It's a family portrait throughout the years. This is fascinating. Their middle son is the same age as me. Thanks, Karen.
I want to do this. I've had the idea for awhile that when we have a child I want to take a picture of her/him every day. That way you get to see the true growth, and it'll make a cool flipbook.
24 February 2006
23 February 2006
File: 365, The Fam, Friends
I started the new gig on Monday.
I like it. It's completely different from where I was, which is a good thing and a bittersweet thing as well. I miss the boisterous atmosphere of the old gang. I miss green walls. I miss the dog.
Things that amuse me: a co-worker eats beef jerky from a bag he keeps in his filing cabinet, Matt went to college with a co-worker and a co-worker's wife, my boss toured the country with the WWE, the place has so many books, I read for a living.
The job is a little different than thought, but pretty close. I'm not doing as much writing. It's a good blend of editing the work of freelancers and publishing articles. Right now, it's all about production, getting these articles to the client. I like thinking too and had a bunch of ideas which I talked about with my boss. He was open to almost all of them. Hooray! He's a really nice guy and I feel lucky to be there.
Something cool: we use Lotus Notes, the program Uncle Mike wrote back in the day. It makes me feel connected to him just by being at work. It's been 14 years this month since his death. That's crazy, I think about how much he's missed and how much I miss him. I'm sure it was better in the 90's, but the program's kind of wonky. I want to call Lotus (now IBM) and ask them what's up.
We work on Macs. I have the Mac Mini, the Mighty Mouse, and the big monitor Matt and I drool over whenever we're in the Apple store. That's pretty cool.
It's strange working in the burbs. Granted, it's the closest burb to the city (Lincolnwood), but it's still weird. The people who have windows have amazing views of the parking lot and the power tower which stands in the parking lot and makes me wonder if I'm going to get cancer if I work there long enough. Mom and Dad would love this burb, though. There's a lot like it in South Florida. And lots of chosen peeps. There's a temple on every corner. Very cool. So, Mom and Dad, move to Lincolnwood! I'll come home for lunch.
I'm a little lonely at work. Maybe it's the isolated nature of cubes and offices vs. the loft. Maybe it's that I don't have friends there yet. I joined the softball team (the Boppers) in an effort to change that. I know it'll get better, that it's just time, but it makes me a little blue right now.
A bunch of friends touched base with me last night. It made me feel loved and happy. Thanks, guys. Christel and Steve are in town for a wedding, so we're going to see them tonight. I'm excited to see them in Chicago. In other news, Darrah yelled at me for reading books and not going to her for style advise. My response: You will always be my fashion idol, but I'm a slow learner. This could be sped up if you move to Chicago!
Ok, really need to hop in the shower now.
I like it. It's completely different from where I was, which is a good thing and a bittersweet thing as well. I miss the boisterous atmosphere of the old gang. I miss green walls. I miss the dog.
Things that amuse me: a co-worker eats beef jerky from a bag he keeps in his filing cabinet, Matt went to college with a co-worker and a co-worker's wife, my boss toured the country with the WWE, the place has so many books, I read for a living.
The job is a little different than thought, but pretty close. I'm not doing as much writing. It's a good blend of editing the work of freelancers and publishing articles. Right now, it's all about production, getting these articles to the client. I like thinking too and had a bunch of ideas which I talked about with my boss. He was open to almost all of them. Hooray! He's a really nice guy and I feel lucky to be there.
Something cool: we use Lotus Notes, the program Uncle Mike wrote back in the day. It makes me feel connected to him just by being at work. It's been 14 years this month since his death. That's crazy, I think about how much he's missed and how much I miss him. I'm sure it was better in the 90's, but the program's kind of wonky. I want to call Lotus (now IBM) and ask them what's up.
We work on Macs. I have the Mac Mini, the Mighty Mouse, and the big monitor Matt and I drool over whenever we're in the Apple store. That's pretty cool.
It's strange working in the burbs. Granted, it's the closest burb to the city (Lincolnwood), but it's still weird. The people who have windows have amazing views of the parking lot and the power tower which stands in the parking lot and makes me wonder if I'm going to get cancer if I work there long enough. Mom and Dad would love this burb, though. There's a lot like it in South Florida. And lots of chosen peeps. There's a temple on every corner. Very cool. So, Mom and Dad, move to Lincolnwood! I'll come home for lunch.
I'm a little lonely at work. Maybe it's the isolated nature of cubes and offices vs. the loft. Maybe it's that I don't have friends there yet. I joined the softball team (the Boppers) in an effort to change that. I know it'll get better, that it's just time, but it makes me a little blue right now.
A bunch of friends touched base with me last night. It made me feel loved and happy. Thanks, guys. Christel and Steve are in town for a wedding, so we're going to see them tonight. I'm excited to see them in Chicago. In other news, Darrah yelled at me for reading books and not going to her for style advise. My response: You will always be my fashion idol, but I'm a slow learner. This could be sped up if you move to Chicago!
Ok, really need to hop in the shower now.
15 February 2006
A Picture Share!
Meet Pip, our new Scion XA. He only had 3 miles on him when we found him. Here is to many many more!
A Picture Share!
After three long hours doing paperwork (they were very nice to us), we finally got to take him home.
File: Car, Art, Shopping
Yesterday was spent as a battle with auto loans. Bank of America literally gave me 7 different phone numbers which I spent the majority of the afternoon calling. Boo hiss. We decided to go with the financing at the dealership anyway, just because they seem like the easiest and least amount of paperwork. The rate is pretty good, too.
Got a call this morning: our car is in! Woo hoo! I got insurance--Geico was very nice, the process was blissfully simple, and their rates were low ($418.00 every 6 months to insure both of us). Matt and I are going to pick up our new car today, which is a great way to celebrate our Post Valentine's Day Date Day. I want to name the car Cupid. Matt's very much against that. Boo hiss. Perhaps the car won't get a name at all. We're going to celebrate our new found car freedom by going to dinner.
Heather said this to me last week--new job, new car; I'm getting to restart my life. She might be right. I'm scared and excited. In an effort to help me figure out who I am, I've decided to relook at my wardrobe. 4 years working in the ultra-casual office scene has made my wardrobe a little out of date. My new company is also casual, but I want at least some semblance of a style. I went to the library yesterday (before all the auto loan drama) and checked out a bunch of books on image. Those who know me won't be surprised when I say I've finished all of them already. (My comeback: they're nonfiction with big type-- they're easy. Also, this is the best way to procrastinate--instead of reading the 20 books that are currently sitting in my office for the book contest I'm judging.)
My Thoughts:
Beyond Business Casual. Perfect if you're over 50 and want to dress like it. Set in question and answer format, the book is meant to be a dialogue, but it's obvious author Ann Marie Sabath hates business casual. There's an entire chapter and a whole appendix that talks about the trend of business casual leaving the modern office. Also has a section devoted to what to wear for videoconferencing, which made me wonder how often the average office worker is attending videoconferences. I worked for an Internet video company and only attended one, ever. I got one tip out of the 207 page book: Fabrics considered business professional material are wool gabardine, silk, cotton and oxford (for shirts). For those not informed, the author makes a point to mention that hair scrunchies should never, ever, be worn in the office. Or, in my opinion, at any other time later than 1995.
Real Style. Wow. Sam Saboura's fun and to the point book is awesome. I feel like I learned so much and now have an idea about things. I actually got excited about the prospect of cleaning out my closet, going through it and reorganizing everything, donating what I don't wear. He gave some great tips on basics, body shapes, tailoring, and definitions on fashion. I now know what a pencil skirt is--and how to wear it. I really like this book and am considering buying it just to have in my personal library. Even if I don't, I'm going to redo my wardrobe based on his basics--shopping will be a breeze with this book in my purse.
What Should I Wear? Dressing For All Occasions. I picked up this book because Wendy Wasserstein, who just passed away and was one of my all-time favorite writers, had a quote on the back telling me this is a great book. But when I think fashion, Wendy Wasserstein isn't the first woman role model that pops into my head. Unfortunately for me, this is another book for the over 50 crowd. I liked the way it was organized (by season and the basics needed) and it had pretty pictures that inspired me in two ways: what I could wear and what I would never wear. It was a good supplement to Real Style because the pictures gave me the ability to see what Saboura was talking about (his book is all illustrations), but I'm definitely not the target audience for this one. Nevertheless, I'm planning on taking the basics they've listed for each season and adding them to my basics to buy list, which I think will help as I work to update my wardrobe in every season.
Before You Put That On. I liked this one, too. Lloyd Boston is the fashion consultant for the Today show and a whole bunch of other places. His style is breezy and fun. His book takes the year day by day and gives fashion advice from great designers as well. It's a coffee table sized book which will make it a pain to tote around (if only it was smaller), but has given me some great tips. He puts together outfits in ways I wouldn't have thought of and gave me courage to try new things. He also has a basics list--I'm planning on compiling into one major list and posting. Today's tip: "Be your own fashion editor. Study the red carpet looks but don't mimic them." He goes on to talk about how it's important to choose a style/color that you like but to not lose your own style because you want to look like Halle Berry.
These three are going to be open as I attempt to organize the beast that is my closet, also known as Narnia. More on that as it happens, hopefully tomorrow or Friday.
I also read these two books:
How to Gain The Professional Edge: Achieve the Personal & Professional Image You Want. I liked this book and would recommend it, especially to bright creatives who want their outward appearance to match their inward one. I expected a professional makeover kind of book, like what you need to know to dress well in the office. Author Susan Morem goes much further than that talking about how a person needs to appear to make it in the modern workplace. It's more than just clothes, it's also about details and attitude. A well-timed smile remains the best accessory. Also, if you're taking a client out to dinner, ask him/her what he or she likes to eat, provide a few restaurant choices, make a reservation, show up early because you're the host, don't drink too much (or at all if the client isn't drinking) and pay the bill. Those kind of tips made sense and helped remind me that image is more than just how you look. For tips on how you look, she provides a nifty color characteristics chart on page 108. I wore a red suit for my last interview, apparently that got the message across that I'm assertive. If I wore the dark brown which I had thought about, I would have been seen as conservative, but paired with a pink shirt, approachable. It's fun. Two favorite pieces of advice: 1) Don't dress for the job you have, dress for the one you want. 2)Think about your goals for the day and dress accordingly.
Nice Girls Don't Get The Corner Office 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers. Yeah, um, okay. Maybe it's having been the president of the Women's Studies Club in high school. Maybe it's growing up in the household I did, where my dad told me I could do anything. Or maybe it's just me. This book had a lot of empowerment techniques, but not all that much that really applied to me. I picked it up because I had heard so much about it but found, like reading The Rules, the advice in it wasn't something that I could really appreciate. There's lots of business tips here and there are some mistakes I make (I'm too concerned with hurting others' feelings), but a lot of it just doesn't ring true to me. I'm not willing to step over anyone or anything in my path to get what I want. I am willing to stand up for myself and be clear about my goals, but that's something I've been putting to use for a very, very long time. I could see how author Lois P. Frankel's advice may help a woman who's always felt held-back because of her gender. That woman just isn't me.
Wow, I just went over a lot of books. In my defense, did you really think for even a minute that I could a write a book publishing/book review blog without mentioning what I'm reading "for fun" in my personal one?
On the writing end, Matt introduced me to a great web-based program called Writerly. It's like MSWord, but it's all on the web, in a non-searchable format. We've been writing collaboratively again. It's wonderful. I've been needing to write creatively for so long but have felt so tired and uninspired. I'm really proud of what we've started working on, and we're working in a format that's different for me. I'm finally excited about writing again.
Maybe this is the start of something new for me.
**Hooray, it's 5pm. Time to get ready to meet Matt and go pick up Cupid.**
Got a call this morning: our car is in! Woo hoo! I got insurance--Geico was very nice, the process was blissfully simple, and their rates were low ($418.00 every 6 months to insure both of us). Matt and I are going to pick up our new car today, which is a great way to celebrate our Post Valentine's Day Date Day. I want to name the car Cupid. Matt's very much against that. Boo hiss. Perhaps the car won't get a name at all. We're going to celebrate our new found car freedom by going to dinner.
Heather said this to me last week--new job, new car; I'm getting to restart my life. She might be right. I'm scared and excited. In an effort to help me figure out who I am, I've decided to relook at my wardrobe. 4 years working in the ultra-casual office scene has made my wardrobe a little out of date. My new company is also casual, but I want at least some semblance of a style. I went to the library yesterday (before all the auto loan drama) and checked out a bunch of books on image. Those who know me won't be surprised when I say I've finished all of them already. (My comeback: they're nonfiction with big type-- they're easy. Also, this is the best way to procrastinate--instead of reading the 20 books that are currently sitting in my office for the book contest I'm judging.)
My Thoughts:
Beyond Business Casual. Perfect if you're over 50 and want to dress like it. Set in question and answer format, the book is meant to be a dialogue, but it's obvious author Ann Marie Sabath hates business casual. There's an entire chapter and a whole appendix that talks about the trend of business casual leaving the modern office. Also has a section devoted to what to wear for videoconferencing, which made me wonder how often the average office worker is attending videoconferences. I worked for an Internet video company and only attended one, ever. I got one tip out of the 207 page book: Fabrics considered business professional material are wool gabardine, silk, cotton and oxford (for shirts). For those not informed, the author makes a point to mention that hair scrunchies should never, ever, be worn in the office. Or, in my opinion, at any other time later than 1995.
Real Style. Wow. Sam Saboura's fun and to the point book is awesome. I feel like I learned so much and now have an idea about things. I actually got excited about the prospect of cleaning out my closet, going through it and reorganizing everything, donating what I don't wear. He gave some great tips on basics, body shapes, tailoring, and definitions on fashion. I now know what a pencil skirt is--and how to wear it. I really like this book and am considering buying it just to have in my personal library. Even if I don't, I'm going to redo my wardrobe based on his basics--shopping will be a breeze with this book in my purse.
What Should I Wear? Dressing For All Occasions. I picked up this book because Wendy Wasserstein, who just passed away and was one of my all-time favorite writers, had a quote on the back telling me this is a great book. But when I think fashion, Wendy Wasserstein isn't the first woman role model that pops into my head. Unfortunately for me, this is another book for the over 50 crowd. I liked the way it was organized (by season and the basics needed) and it had pretty pictures that inspired me in two ways: what I could wear and what I would never wear. It was a good supplement to Real Style because the pictures gave me the ability to see what Saboura was talking about (his book is all illustrations), but I'm definitely not the target audience for this one. Nevertheless, I'm planning on taking the basics they've listed for each season and adding them to my basics to buy list, which I think will help as I work to update my wardrobe in every season.
Before You Put That On. I liked this one, too. Lloyd Boston is the fashion consultant for the Today show and a whole bunch of other places. His style is breezy and fun. His book takes the year day by day and gives fashion advice from great designers as well. It's a coffee table sized book which will make it a pain to tote around (if only it was smaller), but has given me some great tips. He puts together outfits in ways I wouldn't have thought of and gave me courage to try new things. He also has a basics list--I'm planning on compiling into one major list and posting. Today's tip: "Be your own fashion editor. Study the red carpet looks but don't mimic them." He goes on to talk about how it's important to choose a style/color that you like but to not lose your own style because you want to look like Halle Berry.
These three are going to be open as I attempt to organize the beast that is my closet, also known as Narnia. More on that as it happens, hopefully tomorrow or Friday.
I also read these two books:
How to Gain The Professional Edge: Achieve the Personal & Professional Image You Want. I liked this book and would recommend it, especially to bright creatives who want their outward appearance to match their inward one. I expected a professional makeover kind of book, like what you need to know to dress well in the office. Author Susan Morem goes much further than that talking about how a person needs to appear to make it in the modern workplace. It's more than just clothes, it's also about details and attitude. A well-timed smile remains the best accessory. Also, if you're taking a client out to dinner, ask him/her what he or she likes to eat, provide a few restaurant choices, make a reservation, show up early because you're the host, don't drink too much (or at all if the client isn't drinking) and pay the bill. Those kind of tips made sense and helped remind me that image is more than just how you look. For tips on how you look, she provides a nifty color characteristics chart on page 108. I wore a red suit for my last interview, apparently that got the message across that I'm assertive. If I wore the dark brown which I had thought about, I would have been seen as conservative, but paired with a pink shirt, approachable. It's fun. Two favorite pieces of advice: 1) Don't dress for the job you have, dress for the one you want. 2)Think about your goals for the day and dress accordingly.
Nice Girls Don't Get The Corner Office 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers. Yeah, um, okay. Maybe it's having been the president of the Women's Studies Club in high school. Maybe it's growing up in the household I did, where my dad told me I could do anything. Or maybe it's just me. This book had a lot of empowerment techniques, but not all that much that really applied to me. I picked it up because I had heard so much about it but found, like reading The Rules, the advice in it wasn't something that I could really appreciate. There's lots of business tips here and there are some mistakes I make (I'm too concerned with hurting others' feelings), but a lot of it just doesn't ring true to me. I'm not willing to step over anyone or anything in my path to get what I want. I am willing to stand up for myself and be clear about my goals, but that's something I've been putting to use for a very, very long time. I could see how author Lois P. Frankel's advice may help a woman who's always felt held-back because of her gender. That woman just isn't me.
Wow, I just went over a lot of books. In my defense, did you really think for even a minute that I could a write a book publishing/book review blog without mentioning what I'm reading "for fun" in my personal one?
On the writing end, Matt introduced me to a great web-based program called Writerly. It's like MSWord, but it's all on the web, in a non-searchable format. We've been writing collaboratively again. It's wonderful. I've been needing to write creatively for so long but have felt so tired and uninspired. I'm really proud of what we've started working on, and we're working in a format that's different for me. I'm finally excited about writing again.
Maybe this is the start of something new for me.
**Hooray, it's 5pm. Time to get ready to meet Matt and go pick up Cupid.**
12 February 2006
File: 365
I didn't post this because it happened so fast.
Leading publishing company seeks experienced Editors for its Web Content Department. Editors will work with existing books and prepare the content for deployment on the Web.
It's definite--this is where I'm headed. Working in book publishing, reading books and turning them into articles for a cool website. I'm really excited. I start 2.20.
Leading publishing company seeks experienced Editors for its Web Content Department. Editors will work with existing books and prepare the content for deployment on the Web.
It's definite--this is where I'm headed. Working in book publishing, reading books and turning them into articles for a cool website. I'm really excited. I start 2.20.
File: 365, recap
We had a really fun time when the folks from "Breakfast Around The World" came over to film last Sunday.
At 8 am, the camera crew (director, cameraman, assistant and producer) showed up. They were all very, very nice. They liked our house and the cats seemed to behave, for the most part.
Breakfast went without a hitch, with the exception of the matzoh brie which wouldn't flip. That's never happened. We stopped rolling until I chiseled it out of the pot and was able to flip it on camera. Despite its stubbornness, it wound up tasting really good and I think I just introduced the joy of matzoh brie to an entire culture.
It was a cooking show, so they had me cut all the ingredients up and place them into little bowls before the filming. Big thanks once again to Karen and Dave who bought us the glass nesting bowl set for our engagement.
Some things were a little odd: we did the majority of the cooking things in one take. They filmed me turning around with a big smile for nine takes. The format of the show was also interesting: I cooked, Matt "slept," then they filmed me "waking" him up. We then sat together at the table and I watched as he ate and complimented me on my cooking. Then, we made out. They had to instruct us to "kiss longer." There was a long monologue that I delivered to the camera on how I make the meals all the time because Matt likes them. I hope I get dubbed.
Outside of shooting: they loved our refrigerator. They opened the fridge (thank G-d I cleaned it till it shined) and stood there talking about it for 5 minutes. They would pull out different foods and talk about them. They thought that putting protein into smoothies was "very American." They loved Bacos. I mean an-eating-out-of-the-bottle-love for Bacos. It was cute.
We had a lot of fun and would open out house to them and any other foreign tv crews that want to fly halfway around the world to film us in natural habitat.
My favorite quote, from Darrah: "I can't believe my intellectual feminist friend is going to be playing the wifey on international tv." Yup, that's where it's at.
If anyone's in Japan, it airs 2.18.06. Otherwise, we'll be hosting a DVD watching party. I'll make the recipes I feature.
At 8 am, the camera crew (director, cameraman, assistant and producer) showed up. They were all very, very nice. They liked our house and the cats seemed to behave, for the most part.
Breakfast went without a hitch, with the exception of the matzoh brie which wouldn't flip. That's never happened. We stopped rolling until I chiseled it out of the pot and was able to flip it on camera. Despite its stubbornness, it wound up tasting really good and I think I just introduced the joy of matzoh brie to an entire culture.
It was a cooking show, so they had me cut all the ingredients up and place them into little bowls before the filming. Big thanks once again to Karen and Dave who bought us the glass nesting bowl set for our engagement.
Some things were a little odd: we did the majority of the cooking things in one take. They filmed me turning around with a big smile for nine takes. The format of the show was also interesting: I cooked, Matt "slept," then they filmed me "waking" him up. We then sat together at the table and I watched as he ate and complimented me on my cooking. Then, we made out. They had to instruct us to "kiss longer." There was a long monologue that I delivered to the camera on how I make the meals all the time because Matt likes them. I hope I get dubbed.
Outside of shooting: they loved our refrigerator. They opened the fridge (thank G-d I cleaned it till it shined) and stood there talking about it for 5 minutes. They would pull out different foods and talk about them. They thought that putting protein into smoothies was "very American." They loved Bacos. I mean an-eating-out-of-the-bottle-love for Bacos. It was cute.
We had a lot of fun and would open out house to them and any other foreign tv crews that want to fly halfway around the world to film us in natural habitat.
My favorite quote, from Darrah: "I can't believe my intellectual feminist friend is going to be playing the wifey on international tv." Yup, that's where it's at.
If anyone's in Japan, it airs 2.18.06. Otherwise, we'll be hosting a DVD watching party. I'll make the recipes I feature.
10 February 2006
08 February 2006
File: Car
Holy moly, we bought a car!
Well, we put a deposit down on a car. Here's a factory picture of what will be our new 2006 Scion XA.
We went to Kevin at Grossinger Scion in Lincolnwood. So far, very nice experience.
We'll be able to pick it up in the next couple of weeks, when it comes into the states.
This is the first major purchase either of us has made. Woah!
Well, we put a deposit down on a car. Here's a factory picture of what will be our new 2006 Scion XA.
We went to Kevin at Grossinger Scion in Lincolnwood. So far, very nice experience.
We'll be able to pick it up in the next couple of weeks, when it comes into the states.
This is the first major purchase either of us has made. Woah!
04 February 2006
01 February 2006
File: 365
Score! I received word from the Japanese production company. We’re the cute couple that will be featured on the ‘Breakfasts Around the World’ show. The concept: an hour long show in select cities all over the globe. The wife cooks breakfast/brunch and then goes to “wake” up her husband and then they eat.
Currently on the menu: matzoh brie, Matt’s Mom’s chocolate bread, smoothies, and then a meat dish. They want ribs (“For breakfast?” said Matt.), but we’re also talking about beef muffins or cornbread beef casserole.
We’re shooting Sunday.
Currently on the menu: matzoh brie, Matt’s Mom’s chocolate bread, smoothies, and then a meat dish. They want ribs (“For breakfast?” said Matt.), but we’re also talking about beef muffins or cornbread beef casserole.
We’re shooting Sunday.
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