June 29, 2005

I’ve got to say, one of the drivers of wanting to move to the burbs is the complete lack of manners here in Boston. I’m not talking about the hold the fork right, turn your fork and spoon to 4 o’clock when you’re done type of manners, nope, I’m talking about the “will someone please hold the door for the freakin’ guy with the stroller” type.

Why is it so difficult to see that I could use a little help with doors? And, for once, this is not me calling the kettle black. No, I’m the guy who sees that you need could use someone to hold the door and comes racing from behind you to get it.

So why are the manners better in the burbs? Well, they aren’t that much better. Afterall, I can’t got see a movie in my hometown without the ass behind me talking through the whole thing. But for some reason more people hold the doors. And say thank you. And don’t act so entitled that they don’t even notice that you’ve been holding the door as they slowly approach and then they glare at you as they enter like you’re a paid doorman instead of simply saying “thank you.”

And what is it with getting mad at me when I show some manners? God forbid I should think the pregnant woman might need to sit down on the T (subway). I guess I really deserved a good screaming at from her.

Is it so hard? Manners, please. Just a little is all I ask.

June 26, 2005

Recently I’ve been feeling the draw toward the suburbs. Can’t pinpoint the exact appeal of it is, but I can pinpoint when it happened — when HBomb was born. We live in Boston, some would even say we live in the most family-friendly part of Boston. And I used to love it. Weird thing is, when I was a kid, I hated cities.

Yup, cities and me were like oil and water, yin and yang, W and… well, you get the picture… When I was in college I even made a trip to NYC and found myself feeling clausterphopic. Then something changed. And I began to appreciate the city and all it offered.

That changed. All I can think of now is yards, decks, driveways, and H playing in the grass. Screw the good restaurants, the easy access to stores and the walk-to-everything lifestyle. I want what I had when I was a kid: a yard. A drive to the movies. Kids to play with in my neighborhood. Though, I guess Hayes would really be playing with them. Yup, that has changed. Now I want to play with the big kids. You know, those crazy grownups.

June 24, 2005

Yah, I know, HBomb is 5 months now, and I’m just getting the 4 month old pix up. Yup, I suck. Anyway, the good news is: I GOT THEM UP! That’s good news for me, anyway.

This month’s installment features tons of pix of Hayes sleeping, which was really a new development late into month 3, and some of H with his mom, my brother and my dad. Oh, good times. And lawyers in suits. Nothing says good times like lawyers in suits!

June 22, 2005

Well… HBomb is 5 whole months, as opposed to… uh, five half months, which would be 2.5 months, I guess. Anyway, what a journey it’s been this far! From the labor/delivery from hell to HBomb’s heroic battle with Acid Reflux to being accused of child abuse, we’ve had A LOT happen in the past five months.

And you know what? It was totally worth it. HBomb is the bomb. Everyday I’m happy that he’s around. Of course, it took a few full nights of sleep for me to finally get it. He’s the best thing that have ever happened to me… and the woman part of the equation is tied with him. Man, he’s such a great kid.

Yesterday I went to lunch with my best friend, Mike. We hit The Rattlesnake on Boylston cause my favorite lunch spot, the Parish Cafe was super crowded as always. Hayes sat in his stroller smiling at everyone, making friends with the waitresses and then quietly fell asleep. AMAZING. I gotta tell ya, he’s the best.

June 20, 2005

Happy Father’s Day to all you dad’s out there. I hope that, like me, you’ve got a great dad to learn from. If I can only be as good a father as my dad, HBomb is all but insured a happy, healthy life. Happy Father’s Day everyone!

June 18, 2005

I’ve been a staunch supporter of Apple since being a little kid. Hell, I remember using the first Mac in 1984 fondly. Today, though, I have to say… I’m ashamed of them.

My 6-month-old iMac died yesterday. I did a little google search on the problem and came up with a ton of articles/blog entries on the exact problem I had. Like this one from TUAW. So I took it into the store to get help from their “Mac Genius.” I’m not a big advocate of using quotes needlessly, so let me explain: they aren’t geniuses. Not even close. They even told me that I shouldn’t trust these articles on the web about the same problem I was having. Right, ‘cause clearly I know nothing about the internet.

What they are is purveyors of expensive solutions. Mac not working and under waranty? No problem will have it back to you in 7 business days. Not fast enough? Well, you can pay us $103.99 to move yourself to the front of the line, we usually have those machines back within 24 hours.

So let me get this straight… I have a 6-month-old computer under warantee and if I want it in a reasonable time frame, I need to pay? Now why did I buy a new computer? Oh, I remember, to make sure it wouldn’t break down on me.

So what am I to do? Pay the f’n extortion money that’s what. This computer is my business and without it I lose clients and hemorage money.

But it’s Saturday and guess what? No computer. Nope, the part didn’t come in. When will it come in? Not sure. It could be on back order. Wouldn’t you think it would have been easy to check whether it was on back order or not? Apparently it is not.

So what to do what to do. Not work, that’s one thing I can’t do without my computer. I guess I may have to throw more money at the problem and get a second computer. It’s not like I have a 5 month old that I would rather spend my hard earned cash on anyway, right?