive to Chicago; Fly to Houston; Fly to Chicago; Fly to Houston; Fly to Chicago; Fly to Boston; Fly to Chicago; Fly to Houston; Fly to Chicago; Fly to Houston; Fly to Chicago

Then somewhere in there I've got to find a new job in Chicago.

On the up side, I expect that they'll be letting me fly the plane starting around mid-September, so that'll be fun.

Blue Paddle

Last week we went a-lookin' for some of the excellent St. Arnold Summer Pilsner. Sadly, we couldn't find any, so we sampled some Blue Paddle, another Pilsner brewed by New Belgium Brewing out in Colorado. They're probably better known for there Fat Tire beer, but I liked the pilsner quite a bit more.

Martini & Manhattan

The one good part about moving (again)...cleaning out the liquor cabinet...