matt

I'm 4 days into the new job and so far it's going as well as one can expect. The people here have been super nice and it feels good being back in a stable company where my future isn't just up in the air. Yesterday I got my new PC and I have my office arranged nicely. They have me in what used to be the lounge and thus far it's just me in here and I have a great view of downtown Orlando outside my window but they say at some point others could be in here.

I've been meaning to get in touch with another guy to do some work on the side, but honestly I'm not sure if I can anymroe. I could definitely use the money, but with the new job, I'm getting up earlier and coming home later than before so I don't exactly have the spare time I once did and aside from my own laziness, I also feel obligated to spend time with Marissa. I'm not sure what to do.

The other big news is we got a cat! We went to the human society of Orlando on Sunday and picked out an orange cat that we've named Manny Ramirez Hochberg. He's very cute, although he is sort of annoying in a few ways but I like him. Marissa spent the last 5 days with him so I think she's gotten a little sick of him and being his personal source of entertainment but I think once we all kind of settle in and find our own grooves, it will work out.

I'm back from Atlanta and I was greeted this morning by my car which refused to start. The battery was dead and I had no AAA coverage and my insurance policy didn't cover that sort of thing and I nearly gave into paying some garage who knows how much money to come give me a jump when my last chance of hope, a friend who lives in town, was around and drove by and gave me a jump. In the end I was only like 45 minutes late to work but thank god for him.

Speaking of cars, I have officially ruled Atlanta out as a city I could live in. I have nothing against the city or the people, but the traffic is absolutely horrid. I spent 1.5 hours commuting across town on Friday and 30 minutes on Thursday (and that commute was only 6 miles!). No thanks, I'll stick with the fake traffic we have on I-4.

I have a new gym plan, which consists of 30 minute workouts on Tuesday and Thursday and then a longer 60+ minute workout on the weekend. I'm going to try it this week and I'm glad I decided on that because today I'm totally not feeling 100% motivated to do anything. I need to gradually get my ass back in gear about nearly everything.

On our drive back home yesterday, we made a pit stop at the Apple store at the Florida Mall and bought Marissa the new iPhone. Normally I'm jealous when it comes to others getting geeky toys but honestly I was okay with Marissa getting it and not me. Sure, I'd love to have one but for whatever reason I wasn't overly jealous. Perhaps I'm finally maturing (yea right!).

Work was let out early today for Easter so I started working on my parent's PC but it was doing something that would take 30 minutes so I decided I would have some fun with Bowie and go play fetch with him. Well, Bowie clearly does not comprehend the whole fetch thing. At first he would come back to me but refuse to drop it (he probably found it more fun to have me wrestle it away from him). After a while of this, he decided it'd be more fun to run past me with the item and go bury it. FInally he got so fed up, that he run out to where I threw it and then sit down next to it. I had a good time, but I wish he would have gotten the concept a little more so I just came back in hot, sweaty and with dog shit on my shoes.

Yesterday was our annual passover seder and I enjoyed it. It was nice seeing everyone and having LOTS of homemade food and it all really hit the spot. It's funny how after years of these family gatherings often you think "Man, I'm so done with this" but then you skip a year and then it's all wonderful again. Of course, not living in the area means I don't see them nearly as much as I had previously. Still, it was fun seeing everyone.

Our day in the city was fun, even if we probably did spend more money than we should have but we rarely go away anymore and it's nice to go do fun things, even if it does cost a little. I was very proud of Marissa for not freaking out about city traffic as much as I thought she would.

Song of the Day: Eagles - In the city

I realize I haven't written in a while but I've been generally unmotivated to write in here for whatever reason. At first it was just because I had nothing to write about but soon after I just couldn't motivate myself to write in here. Maybe because nothing exciting is going on beyond the things that are related to buying a house, which aren't that exciting. Well, I'm on a flight to Hartford and since they have internet onboard (woot!) and since I'm out of things to do online, I decided to write now. I guess it's a case of taking what you can get...

First, I'm savoring the flavor of the Marlins being 3-0 this season, which is their best start since 1997 (when they won a World Series). I'm hoping this year I actually get to a game in Miami but the 3 hour drive is kind of an issue. Ideally there'd be a 4pm game on a weekend so I can drive in, see the game and leave Miami around 7ish and be home around 10. We'll see how that plan goes.

As I mentioned before we are buying the house and now trying to get the mortgage in order. One company is almost done but they need one more thing from us. We're also trying a different company to compare and see any difference, so we'll see where that goes. Once we have the mortgage, we'll be ready to go and because we don't quite have the mortgage yet, I'm not entirely convinced that we have the house yet because technically we can still pull out if we can't get mortgage rates that suit our needs.

We're on a flight to Hartford to celebrate Passover. Marissa and I are going to New York tomorrow to spend the day in the city at the Museum of Natural History and then it's off to Long Island for our passover seder. Technically passover starts right now but I don't think there's any matzah on the plane. Aside from the seder tomorrow, our only plans are to see the Heaths and spend time with my family. Should be a nice long weekend.

Speaking of Passover, I'm rebelling this year and allowing myself to eat certain food that is not typically kosher like rice or beans or other foods that make no sesne why they are not kosher for passover. It's my own personal fight for my principles.

Anywho, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll find the motivation to keep writing some more or at the very least post funny videos.

Song of the Day: Daughtry - Home

This past weekend was mostly spent by the pool at Orange Lake. On Friday and Saturday we spent most of the daylight hours at the pool by Orange Lake relaxing and it was great. Being at Orange Lake makes me feel like I'm on vacation while still being in Orlando. It was great seeing both of our parents and a welcome visit. I only wish we had more time to spend, but that's usually how any visit goes.

Today I had my tires changed on my car. My parents brought me down 4 tires and I had them put on my car so I only had to pay for them to be mounted and balanced, which is a far cry from the cost of buying 4 tires. That alone was worth my parents visit, nevermind the other fun we had. With that, I still need to get new brakes in about 5000 miles or so and get a tune-up.

The American Idol event last Thursday was crazy good. I met stars like Carrie Underwood, David Cook, Rubben Studdard, Jordin Sparx and a slew of other Idolists. It was a really well done event and I was sad that I had to bow out early to get to dinner.