Up North (& Out There doing it)

Took 3 years, but we finally did it

It took us three years, but under the disguise of G turning 1, we had our first party that really took advantage of our backyard. We ended up having nearly 50 people over for Saturday afternoon and early evening and it was awesome.

We weren't really sure what to expect so we threw the party from 2-7 and from 2 - 4, S and I were the only ones there. D & G were sleeping and so it was actually very relaxing, but then within 15 minutes of 4 pm, almost everyone showed up -- and it was so fun.

About 70% of the folks were from day care, so most of them knew each other at least indirectly, which made hosting really a breeze.

You knew it was a good party, when all of the sudden all of the parents realized that the 3+ year olds had all wet their pants and not because they didn't know how to use the bathroom, but they were just having so much fun they didn't want to stop.

I thought D's quote was the best to Shannon when asked if his big boy underwear was wet....

"No Mommy, my big boy underwear was wet, but its not any more."

Awesome.

But it took me way back, almost 10 years ago when Shannon and I first met and we hosted a party together at my apartment to have about 12 of us attend the Colorado Rockies game. The group was an wide group of folks, some who neither of us had either met, but we had a blast and did a great job hosting -- everyone had a good time and it really was fun.

It was one of those early moments when I realized that something special was going on here.

Gavin is 1 -- Let's Party

Its a little early

But Lord & Taylor does look pretty festive.

Stunning

Parts of Grand Central are really cool. Its amazing how much of it you miss while going through your normal routine.

Which is more likely, Price inflation or location

The new office is (unfortunately), one block away from the old office. However, I'm noticing that lunch is around 20% higher for what seems like the same fare. What's up with that? Its only one block. I have not gone back to the old hood to see if I can spot the price difference is really inflation or location, but it regardless, its crazy

Things do change in the big city

While I wasn't in the neighborhood working anymore, the City went and turned Broadway from a crummy street to drive down, to a two part car, one part sitting area one part bike lane. Very cool. And some spectacular people watching, which is kind of surprising given its Midtown. Now I don't love the fact that people are sitting with their backs to traffic and at the mercy of all the cab drivers and one wrong move from getting plowed into, but the idea is pretty slick. And you can totally see, NYC still isn't a bicycle town. So many pedestrians walk down the bike lane. You wouldn't walk in traffic for long periods of time and not expect to get run over -- same thing with the bike lanes people.

Went to a funeral today

I went to a funeral for a guy I played Ultimate Frisbee with for several years. He was a really nice guy, not too close to him but felt like it was the right thing to do since he was so young (turning 30 I think next month). And it struck me of what happens when you have a funeral in a church in the city.

First off, it's a beautiful service held in a fantastic place -- all of the churches in the city are just so nice. But you are definitley going to have the homeless attending asl well, like I did sitting next to me. Now for this guy, he would not have been happier to have the homeless guy there for him, but I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea.

But the funeral was very him and so true to his way of living. It was nice to go and remember.

You could build a strong arguement

I can't find any of my stuff anywhere. Don't know where my cell is most of the time, not sure where my glasses are, etc.

So I'm starting to wonder --- if you had a very well thoughtout apartment, you could build an arguement that if you could get perfecting in sync with the right size place -- it's way better than any house offering out there.