Stardate 62494.16 - I want a camera!

Today Loren said she wanted a camera. So we dug out an older, non-digital camera we still had and gave it to her to play with. It had no battery and no film, but she didn't seem to mind. I tried to talk her into going up on the roof to take pictures, but she wanted to "go to the lobby to take pictures," which really meant going outside. We started for the dog run, but only made it as far as the playground before she wanted to stop to use her camera.


I brought our camera and snapped these pictures, and managed to get a half-way decent one of the two of us.


Then, later in the afternoon I was changing the cat litter and part of that task involves using the vacuum to clean up and Loren said, "I want a vacuum!" Then she ran over to the laptop to shop for one on-line!

NYC

Stardate 62493.38 - Post Shortage

A lot has been going on recently, but we haven't put a lot of posts up. Losing the hard drive in the home laptop has been the primary reason, and we finally got a replacement from Dell and are now back up and running. Since the laptop usually sits on the bar counter, it is more convenient to do posts from the center of the action, rather than going back into the bedroom on the old desktop to do so.

First, Loren has been helping out more and more in the kitchen. While it is good that she is helping and interested in cooking, sometimes it slows down the process. We have to assign her tasks that are not dangerous and sometimes have to distract her with something (like the salad spinner) while Cheryl finishes things up.

Second, Cheryl went to Germany for a week on business and I was on Loren duty the very first week that I reported to work at the client site for my new job. Luckily I could drop her off in the morning and we could arrange for a couple of her teachers to bring her home as daycare closes before my work day is normally through. Also, Mom and Judy were coming up the weekend of the 14th - 15th, so they came up a day earlier (Thursday) to help out. It was great to have them be able to pick up Loren and entertain her, and it was great to be able to show them the new place. Apparently I was so busy with entertaining and Loren that I never took any pictures! Luckily my Mom was busy with her camera so hopefully she got some good ones.

Third, Squirt has been sneezing and wheezing a bit so we took them in for their regular annual appointments and while Magic is fine Squirt does have an infection so she is on medicine for at least a week.

Lastly, Dad and Valerie came up this weekend for a visit. I did remember to take pictures this time, and will post some soon.

NYC

Stardate 62465.21 - The Cat Who Came for Lunch

I was at work on Wednesday morning when I got a call from our co-op. The doorman asked me if we had a black and white cat, because one was out in the hallway on our floor. He put the super on, and Richie asked me if we had 1 cat or 2. I told him we had 2 cats. He then told me that there was a black and white cat with gold eyes in the hallway. That sounded a lot like Magic, so I told him he could put the cat in our apartment. Both cats have recently been trying to run out into the hallway (well, plod out into the hallway in Magic's case) whenever the door is open, so while it seemed odd that he could have gotten out when Cheryl left with Loren in the morning, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

But then Richie said something that bothered me. He said they'd put the kitten back into our apartment. I said out cat wasn't a kitten, and he told me that this wasn't really a kitten but rather a young cat. I wasn't so sure that Magic could be described in such a way, but no-one else on our floor had a cat so I thanked him and hung up.

The kitten comment kept nagging at me, so I called Cheryl and asked her to come home over lunch just to make sure we didn't have some strange cat in our apartment.

Well, it turns out we did.

Someone around the corner (our hallway is an "L" shape) had gotten a young cat and apparently it had gotten out. This poor, scared cat was wedged in the corner of our kitchen with Magic either standing watch or tormenting it (we're not sure which). Cheryl let the building staff know that the cat wasn't ours, and they managed to find the correct apartment and move the cat to where it belonged.

Crazy.

NYC

Stardate 62455.32 - Flight Delay

Once I noticed it was 20 minutes past the time Cheryl was supposed to land and I had not heard out of her, I decided to check her flight status. Imagine my surprise when I saw that her flight took off 7 hours late.

I think Loren is disappointed that Mommy will not be home until after she goes to bed.

NYC

Stardate 62442.28 - Que Calor

My Spanish is a little rusty, but I think "Que Calor" translates as "How Hot!" Indeed, I picked the perfect week to start a new job where I have to wear a suit and spend 45-60 minutes commuting. The heat index today was a sultry 107, and I am pretty much miserable on the commute. What is really annoying is that the commute would be about 30 minutes on the weekend, but the express trains run slower on the tracks on the weekdays for some insane reason. It took me nearly an hour to get home today, and with Cheryl in Germany and a babysitter bringing Loren home from daycare that extra time is costing me money!

Being back in an office environment has been nice, except for the commute. Yesterday someone on the train was holding her stomach like she was about to throw up. Not normally a problem, but she was directly in front of me and I had no where to run. I finally managed to squeeze a couple of people away from her so I'd have some cover if she started to hurl. And this morning I got to see a woman essentially give a man a lap dance for the entire commute down to Wall Street. I mean, I understand listening to your iPod and maybe grooving a little, but NOT when the train is packed so full of people that your "dancing" constantly results in rubbing up and down against a fellow passenger. And believe me if you are reading this, you are NOT a looker. I would have moved.

And in the interesting Loren story department, I was reading her the "ABC in NYC" book (which I have not read in months) and when we got to "G" being "George Washington Bridge" she said, "That is how we get to Denise's!" Well, she is exactly right. I'm not sure if she remembers that from the trip a few months ago, or if Cheryl had recently read her the book and made that connection for her, but I prefer to think that Loren is just brilliant.

And P.S., doing the single parent thing sucks. Especially when I don't get home until an hour before her bedtime. I ended up letting her stay up an extra 30 minutes just to be able to play and interact with her some more.

NYC

Stardate 62436.31 - Escape to the Beach

On Saturday we went to the beach in NJ to visit with Cheryl's Grandmother and also to have dinner with Cheryl's parents. I discovered on the way that I can no longer yell at other drivers with Loren in the car. During a traffic jam a car drove up from some distance away on the shoulder, then cut over in front of me when there was a bridge (and no more shoulder). The Battlestar Galactica version of what I said was "Fracker!" Unfortunately, Loren repeated it about 5 times. I then started yelling "Chickens!" (thanks, Steve and Rachel) and Loren started repeating "Chickens!" and never again said "Fracker!"


Another funny Loren story is that I was trying to take my contacts out Friday and Loren was playing in the Living Room and asked me a question so I said, "You need to hold on, Loren, I'm taking my contacts out." Loren came down the hall to the bathroom saying, "What do I need to hold on to?"

Training for the new job (really all the corporate in-processing) went well this past week, and I really start the new job tomorrow at the client site. I'm excited about the change and am really looking forward to it!

NYC

Stardate 62416.26 - 12 Years Ago...

It was a busy time, 12 years ago.  I had just switched jobs, leaving a position with the Federal Government for a job consulting to the Federal Government.  I also had my 27th birthday.  My Dad had his 57th birthday.  I was living in Virginia in an apartment (we'd buy a house the next year).  And most importantly, I got married.

Now, 12 years later, I'm again switching jobs (going from consulting to the Federal Government to one where I am going to be consulting to state/city government), I just turned 39, my Dad just turned 69, and today is our 12th anniversary.  We live in Manhattan now (purchased a place last year after renting for 5 years).  We also have a 2.5 year-old daughter.

So Happy Birthday to me (and Dad!) and Happy Anniversary to me and Cheryl.  The more things change, the more I know I can rely on her, as well as our relationship to continue to grow stronger.  And I can rely on Loren to continue to grow even more amazing, humorous, entertaining, and fun as time goes by (she is on her way with Cheryl right now to blow bubbles on the roof!).

Many things changed over the past 12 years, but some very important core things have stayed the same.  And for that I am eternally grateful.

NYC