Sleep? What's sleep? Well, I slept well last Friday night, deliberately; it was first time in a while that I'd gotten eight hours. The fact that I wasn't allowing myself to use any computers the following day (Shutdown Day!) probably helped convince my mind that there was no urgent need to awaken early... I did end up making Belgian waffles on Saturday morning, but that was late Saturday morning.

I didn't do anything too interesting during the day, mostly played guitar and got through some paperwork and housecleaning I'd been neglecting. That night, Yesika and I went out for our Tercero de Mayo celebration. Instead of the Greek restaurant we'd discussed, however, or even a Mexican joint, we ended up at... Friday's. This Friday's, on Route 3, turned out to have a nicer vibe than the one on 17 we'd frequented in the past, and we had a good meal and good conversation, staying out almost 'til midnight.

On Sunday, I took the train to Hoboken to pick up "Malik," the Zipcar (my second time with this particular Matrix), so I could drive out to Budd Lake for Dillon's christening. I hadn't counted on Hoboken's Spring Arts & Music Festival being scheduled on the same day, however (doesn't anyone coordinate?), and my usual route out of town wasn't available. I wended my way around and eventually made it back to Route 3, but the damage was done and I arrived at the church about ten minutes late, rather than the ten minutes early I'd expected. I was able to slip quietly inside, at least, and was quickly spotted and greeted (silently) by Joanne, who was there with her husband Mike and their son. After the christening was over, I bumped into Cyndi as well, and of course saw Dave and Dawn, before we all headed to the Knights of Columbus hall for a 'luncheon.' It was good to see some people I hadn't seen in a goodly long time, including Dawn's dad.

From there, I raced back home to freshen up a bit before returning the car and taking the PATH to New York. Hoboken was still a mess by the time I got there, and I got Malik back in the deck with about ten minutes to spare. The trip into lower Manhattan went much more smoothly and quickly, at least. Arriving at the Knitting Factory, I was happy to find that Lena had in fact put my name on 'the list," and I ordered a Killian's Red from the bar downstairs. Eventually, I got to say hello to the woman herself, and we chatted for five minutes. Hopefully, I convinced her to take her iPhone back to Apple to check out, as she told me the battery was not lasting more than a few hours on a full charge, which is not normal.

As odd as I felt in a bar full of Russians, I found myself at ease when the soundman's choice in music turned to... Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Murder Ballads." I love this album, but it's not the sort of thing you expect to hear at a bar, especially not the track "O'Malley's Bar." Heh-heh... The barkeep and I had a little discussion about Cave, and he advised me to pick up the new album, so I think I will.

Lena and her band took the stage and gave a powerful and interesting performance. It had slipped my mind, but they had with them as a special guest Ian McDonald, a founding member of both King Crimson and Foreigner. He added flute and guitar to the mix, not that the band was lacking. The original tunes were great, as were the covers of "Whiskey Bar" and "China Girl." You wouldn't think this girl could sing so deep... If I hadn't had not only work the next morning but work to do that night, I would've loved to have stayed later, but... I'm glad I saw the show and met Lena.

Yesterday morning, while most of you people were still sleeping, I downloaded my copy of Nine Inch Nail's "The Slip" (legally - thanks, Trent!). I'd already lost control over "Discipline," the first single, but I have to say that I enjoy the rest of the album, too. It's in heavy rotation on both the iPhone and the iPod right now...

I rented "Mcmonigle," another Mazda 3, from Zipcar on Friday, and headed to Hoboken bright and early to pick it up. Whoever had rented it last hadn't refilled it a quarter of a tank, as suggested, so I had to deal with that, as well as the cigarette smoke smell, on my way to work.

After work, I swung home to change and to grab the two six-packs from my refrigerator, then I drove out to Landing to meet Adrian and Julio at the latter's house. Adrian was there already; Julio was not. Heh... When he did show up, fifteen minutes later, with his wife and daughter, he gave us the tour of the house, then the three of us settled down to burgers, dogs, and beers. And catching up with each other's lives. It was good to see the other two Amigos again, even if we didn't get around to playing a round of Monopoly Friday night. Hopefully, we'll see each other again soon...

I'd planned on seeing elizabeth! Saturday night, but I think the lack of sleep lately played fast and loose with my systems, as I woke up feeling poorly early Saturday morning. After dropping the Zipcar off in Hoboken, I returned home and napped for a few hours, but awoke still feeling out of sorts. I wasn't nearly as productive as I'd intended to be, and I opted to stay home last night and rest. Gave me a chance to catch up on my TiVoed "Doctor Who" and "Battlestar Galactica" episodes from the night before, at least.

This morning, however, I was feeling better (and hungry!), so I took the train to Princeton Junction, where Barbara picked me up, and we headed to Lambertville and had big breakfasts at Sneddon's with Roger and Porter. And then on to the Shad Fest! I hadn't been to one in a few years, so it was good to be back. I bought a stainless-steel tankard from Wild Bill's and sampled some of their olde fashion soda pop in it; mmm, sarsaparilla... The steak sandwich (and a half) I consumed for lunch was good, too. And you can't go wrong with River Horse beer.

Unfortunately, the train schedules for my trip home didn't work out so well, and I've been killin' time on a bench at Secaucus Junction for well over an hour now. Fortunately, a cute blonde's been sharing the bench with me for the past fifteen minutes or so.  ;-)

I got to see Dawn and Dave, and their bouncing baby boy Dillon, on Sunday the 30th! The four of us had a nice time hanging out at the house and dining at Chili's. Well, OK, Dillon didn't actually partake of the menu there...

I rented another Zipcar, "Renee" the Volkswagen Rabbit, for the trip; the car handled well, but I had to figure out where the lights were, and a few other controls were a bit different than I've gotten used to. While I was driving the car home from Hoboken on Saturday night, one of my all-time favorite driving songs, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Runnin' Down A Dream," came on the radio, and I had to turn that mother up. On the way up on Sunday, I heard the new Death Cab for Cutie song, "I Will Possess Your Heart," and though it had a slightly different sound (to my ears, anyway), I recognized it as the band immediately. Made me think of my friend awakenewsleep, who got me into DCFC.  :)  The new rock station in town, WRXP, is pretty frakkin' good! Nice mix of classic rock, modern rock, and 'alternative.' I hope they stick with the format.

Speaking of frakkin', I went over Mark's condo last Friday night to watch the "Battlestar Galactica" season premiere with him and one of his buddies. Damn, but that was intense. I'm sure some fans will not be satisfied by the way this season, and the series, concludes later this year (it's the beginning of the end), but I have a feeling that the show is back on track. It was a little surreal to see Baltar taking advantage of a supplicant in front of an altar to himself, however. After the show, and some alcohol, the three of us partook of some "Rock Band," which turned out to be a much more fun game than I'd expected. The guitar controller is a little odd for someone who plays an actual guitar (I remember having to restrain myself while playing the riffs to Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," 'cos I know how to really play them), but the whole experience pulls you in. I don't claim to be an exceptional singer, but I still threw my vocal cords at:

"Suffragette City"
"Enter Sandman"
"The Collector"
"The Hand That Feeds"
"The Perfect Drug"
"Roxanne"
"Next To You"
"Cherub Rock"
"Foreplay/Long Time"
"Train Kept A-Rollin'"
"I Fought the Law"
"Blitzkrieg Bop"
"Orange Crush"
"Wanted Dead or Alive" and
"War Pigs"

Mmm, two Police songs and three from Nine Inch Nails... My throat wasn't too ravaged, even if "Roxanne" was a stretch (I hope I didn't sound like Eddie Murphy!), but by the end of the night, I'd developed a sizable blood blister on my left thumb, from 'strumming.' Who knew pretending to be in a rock band could be so intense?

To satisfy my science fiction cravings during the dry patch without "Terminator," "Galactica," "Doctor Who," or "Stargate Atlantis," I've been watching the occasional "Firefly" episode from my DVDs, and I saw another two over the past ten days or so. Down to the last disc now, so I've got to savor them... Honestly, I can't understand how this show didn't do better. Oh, that's right, Americans have no taste.  ;)  Well, you can keep your reality TV and "Desperate Housewives" and "Prison Break." Thanks, but no thanks!

I finally tested out the rental feature on my Apple TV recently, too, opting to watch the HD version of "Kingdom of Heaven." I'd caught a little of the movie a few months back but hadn't watched the whole thing, so a few minutes after the download had begun, I sat down to a crystal-clear viewing, with no glitches or pauses or other issues. The movie itself was very good, too, though as usual with this sort of film, there were some liberties taken with the historical facts. It still made for a very entertaining two hours, and for only $3.99. Good deal.

Well, I've been way overworked again lately, and I missed out on Mart Rivas' set at the Bitter End last Monday thanks to a managers' meeting that ran later than expected. I did see Margarita last Wednesday evening at Gizzi's, which turned out to be quite a small venue; she and Michael and Nathaniel and I hung out for a bit before and after the show, but I had to head back early to do more work. Hopefully, I will be able to catch Ashley Mounts tonight, and Laura Cheadle tomorrow night. Having live music withdrawals... I'm catsitting down at Barbara's house this weekend, which makes things hectic again, but with any luck I can get back to Banjo Jim's on Saturday afternoon and see Margarita there again. Of course, that would make three trips to New York on three consecutive days to see three different singer/songwriter babes...

"But every single second of every single minute of every single hour, someone somewhere's expecting something of me..." The more I listen to the Juliet Dagger's "Leave Me Alone," the more I'm convinced that it was written for me.  

My Saturday had a whirlwind quality about it. I picked up a Zipcar, another Toyota Matrix called "Mr. Ed," at 8 AM. Unfortunately, due to some confusion and an assumption on my part, I'd canceled the original reservation for a car in Hoboken and had to make a last-minute reservation for this one in lower Manhattan instead. Getting in and out in the morning was quick and smooth, though, and I proceeded to Target and Shop-Rite to pick up some much-needed stuff (like a new 'lectric shaver) and groceries. I came back home long enough to bundle up a bunch of gifts, then departed for my sister's home in Montville, where I had lunch with her and John and the kids. Shawn really seemed to like his new Fisher Price train, though smacking his cheek hard on the edge of the play table threw him for a loop and left an angry bruise. He recovered pretty quickly, though. Cayden seemed less excited about his penguin bowling set, but he probably just needs time to really discover it.

From there, I went to visit Dawn and Dave, and traded Christmas gifts with them, too. Turns out that not only did Dawn and I buy each other the same exact book ("Blaze" by Richard Bachman, aka Stephen King), we unwrapped them at the same time. Definitely going to be friends for life...  lol  After catching up and trading stories, the three of us met Jon and Karin at their house; Dawn rode with me, the first time I'd driven her (or a pregnant woman) in a good ten years or so. Dawn and Dave got the tour, and the five of us went to Applebee's for dinner.

Or not. There was too long a wait there, actually, so we got back into the cars and went to a Ruby Tuesday instead. Where we ended up waiting almost as long as we would have at Applebee's, though we'd been told the wait would have been shorter. Eventually, an apologetic host asked if we'd be OK with sitting at a regular booth (instead of the larger one they were having trouble clearing for us), with one of us sitting in a chair at the end. Of course, that turned out to be the fifth wheel, me. It wasn't so bad, really, except for being kneed in the shins (and the knees!) by Karin a few times. Though Dawn and Jon, like me, are lefties, both couples sat with the righties on the left and the lefties on the right, so there were all kinds of joints and limbs connecting while we dove into various kinds of burgers and things.

Jon and Karin brought me back to their house, where I'd left Mr. Ed, and after a quick farewell, and an attempt on Karin's part to give me a quicker route back to 80, I took off east again, stopping at the apartment to change into a warmer coat. It took me about fifteen minutes to get from Lyndhurst through the Lincoln Tunnel into Manhattan, which shocked me, and only another fifteen or so to get back to the garage. I was less pleased when I arrived at Penn Station five minutes after the train departed, but it was only 35 minutes or so 'til the next one, so I didn't get home too late.

I got up early on Sunday and psyched myself up for laundry. After I'd returned from that dreaded chore, however, I was feeling out of sorts, and I eventually gave in and napped for a few hours. Not sure it really helped... There were some work issues I needed to tackle, which I did, and then of course came "The Simpsons." Who knew that Homer invented grunge? Or that perjury was the worst thing a U.S. President could do?

Yesterday, I took the company van to Red Bank to repair some data and assess a practice's network and hardware. It was nice to get out of the office for a few hours, and I only got one call for assistance from my colleagues while I was away. An after-hours meeting that ran past 7:30 PM ended with Robert, Fred, Mark D., and me dining at El Cid, another welcome change of pace. Mmm, tilapia franchese...

And now I'm getting ready to look at more data, instead of having time to myself. I need to put "Leave Me Alone" on repeat. At least I'm being kept company by a Guinness or two.

Busy few days again... Rhonda and I went out with Yesika Friday night to celebrate her birthday. The three of us piled into Rhonda's car, and Yesika drove to Locura Marina in West New York for some ceviche and other Peruvian food, then I drove to Hoboken, where we'd intended to have a few after-dinner margaritas at East L.A. Failing to find a parking spot on the street, and reluctant to pay to park in a garage, we high-tailed it back north and had our drinks at El Norte in Lodi instead. We had a blast, with the girls laughing so hard at times that I feared they'd simultaneously suffocate and wet their pants. Pretty sure neither actually happened... Rhonda drove us back home, so we split the driving more or less evenly.

Saturday morning, after I finished some last-minute wrapping, my parents met me in Lyndhurst, and we rode the rails to New York, where we saw Cirque du Soleil's "Wintuk" at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. It was an amazing show, and all three of us enjoyed the spectacle and the music, and the paper 'snow' that finally came down at the end, even if we did get snowed on pretty heavily. Our seats, which were within the first fifteen or so rows, were well worth the price, and I'm glad I was able to treat my parents to such a fun Christmas present.

We'd planned to have a Turkish meal at Akasya after returning to Lyndhurst, but we found the place closed... so we had Turkish at Sultan Gyro instead. Maybe not as decorous, but every bit as tasty, if not more so! And the baklava was scrumptious, too. I had a few extraneous snowflakes fall from my sleeves there, a testament to the sheer quantity dumped upon us at MSG. After my parents headed for home, I had a little time to myself (and L.C.), and then I went back to Hoboken to pick up "Maryville," a Mazda 3 from Zipcar. Yes, it had 'zoom-zoom-zoom.' It felt good to be doing 80 on 80 again, on my way to Jon and Karin's home in Dover for a party. It was nice to hang with them, and Rachel, and Dave, as well as to meet some of their other friends. Colby Jack was ever-present, too, in hopes of getting his paws on some food, of which there was plenty; his brother Cheddar hid for most of the night, though. One of the last two guests to depart, I finally took my leave just after 2 AM.

I laid low on Sunday, stepping out only to return the Zipcar to Hoboken. I did update the PS3, and the iPhone (firmware 1.1.2, nicely jailbroken and with custom icons, system sounds, and ringtones), and I finally upgraded the PowerBook's OS to Leopard with the 10.5.1 update. I needed to update some software as well, but so far I'm not noticing any major snags or issues, and I do like the look and feel of Leopard. The combination of a Downloads folder and Stacks should help me avoid the eternal plague of a cluttered desktop...

I had to work Monday, of course, and while it wasn't an especially busy day, I did have some annoying issues to attack. I left early and headed to my parent's house, where we celebrated a quiet but fun Christmas Eve, with "Madagascar" on the TV in the background. I stayed overnight, and my uncle Arnaldo, his wife Irma, and her son Alberto came over this afternoon for dinner and more gift exchanging.  :-D  I ended up with a few sweaters and T-shirts, some CDs and DVDs, and other goodies, and after Arnaldo had dropped me off at home, I unwrapped another shirt from Yesika and "Assassin's Creed" for the PS3 from Jon and Karin! Not to mention more CDs from Pam... Thanks, everyone!

I rented another Zipcar, "Mixer" the Toyota Matrix, on Monday after work, and used it to do some more Christmas shopping. I had to get to the Radisson in Saddle Brook yesterday morning by 8 AM, instead of the office by 8:30, so having a vehicle made that a lot easier, too. We ended up bringing all the show/seminar stuff back in the Matrix, so that worked out well, and I managed to get even more holiday (and grocery) shopping done last night before dropping "Mixer" off back in Hoboken.

I'm exhausted, though. After seeing Kerri and the boys on Saturday, visiting my parents on Sunday (and the lockout), shopping on Monday night, and the Medicare seminar and more shopping last night, I could use some relaxation time. Of course, we have after-hours training this evening, and I'm planning on seeing two acts in New York tomorrow and Friday nights, and then I'm working Saturday morning...  =-O  No rest for the wicked cool...

Yeah, I haven't been updating the 'blog so much lately. Sorry 'bout that. Real life, 'n all, y'know... No, the black squirrel hasn't gotten me. Haven't even seen him in two weeks or so.

My friend Sally's mom passed away two weeks ago, and while I couldn't make the funeral, I sent her a plant and my sympathies. I seem to know a lot of women who have lost their mothers, which is a bit disconcerting. At the end of that week, a stressful one for just about everybody, a number of my co-workers and I had a sorely-needed Happy Hour at On the Border. Those three raspberry margaritas really hit the spot.

Dawn and I saw "Beowulf" that Saturday, and while we both remembered enough of the epic poem to notice the film's numerous departures from it (I'd never pictured Grendel's mother lookin' so fine), it was very powerful and entertaining. Dave met us at a new barbecue place out their way for dinner before I headed for home.

On Sunday, I surprised my parents with an early Christmas gift; I'm taking them to see Cirque du Soleil's "Wintuk" in New York the weekend before Christmas. I've enjoyed the two Cirque shows I've seen in Las Vegas, and I know my parents have seen a few on television and loved them, so I thought this would be a fun time for the three of us, and something they won't forget.

Monday night, I met Barbara in New York and we went to the Gramercy Theater to see Shonen Knife! Barbara loves the three rockin' girls from Japan, and I enjoy them, too, so I'd gotten the tickets as part of her birthday present. Openers Verona Grove were good, if hard to distinguish from a lot of other rock bands today. I liked the Juliet Dagger better. Maybe that's because they're fronted by an SG-playin' blonde. It was clear that Shonen Knife was headlining that night, though, and they put on a powerful and fun set.

My aunt Zilda is visiting from Brazil for a month, and staying with my aunt Zenir (yes, there are several Zs in the family) in Atlantic City, so they and their accompaniment attended Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house, along with my uncle Arnaldo (an A!) and his wife Irma. We all ate a lot, drank quite a bit, too, and had a generally pleasant time, though it got louder than I'm comfortable with. I don't think I could have survived growing up in a big Italian family...

"Battlestar Galactica: Razor" aired on Sci Fi this past Saturday night. It made for a gripping two hours, even though it's not really a replacement for a full season, for which we still have to wait a few months. Definitely whetted my appetite, though!

I rented my first Zipcar on Sunday, and it was a good experience. Zipcar lets you rent cars hourly or daily; they've got a decent selection of vehicles, and all you have to do is get to the car's location to pick it up, then bring it back to the same location on time, as there may be someone renting it immediately after you. I drove "Bjorn," a Toyota Scion xB, around for a few hours, getting some Christmas shopping and some laundry done, and had no issues or problems with the car or the service.

I added some music to iTunes on Sunday, including the Smashing Pumpkins' greatest hits CD that Dawn gave me for my birthday, and the debut album by Plastiscines, four attractive young Frenchwomen who know how to rock, even when they're not singing in English. The new one from Seal is great listening, too.

I'd hoped to finish recording "Loster" this weekend, and/or upgrade the PowerBook to Leopard (OS X 10.5.1), but while I did some prep work for both, neither was accomplished. Well, there's always next weekend...