Thursday, May 29, 2008

Babysitting Little Man


Ready for Bed!
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Last night Lauren and I got to spend time with our favorite nephew who was in pretty good spirits most of the night. I think I've said it before, and I'll say it again now, you can have the hardest day imaginable at work, but when you walk through the door and see this little face looking back at you, everything outside of the present moment melts away. Combine the babysitting with watching Knocked Up last night on HBO and it's safe to say that babies were definitely at the forefront of our minds last night... Oh boy...

Not yet.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Monticello


Back Lawn
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

Lauren and I thought we'd take advantage of the long weekend and gorgeous weather to shoot down to Charlottesville, and tour the Monticello grounds and house. I've always been fascinated by American history, particularly the late 1700s and 1800s. Thomas Jefferson is one of those guys that accomplished so much in his life time, that you almost feel like you will never know the whole story.

Anyway, the place was packed (shocker) and as Lauren put it, it was an opportunity to be surrounded by so many different types of people as everyone, regardless of background, is interested in these types of places. Unfortunately, after waiting nearly 3 hours to tour the house, we were a little disappointed to learn that we'd only tour the first floor... seemed like kind of a waste given how long we had waited.

Oh well, it was a nice day for a drive and it's always fun to take pictures and have a new adventure.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Finally

After a four game losing streak, DC was finally able to get off the snide with a tough win over FC Toronto, 3-2. As many of the fans agree on Goff's blog this morning, Well has a long way to go as an MLS-caliber keeper. There were many instances where I grabbed Lauren's arm unnecessarily (not that she minded) because he either charged out halfway and then tried to back-peddle back to the line, or was frozen like a deer in headlights. Our loud-mouthed season ticket holder friend beside us (usually he sits behind us) was kind enough to let Zach know just how bad he was (thanks guy).

Anyway, a win is a win... and it was a nice night to hang out with Lauren and enjoy a win. I have to say that I do love being able to leave the house at 7:15, get to RFK in time for kickoff, and then be home by 9:50. One of the many reasons we enjoy living in Del Ray.

Read the full story here.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Finally someone who gets it...


After going round and round with the people at Washington Sports Club a few weeks back when I discussed how ridiculous the concept was to CHARGE someone for DOWNGRADING their membership, as well as charging them to change home clubs, I had a great conversation this afternoon with the General Manager at the club over on King St. who said himself that he'd like to see the fees removed. 

To recap, I joined Washington Sports Club about 5 years ago when I lived in Arlington and got the passport membership which allowed me to workout in Arlington and Germantown where I worked.  Over the past 5 years they've steadily raised prices such that I'm now paying around $83/month.  However, I now live and work in Alexandria and have been working out at the club on King St. with no need to workout at any other club.  As Lauren and I have been trying to find ways to pinch some pennies, we decided 3 weeks ago that it was time to change to a regular membership and lower the monthly bill by $20/month to $60 something.   Well, when I called to make these changes, I was informed that there was an $80 downgrade fee and a $40 home club changing fee.  When I informed the account manager who I was talking to that $120 seemed like an awful lot to downgrade and change my membership  they told me that when they make the changes in the system, they HAVE to assess a fee, that there was no other choice.  So I responded that if they HAD to assess a fee, they could credit my account 2 months of membership free to makeup the difference.  The account manager wasn't sure what he could do and thus I instructed him to cancel my membership.

After working out one morning at the YMCA, I decided that while it would be cheaper for us to both belong to the Y, their workout facilities are just not the same nor anywhere near as good as what you'd get at WSC.  So, today I decided to talk to the General Manager and he was quite helpful, agreed that we shouldn't have to pay a fee when we've been loyal members and promised to take care of it for me this week.  As he admitted himself, it's easier for them to get me to stay than it would be for them to acquire a new member.

Finally, someone who gets the value of a customer... It's a shame it took a few weeks of frustration to get there.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Flock


Checking out Flock today... while it's been around for awhile now, I really haven't heard as much buzz about it as I would assume a social media browser would generate.  I like the concept of having all of your social media accounts at your fingertips in a space you use all day long, a web browser, but am still learning how everything plugs in, and how exactly I'll use this.  I'm actually posting this from Flock, after clicking on a button to post to my blog, which I like, so we'll see, I might end up using this a lot more than I anticipated.  I'll do a full evaluation once I've had some time to kick the tires a bit more.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Respite

Looks like the proposal madness has finally slowed down a bit and I can actually come up for air and relax somewhat, which is nice. There's a lot to take care of and it's about time I returned to my normal gym routine. While I enjoy writing and it's been fun working on proposals for the different industries, taking some time to look at the broader interactive space, and where our clients could get more involved will be a nice change of pace.

Stay tuned as I finally carve out some time to blog a little more.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Great Author

Not sure if many of you have heard of James Rollins, but I stumbled upon him about a month ago between jobs and am addicted to his writing. I'm pretty much averaging about a book a week and will probably finish up his written set in the next week or so. If you like action/adventure, definitely check him out.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Late Nights

Four weeks into my new job and as funny as it is, I've probably logged more hours in four weeks here than I did in two months at the old place. It's a combination of being passionate, enjoying what you're doing, and tight deadlines. A healthy mix. What makes it bearable is being as close to home as I now am. I can run home at lunch and catch that episode of Lost that I missed last week, or grab dinner with Lauren before coming back in for a "few" hours (a term I am using loosely). In any event, this has been a quick four weeks and as I've been saying, the "new guy" syndrome is no longer the case. I feel at home and very happy that I've made the switch. Kind of weird how quickly it has all faded away..

Also on the topic of late nights, Lauren and I attempted to get to the Radiohead show on Sunday night, only to be thwarted by the 4.5" deluge the DC area received Sunday-Monday. We left the house at 6:30 assuming we could be in our seats by 8:30 for Radiohead. Boy, were we wrong. What started out as typical traffic on 66 turned into a nightmare when we found out our way into Nissan Pavillion was flooded thus sending us on a crazy journey that ended with us sitting in traffic just to get into the parking lot. Finally, at 9pm we gave up and went home. Kind of disappointing considering we spent good money on the seats and I LOVE Radiohead, but nothing is worth ruining your whole week as we were sitting in traffic in the pouring rain. I heard the next day that some people sat in the parking lot until 1:00am waiting to LEAVE. Definitely a good decision to go home.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Spring, You Gotta Love It


My Blanket Bunny
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

These days in the DC area are so few and far between where the air is clean, the sun is warm, and there is NO humidity. We took advantage of the day by taking a quick hike along the Potomac Heritage trail and then spending a few hours along the Potomac getting some sun this afternoon. Doesn't get any better than this...

Babysitting Duty


Baby Cosmetics
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

I was called into babysitting duty last night for my favorite nephew for the first time without Lauren's help... Despite my initial trepidation, I couldn't help but be happy around this baby... even when he was a little frustrated with me for not realizing I fed him the wrong meal. Whoops. :) Not squash Uncle... I was supposed to get cereal!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Potomac Centennial Parade


It was a Hat Parade
Originally uploaded by psubuzz

One of the few benefits of living on Commonwealth are the various things you witness from your driveway... I've seen Avon Breast Cancer walkers, a police blockade, the annual Turkey Trot, and today, the City of Potomac Centennial Parade. As noisy as the street can be, particularly when it's the main cut through for police and the fire and rescue squads, mornings like this make up for it.



For more information on the history of the parade, click here.