Happy Hallow-Bean!

The Bean wishes everyone a happy halloween!

1337

Thank goodness for UrbanDictionary. I'm stuck at work after hours because our server crashed today and I get to babysit the building while the freelance IT chaps are in it. Why? There was a good reason earlier in the day, however now it eludes me. However it's not so bad because I've been looking up crazy terms in UrbanDictionary. I've learned the meaning (and history) of such 'words' as n00b, pwn, and 1337. Of course the first one is easy, the other two were new to me. Like they say in those Guinness commercials: "Fascinating!"

NFL: Week 7

Yikes! I forgot about the weekly NFL updates. The most likely reason is I'm trying to forget the woeful play of Washington's offense and forgot about updating all together! Let's see how the family & friend are stacking up:

Patriots & Adam: 6-0
Philly & In-laws: 6-0
Detroit & Sam: 4-2
Giants & Dan: 4-2
Washington & Me: 2-4

There was a lot of great football to be watched this past Sunday. The Patriots & Jets, the historical Kansas City game, and the shocker of the week: the close game between Philly and the Browns. Week 8 marks the return of Washington to the field (week 7 was a bye). However I will most likely miss the game due to our return trip from Philly. When you consider how Green Bay has been thrashing opponents of late that might be a good thing.

Work Is Good For The Nation

I tried to come up with a good Communist slogan for the title, however I think I failed. Next time I'll ask this guy for help.

We've been busy around the house. Although the main impetus for sprucing up the place was our guests (sister & her S.O.) I'd like to think our new passion for housework is because of the wife's full recovery from her foot injury. We painted a room (#2 of the scheduled 4), hung up pictures & the wedding chuppa, cleared out & cleaned up the guest rooms and put away miscellaneous junk into various trunks. It feels good to get things done. As an added bonus, you get a good night's sleep from all the hard work.

I'm hoping that this initial thrust of productivity will jump-start more house cleaning. However, I'm about to lose my wife to the demands of her job. With that, I fear the only tasks I will accomplish will be mob-related.

A Hazy Shade of Work

Last week I had a bothersome sore throat. It started on Sunday and I tried my best to be rid of it by Friday. Sadly, it only got worse. I tried to tough out the work week and succeed on most accounts. One adverse result of my stubbornness was that I don't remember a lot of what I did at work, just hazy shades of general tasks. Thursday night I gave up and decided that I would head to the doctor's first thing in the morning. Friday, however, did its best to keep me away from the doctor's office. At 6am I got a call on my cell phone. The freelance cameraman I hired to film a conference in Atlanta was refused access to the conference center by security. The reason? The conference was not occurring in the AM but in the PM. The association that hired our company to staff the event gave us the wrong times. So instead of sleeping in and then heading to the doctor's office I drove into work (earlier than usual) and tried to figure out this mess. Which I eventually did around 9am. Once at the doctor's they medicated me and after a weekend of rest I feel great.

Making the decision to head to the doctor's has become easier for me. I used to slog through sicknesses - even when they lasted for months - until the disease gave up. However, around age 23 I found that this approached yielded diminishing returns. Also, coming to work ill for weeks is not looked upon favorably by co-workers.

Big Car, Big Jerk

The other morning as I was pulling out of my neighborhood I was cut off by a big, black, Hummer-esque vehicle. As I pulled up to the yield sign, the mammoth-size car pulled around me blocking my ability to see oncoming traffic. In retaliation I pulled forward in an attempt to return the favor (not the most defensive tactic, I know) but he proceeded to pull around me, swing all the way into the far left lane then back into the far right lane. Clearly, this person is an ass at the most, and a terrible driver at the least.

In the car I am quick to lambast other drivers around me. I swear like a sailor on Saturday in a saloon - ask the wife. However, I wonder if the current size of vehicles make it easier to both spot asshole drivers and become an ass yourself. Certainly the larger the car the easier it is to spot horrible drivers. Does the increased size of a vehicle also give it's driver a (false) sense of security from other drivers (or laws)? I've never driven any of the current gigantic tank-like vehicles that dot today's roads so it's easy for me to heap scorn and disdain on them. Still, I am curious about other's experiences with - or in - today's SUVs.

Blogger? Grogger!

Grr... I had such a heck of a time trying to create a new post last night. And this morning. And this afternoon. What is up with that?! I want to write but blogger and on a larger scale the internet, doesn't want me to. Maybe that is the universe saying, "You suck. No one wants to hear what you have to say'.

It could be.

Beantown Love

The second (and probably last) posting concerning our trip to Boston. Our first night there we meet up with one of my cousins. The thing is, she isn't really a cousin. Her father and my father were cousins, which makes us second cousins (thanks Genealogy.com). Despite their technical distance from our family tree their entire family - referred to as the Hunter clan - are exceptionally dear to my family. As a wee lad I remember a crazed anticipation would set in when told that a member of the Hunter family was coming to visit.

Two years ago I flew up to Rochester NY for Uncle Will's birthday party and that ranked as one of the top ten moments of that year. I spent most of the evening drinking and hit golfballs into the pool with cousin Eric, his future wife, and drinking buddies. The following year I took my future wife out to LA for Eric's wedding. The whole weekend - especially the wedding - was a beautiful event. One of the funniest events of this weekend was Kellie's son, Will Jr. (6 years old), making an open-field tackle on the future-wife during a game of beach football. This year, I considered the presence of the entire Hunter clan at my wedding a special blessing. Now, just last week, I got the privilege of spending time with Kellie on her home turf in Boston. Like a good wine, cheese, or any other rich and refined item, each meeting seems to get better and better as I get older and older.

Beantown

What a great weekend! We saw many great friends and family. Big thanks to Adam and Jill who made trips up & down the "T" after long hours of working at their second jobs. While the entire trip was a smashing success, Saturday night was my favorite! Thanks, guys!

To those that have never been to Boston it is a great town! Everyone is super friendly, the streets are clean, and there is an adequate subway system for getting around town. It has all the charm of small town while still remaining the thriving metropolitan city that it is. Three cheers for Beantown! It's moved to 1st place on my list of places that I want to live next - sorry NYC.