Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Things to Do This Week I still have a bunch of stuff to do for tomorrow.  And I now know what to get my mother for Christmas.  Now, to put that all together.  My list of stuff to do is: Christmas Cards Finish putting things away Resolution of my Parking Situation Look at a possible sofa for my tiny abode Getting some pricing ideas for my mother's gift of personal care.  Making an appointment for my car (to see how much the scheduled maintenance is and wince appropriately).  Time to get cracking!!! 11:02:09 PM    comment []  trackback []

Baltimore Bloggers Happy Hour 16 December 2004 In scanning my various feeds today, I discovered that a Baltimore Bloggers Happy Hour has been scheduled for Thursday, 16 December 2004.  More details can be found at this post.  I can obviously make it, as I have so much to do this week.  I am a bit uncertain, though, as I would feel like the new guy walking into a room where everybody knows everyone else.  Again, aside from being nervous, I have no good reason not to go.  Besides, I have a feeling someone will remind me of the quote from Bluto in "Animal House": "Grab a brew. Don't cost nothin'."  1:55:07 PM    comment []  trackback []

My Pitch for the Fraimin' Place Since I have numerous readers of this blog, I realize that I might have an influence on the purchasing decisions of those readers.  I know, however, that this is not the case as I am a realist.  Nonetheless, here is my pitch for a Baltimore-business.  I needed a couple of items framed--my Master's degree and a small sketch of my high school.  I decided to return to the Framin' Place as they did a very good job on re-framing a piece for me four years ago.  I visited their location at the Mt. Washington Mill to drop off my pieces just before Thanksgiving.  I picked up my pieces yesterday, and they did a wonderful job.  Framing is not an inexpensive proposition, but it is something you only have done once.  So, if you need things framed, I highly recommend them.  Also, there is one of the few Starbucks Coffee locations within Baltimore itself at the Mill.  So, if you need some framing done and some caffeinated beverages, pay them a visit.  1:45:20 PM    comment []  trackback []

The Beginning of My Vacation I have had a fun and good time getting my vacation started off on the right foot. I had an enjoyable weekend with friends. I will recount with the highlights of each day, and it will be an homage to one of my favorite bloggers and follow the format he maintained last week on his blog. Friday, 10 December 2004 I had some drinks with a couple of my friends at Sean Bolan's, and then we went to Nichiban in for some sushi. I have been craving sushi for about two weeks, and it was quite good. After sushi, all of us went to Captain Larry's for a nightcap. I enjoyed some nice drinks with Maker's Mark, and for some reason was hungy after our sushi dinner. I had a chicken gyro with my friend and his fiance--they had mozarella sticks and a chicken gyro. Saturday, 11 December 2004 I ran some errands after sleeping in this morning. The chicken gyro I had last night kept reminding me of its presence, although I was neither sick nor hungover. I picked up some Christmas cards, stopped by and saw my mother, and I was also able to see my old dog at the same time. I also was able to get my Christmas ornaments from my ex-girlfriend. I stopped off at the gym for a little workout on Saturday afternoon. When I left, my cellphone had voicemail and messages from two good friends. One of the messages was from my friend, Bryan, who was up in Maryland for the last time. Bryan and I were planning on getting together for drinks at Sean Bolan's at 5 PM, and he forgot what time. So, we started a little earlier around 4 PM. My coworker Vlad also met up with us. A good time was had by all of us, and I will certainly miss Bryan's advice and the times we had. He is a good friend, and I will have to take advantage of his offer to vacation near the Outer Banks. Following some drinks and good conversation, I met some other friends at a birthday party. I was a little leery of how the party was going to be, but it turned out to be a good time. I did not have much to drink, but I was certainly up late. Sunday, 12 December 2004 Bryan hooked me up with a ticket to the Ravens-Giants game at the Big Crabcake. I arrived at the tailgate at 10:30 AM, and I had some beers and steak to start the day. The day was colder than I expected it to be, but I was able to skip out of my touch football game that morning. The game-time temperature was a lot colder than I thought it was going to be, so I bought an extra layer while tailgating: the "Boh Knows Baltimore Football" long-sleeve shirt, with the pic of Mr. Boh on the front. I left the game at the end of the third quarter, with the rout of the G-Men firmly in hand. I met some of my football teammates at Capt. Larry's for drinks and the afternoon football games. Some friends I sat with for part of the Ravens game also joined us for some drinks and football. I ended the evening with some dinner at home, enjoying a new episode of "The Simpsons" and some of the football game. 1:29:15 PM    comment []  trackback []

Vacationing is Hard! I need to post to this thing today, and I will.  Just got back from the gym, so more after I make myself beautiful.  (Yeah, right.) 11:44:06 AM    comment []  trackback []