The holiday spirit

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Mean

So today's my birthday. Usually a day that brings me nothing but joy, but today was peppered with downside. Wife went to be with the signoff, "You're just mean. Mean, mean, mean, mean."

This seems to be a theme this week. Something I'm learning about myself, and I'm OK with it to be honest. The challenge is that people confuse mean for bitter. I'm really not bitter.

Love life. Love my family. Just don't see the upside of being shiny happy all the time. Maybe any of the time.

I've always had a real joie de vivre. Maybe I just keep it hidden under the surface? As I get older, will I get crabbier and crabbier? On some level, I hope so, as it defines me a bit.

On the other, I worry I may just end up being unbearable to be around. Especially to her. Now granted, it was my birthday and I feel like if I'm upset, she should make the extra effort to ensure that's not the case, whether she thinks I'm an asshole or note. Maybe that's just me.

What set her off, after a few of my usual missteps were forgiven, including slamming the door in her face (accidentally) as I entered the restaurant holding our child. I couldn't hold the door and be my usual gentlemanly self, but I also didn't notice and that pissed her off.

The final straw, though, was my grumbling about Facebook. I don't know about you, but when people I barely know and never speak to wish me a happy birthday on FB, it strikes me as an odd outgrowth of this new form of communication.

She thinks I was actually got annoyed at these people. I just thought I was pointing out the irony, but these people all have the best intentions and I manage get it twisted... Maybe I should be pissed at my real friends who forgot!

There was a half-joking vote of the meanness level between me and a colleague in the office, and I won by a landslide. Note I say I won.

Anyone can be nice. But is being unapproachable really a victory. I guess only time will tell...

Good night and God bless.

Lying is encouraged

I'm starting to come to grips with the reality that lying is not only encouraged in this world, but rewarded.

I realize this as I return from the bagel place with breakfast and drinks for my family. I had been rung up (literally, you'll soon learn) for three mini-bagels at just over $6. The total for that plus the drinks seemed high, so I asked if he had rung up everything.

"Oh, no," he calmly replied. "Forgot the coffees."

He then proceeded to charge me $5.99 for two medium iced coffees. Fleeced for six dollars for brewed coffee. Nothing more than that!

Earlier in the weekend, I was reamed by a client for not reading the plan she had sent over late the day before. I was travelling and hadn't had time to review. I honestly don't feel this impacted the discussion whatsoever, but I can understand how it might seem insulting, particularly after she had invested a great deal of time into its development.

How much harm would it be if I had faked it? How much damage to the world economy would I do if I walked out with two cups of coffee, already paid for in the markup on my bagels...

"Karma Police," responds my wife with a Zen coolness.



Couldn't have said it better myself.

Dreamer in my Dreams

Wilco at Keyspan Park on Coney Island, early birthday treat from the amazing Ms. Jennifer Zelman Heit. What a beautiful way to spend an evening.

We had considered bringing our three year old, but as I noted in my previous post, she had the presence of mind to bow out late last night. We had been swimming three days straight. She was understandably exhausted.

Even so, her tiny little voice asked me as I was putting her to bed last night, myself eager with anticipation for her to join us for her first big concert, "is the concert during the daytime or at the nighttime?"

"Well, it's at night sweetie, but hopefully won't be too late. And if you're tired, we can just come home."

"I think I want to stay home," she said, sweet as you can imagine.

As much as I wanted to convince her she should come, as an early birthday present to me, it's incredible to me the maturity and presence of mind she has at such a young age.

This is more the ramblings of an idiot adult than the gushing of a proud poppa, but either way, I'm glad we didn't have her with us. Just a few weeks earlier, at a fireworks display in my wife's native Buffalo, my little one nearly lost her mind. Loud noises seem to cause her to scream hysterically, not unlike Rain Man faced with hot water.



Something from deep in her sub conscious makes her hate loud noises, maybe it's all the yelling me and the wife are capable of, but she sure does love those juice boxes too.

Not sure what I'm getting at any more, it's late and an Israeli woman next to me on the plane is making a mad land grab for the armrest we both share. As if this real estate can be claimed simply by being there...

Which, by the way, is another great Wilco album...

Night

First post from my iPhone

I could really get usd to this. Chilling on my deck, glass of chilled Pinot Grigio at. The ready.

It's my first iPod, really. So I spent the last two weeks jut filling it up with slngs.

It's amazing, really. I thought I could make do with a 16 Gig version, bit I was quickly shown the errror of my ways. I was scrambling. Grabbing page after page of my CD books. Looseleaf pages that hold eight discs each. Four in front four on back. I have five large books mostly filled A through Z I then have a small book (each page holds four discs front and back, filled with movie soundtracks and other compilations. The Q through Z book, as one might imagine, has some space at the end where some other mixes and compilations are held.

So I am literally like a meth head rushing from room to room adding discs to my iTunes.

Remember, I never even had an iPod, so this is all brand new to me.

It's so worth it though. The look and feel of the device is amazing! Love everything about it, and now I have a healthy portion of my music with me. Nowhere near all, mind you. Just a big ass chunk.

More to go, but to be able to buy Bruno tickets and listen to Rodrigo y Gabriela all while I work on the blog makes me glad to be alive!

And I can read it from here, which means so can you, dear reader. Now go out and get one so you can view more ads!

I think it should be easy to post pictures as well, right? Oh well, mayber not yet, but I'll figure it put. For now I'll just listen to Wilco, Box Full of Letters , great band, great iPhone app, excited for the concert tomorrow night! Didi bailed (she's three, and a lady, so this is her right) but I digress.

Late.