Stardate 60581.94 - Hot Visit to the Park

Today was hot! I ran for about 30 minutes this morning, but it was quite hot and unpleasant. Here is Judy watching Loren while I was probably off reading e-mail (I have to stop reading the work stuff!).

My Mom went into work to just say goodbye and close out her employment and by the time she came home at lunch she was officially retired! Here she is, celebrating with Loren.


We celebrated by going to the park, and Aidan fed the ducks.


Then we hit the playground for a little while, but the heat was pretty bad so we headed for the "DQ" for dessert.


Verona, VA

Stardate 60580.59 - Family Reunion

We are currently on vacation...

On Sunday we had a family reunion in Verona. The attendance was very light (most people came Saturday and spent the night - only 5 people drove in on Sunday).

We spent most of the time on the screened-in porch*, and Loren got to see her cousin Zach (and he was very happy to see her).

We also spent a little time down at the river, but the heat and humidity was pretty bad even in the shade. Loren and Cheryl played on a blanket while Zach swam (walked) in the river (it was pretty low).

There is nothing like kicking back and gazing up at the trees and not thinking about work.


Today is my Mom's last day at work. She is officially retired as of tomorrow. We are all going to the party Tuesday night.

Once again, blogger will not upload pictures. I am going to try and perhaps download picasa or something else to force the upload, because I am really losing my patience with blogger. Is anyone else finding it more and more difficult to get pictures uploaded, or is it just me?

*Cheryl said that "screened-in porch" makes no sense because there wouldn't be a "screened-out" porch. Since she is a Yankee, I have to ask my audience, is it a US southern thing to say "Screened-In Porch" instead of "Screened Porch" or is it just me and my family that say "Screened-In Porch"?

Verona, VA

Supplemental - Vacation is Rolling

Just a quick picture-less post to let everyone know we arrived at my Mom's Saturday evening without incident and had a great, albeit lightly attended, family Orrock reunion today (Sunday). I'll post some pictures tomorrow, but I'm hastily trying to get through e-mails and blogs from the past 2 days so that I can get to bed and catch up on some sleep.


OK, I lied. I had to post a picture of Loren.

Verona, VA

Stardate 60573.80 - Vacation Begins!

Our Vacation has now begun!

Prelude

Wednesday night I had dinner with John (he was in town for the same business meeting Wednesday evening). Thursday I went out with the old gang from my first job after college.

We had a few beers and chatted about what was new as well as rehashing all the same old stories - they just never get old! Then Friday Cheryl and Loren came down on the train and Jen picked them up (I was working). After showing Loren off a little at the office, then we decided to call it a day and split.

Chapter 1

After work was done on Friday, Cheryl, Loren, me, Jen, Andy, Trent, Jenny, and Sheldon all had dinner together at Picante (Cheryl's favorite restaurant in the metro-DC area).


Afterwards Andy and Jen went home and we went back to Trent and Jenny's to spend the night. Loren and Sheldon entertained us by getting all spun up playing together (all new toys for Loren!) and we finally got Loren down into the crib (for the second time) around 9:45. Now Cheryl and I are in bed as I am typing this (she is reading a book - we are quite the party animals at 10:06PM!).

Tomorrow we have lunch with some friends of Cheryl's from her Demography Master's program days, and then we are off to my Mom's place for a week of relaxing vacation! Cheryl might even get to take a nap on a day or two.

Ashburn, VA

Stardate 60569.68 - Demand Grows

The demand for Jessica Stover's movie continues to grow. Over 220 people have stated that they want the premier in their city, and regardless of where it is will purchase a ticket to attend the movie when it comes out. Metroblogging in LA just wrote a story about it.

If you can get more friends and family to click on demand it! that would be great!

If you don't know what I am talking about, click here to see my original post.

Thanks!!

Herndon, VA

Stardate 60569.51 - Embassy Suites

Such a simple idea, but the great ones usually are. Instead of a cramped, tight hotel room with a chair crammed into one corner why not provide a suite? Two rooms, separated by a door, with seating for 5+ in the living area and a separate bed room with its own TV and window - such great space!

I usually have awful things to say when I travel, but I have to tell you that the Embassy Suites hotel line (a Hilton property) is rapidly becoming my favorite place to stay. The one near our office in Herndon is fantastic and I have always had a pleasant stay. The location is close to Dulles Airport, and the access/toll road is about 30 seconds away. Plus Herndon is just to the north, providing a wide selection of places to eat or purchase groceries. The drive into DC isn't even that bad from out here, as long as you don't go during rush hour.

I'm getting together tonight with some former co-workers from my time as a Government employee (more than 10 years ago!). I think I'll bring my camera and take some shots, although I don't have my camera download cable with me. May have to ask Cheryl to bring it down on the train tomorrow.

Herndon, VA

Stardate 60567.30 - Sailing Again

Tuesday afternoon I prepped for my trip and also managed to get out sailing for a little while. The tides and winds were favorable so we went all the way from North Cove to the USS Intrepid and back.Again, it was just Julian and me, so I got a lot of time on the helm, although I've got to get better at anticipaing those damn accidental jibs. We did sail wing-on-wing for a lot of the up-river trip, so that was cool.





McLean, VA

Stardate 60567.20 - Travel

I'm back in Virginia after a 4 hour 10 minute drive down from Manhattan this morning. Unlike John's travel experience, my trip went pretty well. Some heavy traffic early on the NJ Turnpike but it thinned out by Exit 4 or so. I made one brief stop for gas in NJ, but otherwise didn't stop. Next time I think I'm going to have to bring food and drink, however. I ate a power bar at about 5:30 AM and I was pretty hungry and thirsty by the time I go to my office at 10:25 PM.

Let's hope my good travel karma holds and all is well when I check into the hotel tonight!

McLean, VA

Stardate 60558.53 - Loren and Laundry

Here is a video of Loren helping with laundry Sunday night. It is 60 seconds long, and a little large, so hopefully all of my 40+ regular readers have high-speed Internet. I would have trimmed it down, but Cheryl thought the entire movie was cute and we both liked it better than any of the pictures I took during the helping.



Yes, it finally passed Google's verification process and is now available in all its high-resolution glory for you to watch!!

NYC

Stardate 60564.17 - Vacation, Video, and Food

I have not posted anything for a couple of days because I shot a really cute video of Loren helping Cheryl fold laundry on Sunday and have been waiting for Google Video to "verify" it. "But videos are approved instantly on Google!" you may be thinking. That statement is only correct for videos less than 100M. Since mine was 60 seconds long it is 118M and I had to use their stand-alone uploader and not the web interface. So I am in verification hell, waiting for some drone at Google to watch the video and decide it is not porn or copyrighted.


In the meantime, I'll talk briefly about Sunday. We were originally scheduled to go out on the NYHRC Yacht on Sunday with two friends for a dinner cruise. But it was raining with thunder and lightning early Sunday evening and the thought of being tossed about on the East River while being crammed below decks on this yacht was not appealing to most in the group, so we aborted. Instead we went to dinner at les enfants terribles at Canal and Ludlow streets in the East Village.

The food was good, although the portions were small. They did fill the bread basket an extra time for us. The mixed drinks were outstanding. The dessert was also very good. We sat under an awning on a small deck while it rained and it made for a pleasant meal. Thumbs up. Cheryl did have an issue with her steak being too rare and had to send it back for a few more minutes of cooking, but then it was fantastic.

Cheryl may post more specifics in a comment.

And stand by for this great video - if it is ever verified.

And now, a rant.

Can blogger suck any more? I tried 10 times to post a comment yesterday morning and it kept timing out. Just now I have tried 5 times to post a picture to this post and it keeps timing out.

Blogger - You suck. I'm tired of all these issues, and until you get your crap together I am no longer recommending you to any friends who ask me what blogging software/site they should use. I have pimped for you for the last time. If you want my loyalty, then fix your damn problems. If you want to start charging people I have no problem with that - as long as the shit works. But I am getting sick and tired of trying to post a comment or make a template change or post a picture and having it time out. You suck.

P.S. It is more than 24 hours later and I finally got the picture to load.

NYC

Stardate 60558.97 - Pain in the Head

I occasionally get a sinus headache which only Tylenol Sinus can cure (or the generic version of Tylenol Sinus). Aspirin, motrin, Advil - nothing else works at all. Caffeine can sometime stave it off, but it is a dangerous tightrope because it can also make it worse. (To be fair, Sudafed Sinus contains the same medicines and may also work, I've just always stuck with Tyenol since first discovering that it cures the pain).

The headaches are not as bad as a migraine, but they are fairly debilitating. They seem to happen more often when there are wide temperature swings, or humidity swings, within a short period of time. They are much more common in the fall or spring, but I started to get one yesterday. After trying to avoid taking anything (because I knew we were out and I'd have to go to the store) I finally went out to purchase some.

Well - the bastards on methamphetamine have now spoiled it for everyone.

Tylenol sinus contains two medicines: pseudoephedrin and acetaminophen. The issue is that pseudoephedrin is used to illegally manufacture methamphetamine. Many states (to include New York, very recently as I discovered yesterday when I went into CVS) have moved all products containing pseudoephedrin to behind the counter. In Oregon, you actually have to have a prescription. That is right - Sudafed requires a prescription in Oregon.

Now, because there is not a lot of room behind the counter at places like CVS and Duane Reade (after all, they have to keep the cancer sticks back there), they have just stopped carrying many items with pseudoephedrin. And then came the kicker from an employee at Eckard - Tylenol has stopped making my product.

That is right - the one and only medication that can stop these headaches is no longer being make because of the meth problems across the country (and across the world).

Great.

Now, according to Tylenol's web site, they do have a sinus daytime and sinus nighttime that appears to be the replacement products, but I've heard they may also go away.

The possibly good news is that there is a replacement: Phenylephrine. Never heard of it? It is being phased in as a replacement to pseudoephedrin. Will it work for me? I don't know yet.

After my disastrous attempt to find Tylenol Sinus (and I don't want all the extra medicine in the versions for people with allergies or a cold - I just need the headache stuff), Cheryl took pity on me and went out to find what the deal was. She had a chat with a pharmacist at a nearby drug store and got two separate medicines that when combined, make up what was in the old Tylenol Sinus product (some Sudafed product for the pseudoephedrin and generic acetaminophen).

She also purchased the new Phenylephrine product, but I didn't want to risk taking it and have it not work since we were going out last night. But the next time - I'll give it a try.

So thanks a lot, meth fiends, for screwing it up for everyone else.

NYC

Stardate 60554.18 - Underworld: Evolution

I admit it. I'm hot for Kate Beckinsale. She's on my list, after all. How could you not appreciate her in this role? :-)

I watched Underworld:Evolution today (2006), the sequel to 2003's Underworld. The first movie was better than I expected, and very entertaining. High art? No. But entertaining - good action, good special effects, and enough of a twisty plot to keep me entertained. The second movie, while less so, was still entertaining. And I could watch Kate all day in this outfit. I give it a thumbs up.

It picks up right where Underworld left off - almost to the minute. So if you haven't seen Underworld in some time, I recommend you re-watch it before seeing this one. I had forgotten some of the minor plot points, although the movie catches you up pretty quickly.

NYC

Stardate 60553.44 - A Little Closer to Home

I knew that my Mom had to travel to Israel a lot over the past year or two for her work, but I didn't put it together until today that she had actually been in places currently being hit by missles. And had been there as recently as early this month.

During her trips she stayed in Nazareth (where 2 children were recently killed), stayed in Haifa (and often went there to eat), and traveled to Tiberius a couple of times for dinner as well. The plant she would go to is 30 miles from Haifa and 20 miles from Tiberius.

She has talked to her collegue there and he and his family are still fine, but it brought the entire situation a little closer to home for me to think that my Mom could have been over there when all this broke out. She is about to retire from work and as I mentioned her last trip over there just ended early this month.

NYC

Stardate 60550.62 - Pain in the Leg

As I mentioned in a previous post, I drove to Eatontown yesterday and the day before for meetings. I didn't realize that driving a stick-shift in 1.5 solid hours of stop-and-go traffic would take a toll on my legs, but holy crap! Last night I was in quite a lot of pain. My hamstrings were killing me!

After tossing and turning all night, I took some medicine this morning and now the pain is gone (at least until the medicine wears off). But I couldn't believe the level of pain. Pretty high.

I don't know if the fact that I drive so little these days had anything to do with it, or if that much time working the pedals would have done this no matter what my driving frequency.

Oh, and in case you cannot tell, this picture is not of my legs.

NYC

Stardate 60548.63 - Interesting Decision

While coming back from NJ yesterday evening, I pulled into the garage where we keep the car and a large SUV was blocking the way in. The attendant ran over to me, and I asked him if I could fit between the car and the wall. He said something like, "No, baby hurt, back up!" So I backed up onto the street (it is actually not a very busy street) with his assistance.

The other car pulled out shortly and I pulled in. The attendant told me that the baby had fallen and hurt itself and was bleeding from the head and that he "had to move 10 cars to get their car out" for them.

Pause. Rewind.

So the baby fell either at home or in the garage and rather than:

1. Calling 911 for an ambulance
2. Stepping outside and hailing a taxi

the parents decided to go with the much slower option of waiting for their car to be retrieved from the garage so they could drive the child to the hospital themselves. This is especially stupid if the child was injured at home and they actually called down to the garage to get the car brought out - that means that they wasted at a minimum 10 minutes to get to the garage and wait for 10 cars to be moved so theirs could be brought down (the garage recommends calling 30 minutes before you need your car just for this very reason).

If it was truly bad, options #1 and #2 would seem to be much faster.

I just don't understand.

NYC

Stardate 60547.59 - Traffic, Traffic, Traffic

I had to go to our Eatontown office yesterday and today to work on a proposal. It only took me about 1 hour 15 minutes to get out to that office on Tuesday, and it only took about 1 hour 5 minutes to get here today. The return trip yesterday, however, was brutal. I departed Eatontown at 4:15 PM and did not arrive back at my apartment until 7:15. Three hours. For the math-challenged, that was one hour 45 minutes longer than the trip out.

There was an accident on the Gardenstate that slowed me down for a brief time, but the tollbooth on the Turnpike where the spur breaks off to go to the Lincoln Tunnel was out of control! Not going to the tunnel, but continuing North. It was backed up from the toll booth for miles and miles.

Then I ran into the "normal" Lincoln Tunnel back-up, but it was far from normal. At one point, I sat completely still for 20 minutes. I listened to an entire hour of NPR while waiting to get through the tunnel. It was awful.

But I did get home in time to take over with Loren while Cheryl went out for a girl's night out with one of her mommy groups. Loren was a little grumpy after she left (the teething thing is bothering her a bit, and she really doesn't like Mommy to leave her), but I managed to get her to go to sleep in my arms and then I transferred her to the crib around 8:45. That gave me time to watch Sunday's episode of Deadwood and then get some e-mail answered before Cheryl got back a little after 10PM.

Eatontown, NJ

Stardate 60544.97 - Sailing on a Monday Afternoon

My Monday afternoon was clear so I played hooky from work and went sailing for a few hours. Since I have some travel this week I won't have any problem making up the hours, and I kept my cell with me just in case. But I received no messages or calls all afternoon.

It was a very hot day, but once on the water the breeze was nice. It was just me and Julian, the instructor I had during the class. I had a great time! It was like having a private lesson. I got to helm most of the time, and we actually traveled around a bit, unlike Saturday when we pretty much just went back and forth across the Hudson in front of North Cove. I may try to get out for a few hours next week before our vacation starts.
Eatontown, NJ

Stardate 60542.43 - Quick Catch Up

After sailing Saturday I caught the last Ferry over to Highlands and caught up with Cheryl and Loren. We spent the night in her Grandmother's Condo and on Sunday we went to the beach for a couple of hours after church. While I had the camera we ended up not taking any pictures. Loren was pretty cranky and ended up napping for about an hour on the blanket under the umbrella. We then came on home to get ready for what is starting to shape up to be a pretty busy week. I may have to go to our Eatontown office all day Tuesday and may have to go to Boston for a couple of days this week as well. So I may have some really great blog entries by the end of the week, depending on how much trouble I have on these trips.

Sorry, no picture today!

NYC

Supplemental - Loren's Second Swim Class

Because no one grows tired of seeing my white chest and hairy ape arms, here are a couple of quick pictures from Loren's swim class. In the first, she demonstrates that she knows how to grab onto the wall and pull herself up out of the water. In the second, she is going underwater for a hand-off between me and one of the teachers. She really does have a great time at this class!



NYC

Stardate 60537.84 - First Official Sail

Today I went sailing as a member of the Manhattan Sailing Club for the first time as part of their Fleet Captain program where you sign up for a time slot and go out with a skipper from the club. When I signed up I asked for Linda's boat (#10) on Saturday starting at noon (Linda is the membership committee head). There was one other guy (Ben) from the Monday night membership meeting who was also on my boat.

We had a really good time although there was a little rain at about 1515 and we had to head in early. But we were sill out there for about 3 hours so that was pretty cool.

Small Disclaimer - this is not me on boat #10. This is a picture from the class graduation party that I took in late June, but it is the same #10 boat that I was out on today.

NYC

Stardate 60535.49 - New Member Party

Tonight we got our usual sitter and went to the Manhattan Sailing Club's new member party on the Willy Wall. They have a new launch (above) named the "Admiral's Launch". It has twice the capacity of Lil' Toot and is a smoother ride.


The views were spectacular, as usual, and we got the night view this time since we were without Loren and could stay out later.


I took some really bad pictures with my crappy mobile phone camera, but I've included them anyway. Next time we'll take the real camera out again (the pictures from my graduation party turned out really good).


Tomorrow Cheryl and Loren are off to the beach in the afternoon and I have my first time out as crew on a club sail. The head of the Membership Committee is the skipper. If you see boat #10 out in NY harbor tomorrow give me a wave!

:-)

NYC

Supplemental - WWIII

I hate to follow up a cute post of Loren with something completely depressing, but is anyone watching the news these days? We seem to be in the middle of World War III. Between the Israeli developments, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, North Korea going nuclear and test firing missiles, or the fact that China and Russia are both not supportive of us or our allies - the world is in trouble here, and I don't see an answer from the Democrats or the Republicans. Iran announced that Israel's attacks are an attack on Islam and warned Israel against extending its offensive to Syria, saying such a move would be regarded as an attack on the whole Islamic world and would be met with a "crushing response." Is anyone else starting to get worried about the state of things?

The world is going to hell in a handbasket and we seem to be asleep at the switch.

NYC

Stardate 60533.89 - Loren Crawling

Loren has figured out that she can find people by crawling after them. I didn't get her as she took off after Cheryl the first time, but I grabbed the camera and shot this right after I moved her so she could try again. Of course, she is a little slower once I am filming her!



NYC

Stardate 60531.38 - Are We In Trouble

Senator Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican and the head of the commerce committee, clearly has no idea how the Internet works. And he is in charge of regulating it. Find out where your Senators stand on this important issue, and please call him/her and ask him/her to reject Stevens telecommunications bill (S 2686). And after that (or maybe before if you don't care about this issue) visit Jessica's Eventful post and demand her movie be made.




NYC

Stardate 60529.25 - Joined the Club

So I went ahead and joined the Manhattan Sailing Club! I went to the membership/orientation meeting Monday night at North Cove and now I'm a member until I resign. I had great timing as this season's new member party is Friday night - now if we can only find a sitter. Additionally, I signed up right away for a crew member sailing slot for Saturday. And I'm trying to see if my instructor from the class is going out on Monday or Tuesday next week, and if his offer to join him still stands.

In preparation for joining the club and sailing more I purchased my own PFD from West Marine (that's a personal flotation device, or lifejacket to you land lubbers). ;-) I already tested it by orally inflating it (now settle down everyone) and letting it sit for several hours. It seemed to have no loss of air so I manually deflated it (again, settle down) and then armed it. Yes, it is one of the sort-of fancy ones that is very compact and it automatically is inflated by a CO2 cartridge when submerged. I'll give it a try on Saturday!

One day I should add up all the books, supplies, weather radio, and other gear and expenses I've incurred for this hobby. It probably still doesn't exceed my expenditures on Dungeons & Dragons material over the past 20 years. :-)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather Saturday!
NYC

Stardate 60528.91 - Girl Power!

She really, really, really wants to walk. In fact, she is getting harder and harder to take pictures of because she is constantly in motion. Here she is using her baby chair to try to stand. She already pulls up on everything around the apartment, and has finally figured out that crawling can get her places. She followed Cheryl after Cheryl left the room the other day!

She seems to be doing alright in her new day care. She had a terrific first day with everything new and exciting, then figured out on day two that Mommy leaves her there all day. She really does get separation anxiety - I thought that was for older kids?


And speaking of Girl Power, if you missed my posting on Jessica Stover's movie project, please be sure to read it by clicking here. It won't take much of your time to read it and click on a link for me. Even Steve in Salem has contributed!

NYC

Stardate 60525.69 - E-Mail from Senator Clinton

James and I both recently posted about the Net-Neutrality issue. I took the advice of the lobbying organization and e-mailed my senators and representative. I received a very positive response from Senator Clinton. Since I'm sure Senator Clinton's response was a form e-mail that is sent to anyone who contacts her on this issue, I'll go ahead and post it here (I'm positive she won't mind). The text is un-edited.

NYC


Dear Mr. Sawyer:

Thank you for writing to share with me your concerns regarding internet neutrality. As you may know, I support net neutrality. The open architecture of the Internet has been the critical element that has made it the most revolutionary communications medium since the advent of the television.

Each day on the Internet, views are discussed and debated in an open forum without fear of censorship or reprisal. The Internet as we know it does not discriminate among its users. It does not decide who can enter its marketplace and it does not pick which views can be heard and which ones silenced. It is the embodiment of the fundamental democratic principles upon which our nation has thrived for hundreds of years.

I have always, and will continue to, strongly and unequivocally support these principles. As I have worked throughout my Senate career to make broadband access readily available throughout New York State and our nation, I believe that maintaining an open Internet coupled with more broadband access is necessary if we are to meet the promise and the potential of the Internet to disseminate ideas and information, enhance learning, education and business opportunities for all Americans and improve and uplift our citizenry.

We must embrace an open and non-discriminatory framework for the Internet of the 21 st century. Therefore, it is my intention to be an original cosponsor of the net neutrality legislation proposed by Senators Dorgan and Snowe to ensure that open, unimpaired and unencumbered Internet access for both its users and content providers is preserved as Congress debates the overhaul of our nation's telecommunications laws.

Thank you again for writing about this issue that is important to me and to so many of my constituents. Please be assured that I will fight any efforts that would fundamentally alter the inherently democratic structure of the Internet. Updates on this and many other important issues being discussed before the United States Senate, can be found on my website http://clinton.senate.gov.

Sincerely yours,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Stardate 60523.21 - Need a Favor from All of You

To all the loyal readers of this blog - I need a favor from you. Every single one of you.

I sent an e-mail out to many of you recently asking you to click on a link. Some of you did so, but many of you have not. The quick story is that a friend of mine in LA is trying to get her screenplay greenlit so it can be made into a move. A good movie. Better than what is out there now. If you don't help her out then you are clearly supporting bad movies like Van Helsing 4.

I'm asking you again on this, the day of the official launch of Jessica's Eventful campaign, to take action and do me a favor.

Here is what I am asking you to do:

1. Click on these words to go to the Eventful site for Jessica Mae Stover.
2. Find your city or one very close to your city in the list and click on the "Demand It!" button.
3. Enter your e-mail address.
4. Confirm your request when you get an e-mail from the Eventful site.

It is that simple. Really. That is all I need you to do. And I'll owe you one. And when I start sending individual e-mails to every person I know you can say, "Dude! I totally clicked on it already!"

If you want extra special bonus points, tell all your friends about this blog entry and ask them to join the demand as well. Then I'll really owe you.

If you want to help but your city isn't listed, then leave me a comment here and I'll set up your city for you. Then you can just follow the instructions above. If you are computer-savvy and have extra time and don't need my help, then just follow the link above and then click on "start a new demand in your own city" and follow the instructions. I think most of my readers can handle that.

Be part of the undeniable future victory of getting this film made!


NYC

Stardate 60521.25 - 10-Year Anniversary, Rain Check

On our actual 10-year wedding anniversary Cheryl was in Switzerland and I was in Ashburn, VA - both of us on business travel. (Did you know 10 years is the "tin" anniversary? Although the diamond industry will tell you that a diamond is a nice modern way to celebrate instead of beads of tin! I don't know, beads of tin look pretty nice, don't they?)

We cashed in our rain check with each other Saturday night, got our regular babysitter to come over, and then Cheryl and I went out. First, we had dinner at the tiny restaurant Falai Panetteria on the Lower East Side. The food was good - not great - but good.

We then went to Schiller's Liquor Bar where we spent as much on 2 drinks as we had on our entire dinner. I got a Pim's Cup and Cheryl got a NY Sour. They did not short us on the alcohol - they were stiff drinks. The Pim's Cup got a thumbs up from Cheryl but the Sour was not sour enough for her.

Next we went down to Battery Park to see the New York Classical Theatre's free production of Mary Stuart. NY Classical Theater, if you have not been to a production of theirs before, moves around where ever they are performing from scene to scene, and the audience has to chase after them. It is usually very entertaining, and their production of Mary Stuart was no exception. We both really liked it, although Cheryl commented that Queen Elizabeth looked more like a U.S. soap opera star than a British Monarch. But that suspension of disbelief was no more difficult than ignoring the police helicopters which passed by loudly overhead every so often! At least we got to go inside Castle Clinton for part of the show, and that was pretty cool. If you have a chance to see one of their shows, we highly recommend it. It really is a lot of fun.

Then we caught a taxi back home, up the FDR and were back at the apartment 20 minutes after the play was over. Loren seemed to handle us being gone fine, although she didn't go to bed until 9 PM.

NYC

Stardate 60519.56 - Loren's First Swing

Today we took Loren next door to the small park for her first time in a real swing. Other than the heat and sun directly in her eyes, she seemed to enjoy it. And it let me and Cheryl stop by the Mr. Softee truck on the way back to the apartment.


NYC

Stardate 60516.38 - Loren at Swim Class

Loren had her second swim class session this morning, and while it was not a "Daddys only" session like last week's turned out to be, there were still more Dads than Moms in the baby pool. Loren did well, seemed to enjoy it, and even went underwater twice as part of the "passing" of the babies back and forth between the instructors and the parents.



And here is a short video, where I demonstrate the wrong way to rotate Loren from her back to her front (I got it right on the next try!).



NYC

Stardate 60515.15 - Subject Line Here DVD

I started with a picture of Loren so my family won't complain that the last post or two have not been about her. :-)

Moving on...several LA bloggers got together for an event last month called Subject Line Here. Once of these was Jessica Stover, often mentioned in this blog. They recorded the show and it is now available on DVD, the proceeds of which are going to the charity the show supported. This is your opportunity to find out first hand "What is up with this Jessica person?" by having a crash course on video. It is only $15. You probably already spent that much on Coffee this week. But you have to order by the 15th of July so act fast.

Click here to find out how to order.

And if you live in the metro-DC, metro-NY, or Richmond, VA areas and have not "Demanded" Jessica's screenplay be made into a movie through Eventful yet, please click on the appropriate box off to the right and do so.

Thanks!!

NYC

Stardate 60511.96 - Us as South Park

I was looking at the blog from one of the participants in Subject Line Here and discovered that there is a site where you can create a South Park character. So here are me and Cheryl as South Park characters.


NYC

Stardate 60510.61 - Loren Trying to Walk

Loren is pulling herself up on items like crazy these days, and is able to move from piece of furniture to piece of furniture if they are next to each other. When she falls, she gets right back up. Her favorite game is to have someone hold her hands while she walks very quickly around the apartment. She still isn't walking by herself, or standing by herself for more than a second or two, but we think for someone not even 8 months old yet she is doing pretty well.

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