losing mental capacity by the minute

It's almost midnight on a Friday night and I'm still at work.
Way too many late nights lately.
I don't think I made it home at a decent hour once this week.
Maybe Monday?
This whole week has gone by so fast.

Now, obviously I'd rather be at home. But regardless of the fact that I'm stuck at work super late again: I think I'm tremendously blessed.

:)

Backroads Photography Contest #2 (free matted print)

If you checked out the selection of wedding photos I linked in my last post, chances are you may have also checked out the website of the photographer and looked at more of his work.

If you didn't, you should repent and go check it out now. It's pretty awesome.

Right now he's doing a contest where you could win a free matted photo of your choice (any size he has posted). Find out how to participate in the contest at his website or by clicking here.

PS - don't forget to put me as your referral when participating in the contest. Even if he is my brother, I'd like a chance to win as well...Can you blame me? ;)

yeah, so...I'm married :)

if I'm going to start blogging again, i need to start somewhere...and it should probably have something to do with this:

http://teachinfourth.blogspot.com/2008/11/saturday-photoshoot.html

yeah, so...I'm engaged :)

and I apologize if you were somehow unaware of this fact until now. Truth is, I've been engaged for a month now. (I know, this post is way overdue.)

Since I need to start posting regularly on my blog again, and can't imagine skipping this most joyous announcement, I figured it was time I put SOMETHING up here about it. To some extent, the engagement was one of the reasons I think I got out of the habit of posting. I mean, other than the fact that I was busy doing the things one does before getting engaged, and am now busy doing the things one does after getting engaged to prepare for getting married...it was such a milestone in my life, I felt like I couldn't post about other things until I posted about it. And it seemed like one of those things that I couldn't just throw out to the world as a two-word post. (You see my predicament? It seemed like one of those catch-22 things.)

Anyways, here I go condensing an ocean into a couple drops of minute details that people would typically ask through the natural flow of social interaction deemed appropriate for this sort of occasion:

Who...
...is she?
Her name is Leah

What...
...does she do for a living?
She works for a trade organization in the public relations industry

...could you possibly be thinking?
That I'm marrying the most amazingly perfect girl

When...
...are you getting married?
November 8th, 2008

...did you meet?
Fall/Winter of 07

Where...
...is she from?
Kirkland, Washington

...are you getting married?
Spokane, Wa Temple

...will you live?
We don't know yet, but we're staying in New York.

...did you propose?
Central Park

How...
...did you meet?
At a weekly institute class

...did you propose?
With a yes/no question while on one knee and a ring in my hand

...long have you been dating?
Since January

Why...
...are you getting married?
I can't even begin to answer that in one post.

I promise this blogging sabbatical won't last forever

I'll be back

a square peg in a round hole

Remember that toy you use to play with when you were a kid -- the one with the different shaped blocks and the box with different shaped holes that matched? Well in essence, I played a grown-up version of that game today, and I don't think the people who designed the pieces were really communicating well. Because supposedly this cog with its pattern:


is suppose to fit over this hub with this spline pattern:


The pictures are a little out of focus (taken with my phone) but I think it's obvious that, "the shoe doesn't fit" if you know what I mean. What the spline pattern should look like, is something like this:


Instead, the splines are deeper, and at different angles.

Hopefully tomorrow when I call customer support someone can help me understand why my Shimano 9-speed cassette doesn't seem to fit over the hub of my new Easton ea70 rear wheel when ,according to their website (and every other retailer website I've checked), the two are compatible. I must be missing something REALLY obvious here.

Pinkberry, eat your heart out

Today during lunch I decided to get some frozen yogurt goodness. My New York readers will know all about Pinkberry, but for those of you who don't...wikipedia refers to it as an "upscale franchise of frozen dessert restaurants." It's basically a hyped-up trendy frozen yogurt place---the Kirspy Kreme of frozen yogurt. It's quite trendy. But also tasty.

Anyways, I didn't go there. Instead, I went next door (quite literally like 4 doors down the street) to Very Berry, one of those places that people would consider a knock-off brand of Pinkberry. I went there mostly for kicks because, "hey, I work in branding!" I wanted to experience the "knock-off" brand, and see how different or the same it actually is. Turns out it's very similar. A few noted differences:

• their granola was kind of weird. more like little cubes of granola cookie...like the size of sugar cubes.
• the spoons the employees used to scoop the toppings were actually those white plastic spoons you buy.
• asian pop music videos were playing quite loudly on a flat screen tv.
• the focus and precision of which my toppings were placed (quite generously too I might add)
• oh, and i'm pretty sure the guy that made my frozen yogurt didn't know how to speak much (if any) English. My favorite part was when he bowed his head slightly when handing me my frozen yogurt with both hands. Awesome!
• and last but not least, the awesome Engrish everywhere

Sidenote: Turns out that Pinkberry might actually be a copycat of another frozen yogurt brand from Korea called Red Mango...hmmmm....the plot thickens....I think Korean companies have an interesting definition of "benchmarking," but anyways, that's not what this post is about. What it's really about is about the awesome Engrish [sic] that I found on Very Berry's window posters.

Here are a few of my favorites. I've kept them in all caps, which is how they were on all the posters. Also, it seemed they got better and better (or worse, depending on your perspective) as I moved progressively from left to right from poster to poster. I've kept them in that same order. Just so you know...all spelling, punctuation, and grammar below is not a mistake on my part. :) Enjoy:

"HEALTHY IS A BIG PRIORITY FOR YOU."

"ROASTED GRAIN MIX ARE EXCELLENT FOR WEIGHT LOSS."

"ALSO THEY CONTAIN VERY POWERFUL SUBSTANCES, SO IT NOT ONLY FIGHTS AGAINST AGING, BUT IT BLOCKS THE OCCURRENCE OF CANCER AT THE SOURCE."

"VERY BERRY'S BANANA SPRIT IS MADE WITH 3 FLAVORS FROZEN YOGURT, STRAWBERRY, FRUITY PEBBLES, PINEAPPLE, WALNUT, MOCHI."

"IN THE WORLD'S BEST COFFEE PRODUCING REGIONS, THERE REMAIN A SELECT NUMBER OF FARMERS. THAT HAVE GROWN COFFEE THE SAME WAY FOR GENERATIONS. THEY PLANT AND NURTURE EACH COFFEE. THREE USING ONLY ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY TECHNIQUES. THEY HARVEST EACH CROP BY HAND. THE COFFEE FROM THESE FARMS ARE 100% ORGANIC AND THE FLAVOR IS PURE...THE WAY NATURE INTENDED IT TO BE."

I miss this girl

I don't know that I've ever looked forward to a Monday with such excitement and joy.

vedera in nyc?

So I just found out about this, and although I'm not familiar with a lot of their music, I'm really tempted to go because I've loved everything I've heard from them since Mooney introduced me to their music and Kristen May's gorgeous voice my first summer in New York City.

it's gettin' hot in herre

For the record, I've always liked toaster ovens. But now I like them even more. A lot more.

Collin Herring: Punches

I really like what this guy had to say about Collin Herring's song, "Punches".

"Punches" came on the sampler CD of this April's Paste Magazine, and I've since lost track as to how many times I've listened to it.

Related Links:
myspace.com/collinherringmusic
http://www.collinherring.com/

wpm

Thanks Becca. This was fun.
And thanks Sarah for your mad props!

92 words

Speed test

Blue Note: Late Night Groove Series (take 3)

A table during a Friday night show at Blue Note usually run about $25-35, but a couple summers ago Jared and I discovered that they have late night shows -- we're talking so late it's early. (Read my account of our first show here. Or Jared's account here.) These Friday and Saturday night shows feature: "New York's up-and-coming jazz, soul, hip-hop, R&B and funk artists." We went a couple times and although it makes for a really late night (shows ending somewhere around 2-3 in the morning and then trekking home on a local train uptown from the Village to get home at like 4am) it's been well worth it each time considering the caliber of the music we've heard and the price of tickets being $8-10 (typical ticket price for one of their late night shows).

I'm sure the 8pm and 10:30pm shows are phenomenal, but the Late Night Groove Series is definitely a winner for someone like me who:
- doesn't own money tree
- enjoys jazz without being a connoisseur of the form
- has a music taste that entertains a bit of the avant-garde and digs the cross-pollination of music genres
- doesn't mind staying up late and getting home at about 4am

Anyways, all of that was basically a longish intro to tell you this:

Leah gets up really early on Saturday mornings; so consequently, our typical Friday night ends earlier than that of our friends. This makes attending something like the above mentioned Late Night Groove Series slightly difficult, considering the start time of the set is ~12:30 am.

Well, wanting to attend a late-night show at Blue Note, Leah and I decided to take advantage of the fact that her early morning Saturday would not be in affect for conference weekend. We enjoyed the night of April 4th (err...the morning of April 5th?) listening to a Brooklyn-based band named "Soul Cycle." The show was great. On their youtube site, they describe themselves as "a sublime mix of jazz, funk, and breakbeats, with a little reggae, Latin, and African grooves thrown in for good measure." I'd say that's fairly accurate and would definitely encourage people to go to one of their shows. If the opportunity arises, I could easily see myself enjoying my time at another one of their shows.

You got me Google...you got me

Did anyone else fall for this April Fools? I'll be honest, they had me going for a couple minutes until I realized it was April 1st. What a great example of brand voice in action. It totally fits the personality and tone of Google to do something like this.

General Conference

Is anyone else as excited about this as I am?
I love General Conference.

St. Patrick's Day

So, I have this pretty awesome shirt, and although it's a little small for me, (why didn't I listen to that little voice in my head that told me it was going to shrink and that I should buy one size larger? Why???) I still couldn't resist wearing it today.

Thanks Roger for the awesome shirt design. I remember the first time I wore it.

highlining + base jumping = crazy

Ever heard of base lining?


Maybe you've heard of slacklining. If so, you probably know what highlining is (slacklining from a high altitude). Base lining is pretty much what you'd get if highlining and base jumping were to get together and make a baby. It looks something like this.

The video linked in this post was brought to my attention, and is therefore brought to you, by my news-savvy roommate Nick (as well as the letter "NY Times," and the number "crazy").

Thanks Nick.

today was a hard day

as was last night.
they were really hard.
(not to be confused with bad)

I'm ok with that

So, I saw this quiz on a friend's blog. I took it..and then I wondered what would happen if I took it again.

I think both outcomes are interesting because Desmond and Charlie are two of my favorite characters. What do you think? Are the quiz results fitting?

Which Lost Character Are You?

More on Lost. Created by BuddyTV

Which Lost Character Are You?

More on Lost. Created by BuddyTV

I wonder if I would get Daniel Faraday (another one of my favorite guy characters) if I took the quiz a third time...

we communicate in audible breathing

Ever wonder how many words are communicated in a sigh?
You should ask sometime. You may be enlightened.