Pieces of G.

Resusci Bloggie

Okay, so it's been 1/2 of a year since I've posted.  Not so great for a blog, eh?

A lot has happened in that time.

In the beginning of January, I left Keane after more than 7 years and landed at a new company - Imprivata.  The Titanic Keane wasn't the same place anymore and the places was falling to pieces, so I was happy to get out of there.  I still have wonderful memories in tact, but it was time to go.  I am now working at a much smaller, start up where I'm very busy doing impactful programs.  My Boss is a woman that I worked with at Keane, so that's been a nice connection.

Just before Easter, Matt and I broke up.  We are still living together while he finalizes plans to buy a Condo in DOT, so things are amicable.  It's tough because in many ways things feel the same, but I know that the band-aid will be ripped off eventually.  And I think the cut will re-bleed before it full heals.  But since I'm anticipating it, I hope to have some antiseptic and gauze at the ready to stem the flow :}

I joined Facebook last month.  I felt like I was the wrong demographic, but I've seen found a ton of people I went to HS on there, so that's been fun.  It's much easier to quickly write on someone' wall than to try and pull together a full email, so it's easy to connect with people I haven't thought about in years and years.

I am hopeful that I'll return to this here blog and things can get back to normal.  I don't have a readership, but maybe that should be a goal for '08.  We'll see.

iPod Touch?

I'm a total gadget geek.  I can't help it.  I think it's something that I've inherited from my Mother since she too needs to have the latest and greatest.  Well, she knows her limits and she can resist some things, but when it was passed down, that ability to limit may have fallen off the DNA.  Or perhaps it comes with age.

Anyway, I'm very tempted by the iPod Touch.  Of course I was initially intrigued by the iPhone.  But then I realized that I still very much love my Treo and I have some programs on there that I've learned I can not live without (Splash Money being one of them).  So while I was tempted by the iPhone, I was able to convince myself that I didn't need it.

Then they unveiled the iPod Touch.

What I see is the "cool functionality" of the iPhone, without the need to make it your one and only device.  I know people might think it's crazy not to want one device, but I'm happy having a Smartphone and a separate music player.  I love music, but I don't need it to be that available.  My iPod stays in my work bag and that works well.

So, the fact that you can wi-fi new music is awesome.
The awesome touch screen is enviable.
The updated Coverflow seems cool.

My one concern is that there is no back up to the wi-fi option.  While folks have complained about AT&T's EDGE network being slow, at least it provides another option.  I'm concerned that when I can't find a wi-fi signal, the thing is kind of dead.

But then I got over that issue.  I will still have my Treo if I need the web and I can't get on wi-fi.  So now I think I'm going to go for it.

Caniculares Dies

I guess technically, the Dog Days of Summer are kind of hard to pin down.  I had thought they were the last couple of weeks of August, but apparently they can extend from July through early August.  No matter.

I'm using the term to mean more of the stagnant feeling you get - not the actual stagnant heat.  In fact, it is oddly feeling like Fall around Boston already.  I guess it's just that inner feeling when you realize that summer is quickly winding down and you're not sure how you feel about it.  Immediately you think of the fact that you never once went to Singing Beach and that's not likely to happen.  You realize that you didn't really get outside nearly as much as you'd like, and soon that desire will flitter away.  And I guess you slowly realize that this great-for-sleeping coolness will slowly progress into bitter cold nights and you don't want to think about that just yet.

But it's also a time when you can kick it into gear.  With the global warming trend, summer doesn't really pack up and leave on Labor Day weekend anymore, so there still is the chance to enjoy more sun on the face.  And like any good procrastinator, the looming deadline usually inspires some action.

Tonight I have a massage at 6:45 in Copley.  I'm hoping to get out of work close to on time so I have some time to stroll around the South End and Back Bay for a bit.  Do a little windown shopping, do a little people gazing, and just soaking up the sun.

You should to - before it's too late :)

Where was I?

Okay, so it's been an eternity since I've written on here.  It's not that I haven't had much going on, just haven't been blogging.

Work continues to suck.  Kim's last day is next Thursday.  Melissa was laid off and will be leaving in the beginning of October.  Right now, there is NOBODY in the office, and this is what it'll be like come Fall.  Gross.  Personnel aside, we still don't have any strategic direction or plan, so it's more rudderless movement.  Also, we launched the crappiest website known to man, just so we could put a check in the box.  That's the way to be strategic!

Last weekend was the annual Saco River trip.  In some ways it was just what I expected, and in other ways it was totally different.  Over 50 people on a river and camping is quite crazy.  Made even worse when they drink all day long and don't end up sleeping at all.  Our canoe capsized on the 2nd day which kind of sucked.  The bonus was people offered us free food thinking we'd lost our food.  I managed to eek out a dry-ish pair of jeans and a passable t-shirt.  On Monday, it was raining, so I just wore the long-sleeved T and my swimsuit and hoped for the best.  We made record time in the river, which was lucky because it got really ugly after we finished.  Thankfully we were able to get to the car and just take off afterwards and warm up in the car.

Last night I went to Harborlights with Sarah for some random event she got a ticket to.  I guess it was the annual Legislators convention and the Pops were playing as part of their final night in town.  It was open bar with free food, so it was decent.  We got there at 8:00 and left just after 9:30, so it wasn't a crazy night at all.

Tonight Matt and I are going to do something.  Might be dinner.  Maybe a movie.  Who knows.  I guess we could stay in, but I'm hoping we'll get out and do something.

Tomorrow I'm working an Event at Fenway - the Future's Game.  I guess it's a Minor League tournament or something.  I have to be there by 9am and I'm hoping to be out of there by 5:00.  After that, I might pick up a new flat screen monitor if it's not too late and if the Best Buy isn't too crazy.  It's tax free weekend, so it can get a bit nutty.  They have a decent looking one on their site for $129, but it's listed as Sold Out.  Why would it still be returned in searches if they don't have any?  Weird.

I guess that's it for now.  I'm already thinking about what Melissa and I can do for lunch later...

Spectacle Island

This past Saturday, Deb and I went to Spectacle Island - one of the numerous Harbor Islands that make up the Emerald Necklace in Boston.  In true harbor island fashion, it was once used for a whole host of other purposes - including a quarantine island for sick folks, a dump, and a settlement for early Indians.  During the excavation of the Ted Williams tunnel for the Big Dig, they brough the dirt to Spectacle island so it could once again be used "by the people".  Last summer they reopened the island which includes hiking trails, a guarded beach, and a decent building that houses a snack shack and some island artifacts.