Two Weeks Away

That's right... after a year of planning, a few arguments, many memorable moments, and a  little bit of stress, the big day is only 14 days from today.  In fact, 14 days from this very moment the wedding and reception will be over, and we'll be officially man and wife.  It's been an interesting 13 months, but it's been a great 13 months, and in a few weeks, I'll have even more stories to share.  However, do not be surprised if the posts get to be rather sparse as things get a little crazy here in the final stretch.  I'll do my best, but won't make any promises. 

On another subject, tomorrow is the big Galaxy-United game at noon, serving as game 1 of a two game doubleheader on ABC, with game 2 being the Germany-Spain Euro finale.  I'll be at the first one and will be hauling tukass to get to a friend's house for game 2.

Stay tuned.

Charity Event in NYC

Thought this was pretty cool if you're a soccer or basketball fan.

http://aplfilms.com/NASH.mov

Kind of funny when you think that Reyna has not been healthy enough to play for the Red Bulls, yet he was able to play in this charity event...

That's What She Said

Psyched to see this today. 

Carell Clocks In for More Office - E! Online

It's actually pretty surprising to see how quickly (one might say meteorically) Carell's career rose with the success of The Office. 

Obviously, I love the show so I am very happy to hear that it will be on for 3 more years... Though I'm NOT too thrilled to hear that there will be a spin-off.  Personally, I think it can only take away from the success and reputation the American version has attained.  In fact, we're almost "Americanizing" a British hit...

I'm probably being too harsh... I'm sure it will be as successful as Joey was after Friends ended.

Keyless Remote Adventure

For the past year and a half, I have manually locked and unlocked the door of my Toyota 4Runner because I had thought my keyless remote was defunct. I was under this impression because I had replaced the battery, and had spoken to representatives at my local Toyota dealership who informed me that I needed a new remote, for somewhere in the neighborhood of $400. Instead of paying for a new one, I figured that I could live with manually locking the door.

One day, my brother mentioned to me that I could probably find a remote online, and program it myself to match my car. A year passed and I had never gotten around to it... until last week.

Lo and behold, I found a remote for $40, that came with Contra cheat code-like instructions on how to program it for my 4Runner. 2 minutes later, I had a remote control that worked. On a hunch, I decided to try and program my old "defunct" remote to see if that made a difference. 2 minutes later, I had TWO remote controls that worked for my car.

Lesson learned, you can buy your own remote and program it to match your car. If your remote has stopped working and replacing the battery does not work, look for the programming instructions online rather than taking it to your dealer to get a new one.

For those of you who have the 4Runner remote with Lock/Unlock/Window down, the following instructions will program your remote:

HOW
1) Driver's door open, all other doors closed, key removed from ignition switch.
2) Insert key into ignition switch, then remove it.
3) Press LOCK and UNLOCK on the vehicle door lock control switch at 1 second intervals 5 times.
4) Close and re-open driver's door.
5) Press LOCK and UNLOCK on the vehicle door lock control switch at 1 second intervals 5 times.
6) Insert key into ignition switch.
7) Switch ignition ON and OFF once to program a remote transmitter code whilst retaining the original codes or twice to program a remote transmitter code whilst erasing the original codes. Three times to check how many remote transmitters are currently registered or five times to erase all codes.
8) Remove key from ignition switch:
9) System should now lock and unlock vehicle. Once, twice, or five times depending on which mode has been selected. One to four times, slowly, to indicate number of remote transmitters registered.
10) Press and hold LOCK and UNLOCK remote buttons together.
11) Press LOCK remote button for 1 second:
12) System should now lock and unlock vehicle once to confirm, twice to indicate registration has failed.

Note: To exit programming mode: Close driver's side door or insert ignition key. A maximum of four transmitters can be programmed.

Have fun!

What could have been...

Always frustrating to learn what could have been...

Back To The Future: News Corp. Launches A Weather Site (NWS) - Silicon Alley Insider

I obviously have my opinions on how we ended up in that position in '05, but at some point you have to let go of the past and focus on how happy you are with your life in the present, and I couldn't be happier.

To all my friends still there, I wish you the best and hope you do what is best for you now, and in the future.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

Quickly...

Every day I have had the intention to post an update on the new job, the demise of the Caps in the playoffs, and the Wizards inability to close out a playoff game, but sadly, despite being 7 minutes from the house, I am working harder now than I was prior to the switch. That being said, I'm actually having more fun than I've had in a long time. After 7 days, I can say that I enjoy working with my new co-workers, I am being challenged in ways I've never been challenged, and see an opportunity to learn so much more than I ever have. To sum it up... I'm happy. Funny how things work out the way they are supposed to...

In other news, I was in a car accident yesterday at the intersection of Madison St. and Washington St. in Old Town Alexandria. Somehow, I survived 80 miles a day for 7.5 years without a single incident... and 6 days into my new job 4 miles from the house I get sideswiped. Weird. The long and short of it is that I was traveling east on a 2 lane, one way road, and a lady in the right lane attempted to turn left as I was passing her in the left lane. She claims that she was in the left lane, but logistically, it would be impossible for someone to pass to the left of her if she was in the left lane. I've traveled on that road for over 10 years and have reviewed the incident in my head the three times I've driven through that intersection since and cannot see how I she thought she was in the left lane. In any case, the 4runner sustained relatively minor, cosmetic damages while her driver's side wheel well was completely smashed. Gotta love the tank. What annoyed me most was that she jumped out of her car and started yelling at me, whereas the first words out of my mouth were, "are you ok?" Her response was, "of course I'm not OK, you wrecked my car!" Which proceeded to make me even more agitated since she was clearly not of sound mind... but oh well. We traded insurance information and we'll see what the impact is to my rate... ugh. Knock on wood, that's the last of my troubles with my crazy commute.

For those of you that I have not mentioned this to, Grafik is a Mac shop, which means that I have to learn all of the shortcut keys that I have grown accustomed to on the PC. What that has led to is me using Mac commands as I'm typing this, and PC commands as I attempt to work. It's very frustrating and I'm sure I'll have even more stories as I convert to the Mac. All in all, I really cannot comment on Macs as a whole since I do not have my final laptop yet and thus have only spent as much time as I've needed to in the past 7 days on what I have. I'll keep you posted though.

Finally, I DO have some stories to share from my experiences on Saturday trying to negotiate a lower cable bill, a lower cell phone plan, and a different gym membership, but my frustration level is so high still with that and I was so unsuccessful that I'll leave it for another time.

New Start

The grand plan was to blog every day that I was off from work last week. Then of course the weather got warmer and I wanted to spend less and less time indoors. I finished off the week with two trail runs around 4-5 miles each, a trip to the gym and a 15 mile bike ride down to my parent's house. On Saturday, Lauren and I ventured out to Chesapeake Beach, MD for lunch and to check out some of the properties on the water. For those of you who have never been out there, it's a great place to do a summer weekend night dinner or get married if you live locally. The air is definitely cleaner and the people seem a tad friendlier than their neighbors 35 miles away. In any case, it's pretty safe to say that I was able to make the most of the weather before starting my new gig on Monday.

Speaking of which, yesterday was day 1 of being the "new guy" a role I had not played in over 7 years. While it's always a little uncomfortable the first few days, my new co-workers were all very friendly and are excited for me to be joining the team. After one day it's very apparent that I'll be kept pretty busy and will be challenged, which is exactly what I was hoping for... Now, if I can only get my own computer...

On to local sports... sadly, the Wizards continue to struggle with the Cavs while the Caps have now forced a Game 7, which wraps up tonight at the Verizon Center. It's definitely a first to have two DC teams in the playoffs playing games on the same night... something I could definitely get used to.

Anyway, that's all for now... more on the latest happenings soon!

Week Off, Day Two

So, it's that week between jobs, that week that we all look forward to while we're working wherever it is that we're working... a week that reminds you of Spring Break in college when you don't have to worry about anything. I don't have to think about my old job, and don't have any obligations yet at the new job. So what's the agenda for the week?

Well, the "Big Week Off" started early last Friday, when the weather was in the high 70s. I was able to sneak in a long bike ride in the afternoon on my new hybrid bike before Lauren and I went to the Eastern Shore for the weekend and tasted the food that will be served at our reception on Saturday. We also checked out the church so that we could actually see where we'll be declaring our life-long love for one another. The church is "ok." It's not your traditional Catholic church with high ceilings and stained glass windows, but it's not the building that matters... it's who is standing across from you at the altar. Anyway, from the church, we went on to Salero where we tasted pork spring rolls (C), scallops wrapped in bacon (A-), mini crab cakes (A+), Baked Salmon (B), Ham and Grueyere Cheese stuffed chicken (A), and a house salad that consisted of bleu cheese, cranberries, and nuts (B+). It was definitely enough to fill up, and helped settle some of the indecision we had about certain foods. The menu is not final yet, but it's safe to say that based on what we tasted, it's going to be a VERY tasty reception!

The rest of the weekend was spent watching the Masters and Tiger fail to make a move on the final day for the first time in awhile. I was actually disappointed that Immelman was never challenged on Sunday, though he seemed like a pretty decent guy in the interviews, and you have to feel good for a guy who four months ago was in a hospital bed wondering if the tumor in his body was cancerous. Sadly, the weather itself was a bust on Sunday... cold and kind of rainy. Also watched the Caps give away Game 2 to go into Game 3 today tied 1-1.

Yesterday, Lauren took the day off and we spent most of the day running errands letting the weather slowly warm up. By the afternoon, it wasn't too bad (mid 50s), so we went down to the water in Old Town and laid out in the sun for a few hours reading. Speaking of which, I picked up a great book by James Rollins, called Subterranean. It looks like this is one of a few books that he has written, so I'm looking forward to spending more time today and the rest of the week doing some much needed reading.

So, today... I've already been to the gym and perused the Washington Post to get caught up on my local sports news. In summary, the Wizards won last night in futility as the Cavs locked up the 4th position in a bizarre set of events that had them shooting the winning free throws after the 76ers had already left the court. The Wizards will face the Cavs in the first round for the 3rd straight season beginning this weekend I think. Meanwhile, the Caps play Game 3 tonight against the Flyers and hope to regain home ice advantage. Based on what I saw on Sunday, the Caps need to shake off the mental games and play their game. The Flyers are playing a rough style that seems to shake the Caps, particularly Ovechkin, who cannot seem to get into a rhythm. That being said, if Boudreau can wake them up, there is no reason why the Caps can't take this game tonight. We'll see.

Finally, I came across this great video on Chris Cooley's blog this morning that pits Portis versus Cooley's fiancee to see who knows Chris best. I am pretty excited that Chris is blogging since he's by far my favorite Skin and a guy that seems to have no problem giving his fans a window into his life.

Anyway, time to get moving and make some lunch. I think I'm going to try and go check out another part of the Potomac Heritage Trail after lunch and see if it's going to provide a place to go trail running in the future. Have a great day everyone!

End of an Era

Well, it's official... my time at WeatherBug has come to a bittersweet end after seven and a half years of amazing and memorable accomplishments. During this time period I've learned so much about product management, about building a business, and made some great friends along the way. The products that I've helped build are used by millions of people every day and have saved countless lives over the years.

For those of you who do not know, I've accepted a position at Grafik, a marketing communications firm based in Old Town as their new Director of Interactive Strategy. In this position, I will get to work with a great team to build up the interactive practice, and learn so much more about marketing and advertising. Not to mention, it's 5 minutes from our place in Del Ray.

As I shutdown my laptop and get on I-270 South one last time, I wish everyone at WeatherBug good luck and thank everyone for an unforgetable seven years.