Baby A's Countdown

This daily update on Baby A will be kept on the bottom of the page.

Our Complete Update

"Baby A" Update

According to our Baby Calendar, this week Baby A's hands and feet are just about finished forming. At this point the hands and feet look something like paddles with thumbs/big toes. All internal organs are now formed as well.

Wife Update

She's still sick. Other than the almost constant nausea, she is doing great.

Husband Update

I am now an official member of the New York Bar. Here in NY, the Bar admission process is particularly arduous. In most states, the Bar application process looks like this: first, fill out an application during law school; second, wait for the results of the background check; third, take the Bar; forth, get sworn in soon after passing the Bar. That's how I did it in my last state.

In new York, the process is reversed and a bit more complex. First, an applicant must pass the Bar Exam. In NY, this is just the first step, not the completion of the process. After passing the Bar Exam, he must fill out the long, excruciating application (which includes getting sworn affidavits from employers, professors, and friends as to moral character). Once the background check is completed, a personal interview is scheduled. After suffering through an interview in which everything the personal applicant has ever done is scrutinized, then a class entitled "Introduction to the Practice of Law" is required. Finally, the applicant will be invited to the courthouse to take an oath to uphold the Constitution and be admitted to practice law in New York. All that to simply say, the process is finally done and I am an official New York attorney.

Our Celebration

My law firm gave us two tickets to the Rangers game last night (they also provided the proding to leave the office at 6:40 so that we could get to the 7:00 game). We had a wonderful evening at Madison Square Garden. Our tickets were absolutely fabulous. Unfortunately, we had to waste such great seats on hockey. Just kidding. Miraculously, Wife felt great the entire night.

Newest Addition to Our Blogging Team

Yes, our lives are about to change a bit. A little BABY bit. Come September, there will be a little screaming and pooping bundle of joy in our lives. Yes, we are very excited. The doctor tells us that at this point, everything looks excellent. After years of looking at poorly behaved children and turning to each other and saying, "Our kids will never get away with that," we will finally have the opportunity to be proven wrong.

Wife is currently suffering from "morning sickness." I've realized that the name is extremely misleading since she is nauseous and sick in the morning, afternoon, evening and especially at night.

We don't want to get to far ahead of ourselves, but I have already begun researching Greek and Hebrew curriculum for infants. Wife is preparing to teach the poor kid French, voice, and piano. Is two weeks about the right age to start preparing for the SAT Exam? Hey, at least we don't have the kid signed up for preschool yet. Shockingly, many of the people we work with get their kids on the waiting lists of exclusive preschools just hours after learning of the pregnancy. But who wants to spend $35,000 a year on preschool?

The first thing I purchased for the pregnancy was a Countdown to Birth Calendar. Every morning before work we read together the newest tidbit about little Baby A (yeah, keeping with our creative style, Wife and I have code named the little person "Baby A"). Here are a few tidbits:

* Little bumps that will become Baby A's lungs are beginning to appear.

* Baby A is growing at approximately 1 millimeter each day.

* Baby A's tongue is now formed (ready to join wife in licking an ice cream cone in the years to come)

* Each of Baby A's arms are small, but the elbows should have just begun forming.

I anticipate that the blog will begin to be updated very frequently with updates. I'm currently beating Wife in this blogging competition approximately 200 to 6. Maybe she can catch up with frequent updates on the anticipated development of Baby A.

Not Your Usual Plane Landing

Our knack for being within a short proximity of the bizarre continues (for those following our blog, this includes an underground explosion, a collapsing sidewalk, a falling crane, a window jumping model, and an overdosing joker).

Last week, we were close enough to have a perfect view of US Airways Flight 1549 landing in the Hudson River. From my office window I could see the entire landing. I could see it, but I didn't see it. Soon after it occurred I was told to look out my window - I turned around and saw a great deal of emergency crews, but I didn't see the plane. Wife was even closer to the action than I was, but didn't see it either.

Along with the rest of the world, my hat is off to the pilot, crew, and emergency crews.

If I had turned around, I would have had a better view than this:

Bad News

The reports were wrong. It didn't snow last night. You would think that would really upset Wife, but she seems to be unusually happy.

More Big News!

Wow. Wife is excited. The weather report says it will snow tonight, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Big News!

It's snowing here in NYC. According to the weather reports, we could be in for a lot of snow this weekend.

Thanks for the 15 Minutes of Fame

For a short period of time, our blog was popular. Very popular. Since we started this blog, we have had a very small, but steady stream of readers (generally about 20-30 unique readers a day). A week ago tonight, somehow the link to our recent funny cake blog entry was posted on a popular humor website - and the visits started to flow in. Last Sundays we were ranked as one of the most visited blogs on the internet. Since last Sunday, each successive day has brought about half as may visitors as the day before. Within a couple days, I expect that we will be back down to our normal number of loyal visitors. On the bright side, we finally got visitors from each of the 50 states (I was beginning to wonder if you folk have internet access in Wyoming). We now have had visitors from over 75 countries and 1400 different cities.

For those who stumbled upon this blog and can't figure out the theme, don't worry, it's not you - there isn't one. My wife and I started this blog when we moved to NYC from a slower part of the country so that family and friends could keep up with our culture shock. What was intended to be a nine-month adventure has developed into an indefinite stay as we transformed from tourists into busy working professionals. As our lives changed, so did our blog. Our new and exciting experiences are no longer new and exciting - it's just life. So, the blog is now an eclectic combination of whatever I feel like posting. Surprisingly, Wife - who was the one who insisted on starting the blog - lets me do most of the posting.

Want to Take a Picture in Times Square

Here's a quick tip for all the tourists visiting Times Square: think before you take pictures with somebody.

As you walk through Times Square, you will see lots of fun people who want to be in your pictures. You'll probably see Elmo, Dora the Explorer, Mickie and Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, and some great renditions of the Statue of Liberty. All of these will be motioning you to come take a picture with them.

When they see their favorite character, kids frequently get worked up into a frenzy and run over to their hero while the parents snap pictures. Parents even get the kids worked up ("Look, it's Mickie. Do you want to say 'hello' to Mickie? Run over there and I'll take your picture"). What tourists don't seem to grasp is that these photo ops are not free. As soon as the photo is shot, Elmo will be holding out a bag with the explanation that their fee is $5 per shot.

Sometimes tourists realize what that picture will cost them, but frequently they are completely oblivious. I've seen countless arguments between the Statue of Liberty and a shocked tourist who didn't realize that Lady Liberty didn't pose with the kids, and then with mom, and then with mom and dad out of the goodness of her heart. The stunned tourist never expected the statue to demand payment.

I'll be honest, some of the characters really do look cute. Maybe the pictures are worth five bucks each to you. If that's the case, shoot away. But just remember, if you want to take a picture with Tigger, be ready to pull out your cash. Even Tigger needs to feed his family.

Times Square Memo

Dear Drunk Times Square Party-goers:

Please, get out of my backyard.

Love,

A Frustrated Times Square Resident

P.S. Seriously, we love you tourists - you're what make this neighborhood special. But, please, develop some manners.

What I Got for Christmas

On Christmas morning, I began unwrapping my gifts from Wife. First I opened a toothbrush. That was followed by deodorant. Of course there was a tube of toothpaste. Next I got a couple packages of underwear and undershirts. Yes, those were all real gifts, but I can't complain, because Wife knows how to pick out great gifts for me. Fortunately, here so does her work. Here is a gift her company sent home for me:



Here is another one:

One Atheist's View of a Gideon

A Gideon (an organization of business men who distribute Bibles) gave a Bible to outspoken atheist Penn Jillette. If you are familiar with Penn, you know he is a man who boldly speaks his mind. Here is a video of him sharing his thoughts on the experience. I found it very interesting.

It's a Cold, Cold World

Sure enough, it snowed on Friday. We didn't receive the six inches of snow on Friday that the optimistic weather reports promised, but we did get quite a bit.

Saturday afternoon Wife and I enjoyed playing in the snow and ice at Central Park (along with a few thousand of our closest friends).

On Sunday morning, we walked to church in the snow. But something happened while we were at church - it rained. The rain managed to melt a good portion of the fluffy white stuff. Fortunately, our apartment overlooks a garden, which remains covered with snow, so Wife continues to live in bliss.

The weather has now turned even colder. This morning, we walked to work with the thermometer reading in single digits. Wife is thrilled that the cold weather is putting a layer of ice over her precious snow to "preserve the pretty."

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

I am so excited that I just can’t seem to fall asleep. My wonderful little Acuvue Weather Forecaster keeps popping up with a severe weather warning. WE ARE GOING TO HAVE MORE SNOW! In fact, tomorrow we are expected to have over 6 inches of snow with more to follow throughout the week. Could we actually have a White Christmas?

I know that there are many of you reading this blog right now thinking I am a fool - you are yelling at the computer or shaking your head in disbelief. But I cannot help it. I love snow. There is just something about it that makes me so happy. Maybe it reminds me of my days as a kid building snowmen, sliding down the big steep hills or building snow angels. I am sure that if I had to drive in the white fluff, my opinions would change rather drastically.

The only negativity about snow, when you live in Manhattan, is the day after when the snow has been pushed up against the sidewalk ledges and you have to cross a major street (my mind turns to 42nd) leaving you to step in a huge, yucky puddle of slush.

It finally began to feel like Christmas on Tuesday when we received our first few flakes. My coworkers know (and do not quite understand) my love of snow and my eager anticipation for the first snow. All of Tuesday morning, I was getting teased that it was snowing, but when I looked out the window there was nothing but an air conditioner. At approximately 12:30, I had to go see our CFO and as I walked out I heard “the boys” (as I’ve affectionately named my coworkers) encouraging me to look out the window. Sure enough big, FAT flakes were falling down from the sky. At that time Husband called me to make sure I wasn’t missing our first snowfall. As strange as it may seem to many of you, seeing the snow made my day. Thankfully, the snow started back up that night so I could take a short stroll through the beautiful white fluff.

After all of that, you can imagine my excitement to learn that we are expecting huge snowstorms in the next couple of days. Starting tomorrow morning, NYC will hopefully be covered in a blanket of white snow.

Surprise Cake Gone Wrong

It took me a minute to get this, so make sure you read the story under the picture. Rumor is that really did happen, and this is a real cake from Walmart. This cake was a surprise from someone leaving a job at an insurance claims office.

Okay so this is how I imagine this conversation went:

Walmart Employee: "Hello, Walmart, how can I help you?"

Customer: "I want to order a cake for a going away party this week."

Walmart Employee: "What you want on the cake?"

Customer: "'Best Wishes Suzanne' and underneath that 'We will miss you.'"

White Cold Stuff

Today, we experienced what Wife has been eagerly anticipating for the last several months.

I walked home tonight in the snow. I learned a shocking truth: snow is really cold. It is a new lifestyle to walk inside and try to brush all that white stuff out of my hair, off my coat, off my glasses, out of my eyebrows, off my shoes, and out of my collar.

Upon entering our apartment, I was greeted by Wife as she sat gazing out the window, clapping and squealing, "Look at all the pretty snow." It takes very little to entertain us, which is quite fortunate because this little bit of snow will undoubtedly have melted when we awake.

The Song of My Life: I'm Billing Time

This song goes up there on my list of funniest songs ever. It is written and performed by the talented attorney vocal group Bar and Grill Singers.

Sung to the tune of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time," it feature hilarious, but true, lyrics such as:

If you come to my office or call my phone,
I'm billing time.
If you stop me at parties to whine and moan,
I'm billing time.
If I think of you when I am all alone,
I'm billing time.
If you're late for appointments,
I will be waiting and billing time.

(Actually, I don't bill my time for when I think of the client when I'm all alone...generally).

Carnegie Deli

There was good news and bad news. The bad news is that last night, soon after I finally got home about 8:00 in the evening (an early night for me), my Blackberry started buzzing with a message telling me I was needed to work on a big project all day today (I probably would have been disappointed, but Wife had to work all day as well).

The good news is that the client I was working on bought me dinner from Carnegie Deli. Carnegie Deli is known for their outstanding sandwiches, but they are also known for their ridiculous prices (it's a bit of a tourist trap).

Soon after Wife and I arrived in New York, we walked by Carnegie Deli as an angry patron was screaming about how he just paid $45 for a burger, fries, and soda. That was the last time Wife and I contemplated eating there. Well, today my client bought me one of their corned beef sandwiches (one of the things they are particularly they are famous for).

I thought the tales of the size of their sandwiches were exaggerated - they are not.

For those concerned with the cost, this sandwich only set the client back a mere $14.95.

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Though both Wife and I had to spend most of the day at our respective offices, we spent the evening taking in some of the best Christmas scenes the City has to offer.

We started out going to see the famous tree at Rockefeller Center. Here's my summary of that experience: ridiculously, freakishly, insanely crowded. That's all I have to say about that.

We moved over to another crowded area to see displays at Saks Fifth Avenue, which was probably the most impressive portion of the evening. Last week, we spent plenty of time enjoying the Macy's holiday experience. Frankly, Saks probably beats them.

Last year, Wife desperately wanted to see the laser-light show at Grand Central Station. Unfortunately we didn't make it last year, so we decided to stay her permanently just so we could experience the light show. Wow...that was overrated.

Finally, we perused over to Bryant Park to see the tree, watch ice skaters, and browse all the little holiday shops. This evening, we started getting our first snow flakes. All we need is a white Christmas to make the scene complete. Without a doubt, nobody does holiday spirit like New York City.

Our Inside Joke with Sam Waterston

On tonight's all new Law & Order, the episode ended with Jack McCoy, Sam Waterston's character, remarking, "I'm too old to play Hamlet." To the uninformed, that may sound like a typical line in the script, but understanding the background reveals an inside joke.

Early in his career, Waterston played the title role in Shakespeare in the Park's rendition of Hamlet. This year, Shakespeare in the Park once again performed the same play. Again, Waterston played a leading role - but in 2008 he was too old to play Hamlet, so he instead starred as Polonius.

This summer, Wife and I had the privilage of watching Waterston's memorable performance, where we learned that Waterston may be too old to play Hamlet, but he's still more than capable being the star of the show.

Advising the Mayor

During the long holiday weekend, Wife and I spent some time advising Mayor Bloomberg regarding a few of the issues plaguing the City. Wife discussed some precarious financial situations while I addressed the pressing legal issues of the city. Ok, it didn't quite go down like that. But Wife and I did get to shake Mayor Bloomberg's hand as he warmly greeted us (with the warmth that only a seasoned politician can provide).


On an unrelated note: Do not send Christmas cards to any address except our NEW address (August '08). Anything sent to any other address will NOT be forwarded. If you need our new email address, shoot us an email and we will be happy to send it to you.

Career Ambitions

The Bar Exam: The Results Are In!

Friday was an exciting day for our household. Mid-afternoon on Friday, we learned that Husband passed the New York Bar Exam. I am so proud of Husband for this accomplishment. This is the second Bar Exam that he has passed (and, hopefully, the last exam he will ever have to take).

Earlier in the week Husband learned that the results would be posted at 9:00 AM on Friday morning. Husband and I are usually the first ones in our respective offices every day, but Friday we both decided to go in late and wait for the results to be posted. The anticipation was mounting as we waited for the results. There was one major problem. Apparently the New York Bar Examiners didn’t anticipate that over 15,000 eager soon-to-be lawyers would be all logging on to check their results at the same time. As soon as the results were posted, the website went into overload and began to crash. Needless to say we kept trying to check the results, but we couldn’t gain access to the website. After about 15 minutes of trying, we decided we better get to work.

At work we both continued to try to gain access in between meetings and actually get our work done. Mid-afternoon I was finally successful in gaining access to the website to Husband’s results. I quickly called him and read to him that The New York Bar Examiners would like to congratulate him on passing the New York Bar Exam. I was thrilled and couldn’t help telling everyone I knew of this great accomplishment! He has worked so hard over these last several years and I am so proud of him.

Debriefing After Our Formal

After spending last weekend shopping for formal wear, our black-tie gala went very well. The food was awesome. Half the time, I didn't know what I was eating, but from the five-inch prawns and seared tuna appetizers, the sea bass entree, and ending with the chocolate torte and cheesecake dessert, the food was absolutely decadent (yeah, I know that sounds ostentatious, but it's an inside joke).

The celebrities were out in force. It looked to me like there were a handful of A-listers everyone wanted to greet, several handfuls of B-listers who were relatively popular throughout the night, and a ton of C and D-listers desperately trying to be seen. I'm not going to run down the list of whom was there (two reasons:first I don't want to drop all those names; second, I really didn't recognize most of them).

There is one name I will drop: the main entertainment for the night was Jay-Z. If you know me, you know that I am way, way too white and nerdy to be down with Jay-Z, but he did an outstanding job. Why was I so impressed? First, he kept it extremely clean (not something I would usually associate with him). Second, everyone from the young socialites to the old rich snobs seemed to really enjoy him. Third, there are some performers who are so talented, that even when their skills are not quite your cup of tea, you need to sit back and admit that they have real talent - that is exactly how I felt.

I have no idea when, or if, we will be invited to another event like this again, but we have our formal duds ready to go next time we get the call.

Our Surprise Formal

Earlier this week, Senior Partner calls me and says, "Associate,* I have a couple tickets for a black tie gala at Extremely Exclusive Location, would you and your wife..." To which I immediately interjected, "Yes! We'll go." This coming week, Wife and I will be attending a formal charity gala. Senior Partner warned me that the firm cheaped out and only bought $8,000 tickets so we will not have access to the green room to meet and greet the celebrities, politicians, and professional athletes before the event, but we should plan on mingling with them afterward. I don't want to say where our event will be held, but imagine the location known for being the best view in New York City.

Within two hours of getting the news, Wife had found a new formal gown (she can describe it better than I can, and she would explain that it is not really a "gown" - it's a dress for formal events. Use your imagination). This morning, I bought a tuxedo, which is not something I ever planned on owning, but I figure that if I just wear it two or three times purchasing tux is a better deal than renting one (and I am told I will definitely wear it at least a couple times a year).


* When speaking of work-related matters, I will just call myself "Associate." I can't imagine writing, "and Partner said, 'Husband'..."

Bragging About Wife

Wife has strictly forbid me from discussing her job on the blog, but I just need to post about her recent award. This week, her company had their annual "state of the company" gala with about a thousand employees gathering for speeches, a party, and awards. Wife was given a very prestigious award at the ceremony. I find this especially impressive because: 1) out of about a thousand employees, the number of awards can be counted on one hand; 2) Wife "crushed her competition" in the voting tally; 3) Wife works in a department that has NEVER received an award at this ceremony (she works in the department that nags managers to stop spending money and get their accounts in order; shockingly, the department has never been popular - until Wife took it over). But probably the most impressive aspect is that when Wife walked on stage to accept the award, she was honored with a standing ovation by all of her thousand coworkers in the theater.

Security

For obvious reasons, I have no intention of ever blogging about my work. But here's a work-related blog, because strange things rumble around in my brain. Over the last few weeks, I have kept myself busy with this question: would it be easier for a terrorist to smuggle contraband onto an airplane or into my office. I know I should always respond with the lawyerly, "It depends." But, frankly, I think it would be tougher to get an explosive into my office. I'm pretty sure we have more security guards than an airport. Our security system is certainly more advanced (and that's all I will say about that).

I Love Cheap Food

When people hear about my love for cheap food, I frequently get one question: "Umm...will you still eat like that when you're working for a big law firm?" The answer: of course I will. Wife and I just returned from Chinatown, where we ate an amazing meal, consisting of chicken and corn soup, all the pork dumplings we could eat, and sesame pancakes. The grand total for our feast was six bucks even.

Coming Soon to a Theater/Televison Near You

One day this week I just had to get out of the office for a few moments. Normally, I never leave the building from 8:00 a.m. until sometime after 8:00 p.m., but on this day, I just needed some fresh air. I left our building and started to walk up the street. Suddenly, I saw a sign with the big, bold headline, "Warner Brothers." The sign explained (in language undoubtedly written by a lawyer) that a shoot was in progress and proceeding past the sign constituted consent to have one's image and actions used for any and all commercial purposes. Curiosity got the best of me, so I continued past the sign. I saw plenty of cameras and crew members, but I didn't recognize any stars (nor could I figure out what was being filmed). So, if you happen to see anything made by Warner Brothers, keep an eye out for me bumbling down the street trying to figure out what was going on. If you recognize me, please let me know what movie or television show I'm staring in.

Not Dead Yet

I apologize to the regular readers of this blog for the blogging sabbatical of the last two months (and special apologies to the seven of you who emailed me this past week to remind me that I have a blog).

I am not sure of the purpose and direction of this blog anymore, which is a problem since I am the primary author. Wife and I started this blog just a year ago when we were beginning a nine-month excursion in Manhattan. Countless family members and friends asked us to keep them appraised of our adventures. With that in mind, Wife and I thought the blog would be a good way to chronicle our year in NYC, both for others and ourselves. But something happened along during our year here: New York City went from being an exciting adventure, to simply being our home. Our status suddenly changed from "tourist" to "domiciliary."

Wife and I feel unsure of how to proceed with the blog. We have never intended to have an public online journal to share the private details of our lives. But we do enjoy the interaction with family and friends through the blog (primarily through Linda's comments and other's emails).

Another complication about writing on the blog: our lives are suddenly rather boring. Well, at least the information we can share is boring. Wife would love to share about new products and advertising campaigns that you will soon see from her clients - but she can't. I have an urge to share interesting stories about companies you're familiar with, but that is a complete taboo. So, we're not too sure what to talk about. We don't feel like sharing editorial commentary on politics. There is really no reason to share our opinion on the news of the day. Most of the readers have no interest in reading theological analysis.

A story I can share: not long ago I was going to work, getting ready to walk into our skyscraper. I noticed several television crews nearby, but I thought nothing of it. As I walked up to the building, I was stunned when a microphone was shoved into my face, a camera pushed into my path, and a reporting asking for comment regarding news of the day. I was taken completely off guard, but responded as coolly as I could, "No comment." I didn't bother telling the reporter that I had no comment because I had absolutely nothing intelligent to share on the subject. Even so, it was nice to be asked my opinion.