Mikey

Honeymoon Roundup

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:03:22 GMT

Tam and I embarked on our honeymoon last week. We took a 7-day cruise to Alaska that was jam-packed with excursions. Pictures of it can be found on my Picasa album.

Juneau
Our first stop was in Juneau, where we took a nice float plane tour. We got to see a number of forests, mountains, and glaciers up close. The blue glacier ice was especially visible in Juneau. Eventually we landed at the Taku Lodge. We walked around the forest trails there for a bit before getting treated to a delicious salmon feast and learning the history of the lodge and its past owners. When all was said and done, we took another float plane ride back to Juneau.

Skagway
Our next stop was in Skagway, which unexpectedly became the highlight of the trip. Our excursion here was booked with Packer Expeditions. After taking a short train ride on the Yukon Route Railway, we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere next to the Tongass National Forest. Our guides led us on a 3 hour hike across some mildly rugged terrain. We hung back a little bit with Brooke, one of the guides, who pointed out various off-the-trail paths to explore, great photo spots, plants that could be eaten, and general information about the trail. It felt a bit like having our own private tour of the forest.

My favorite photo was from this excursion, for those who don't feel like looking through the 300 pictures in the album:

Ketchikan
After Skagway was Ketchikan, easily the town with the most charm and character of the three we visited in Alaska. Other than the harsh winters, it was the one we could see ourselves most enjoying if we lived there.

In Ketchikan, we did a kayaking/float plane combination excursion. We kayaked around a bit and our guide found and handed us various starfish and talked a lot about the surrounding forest and the necessity for conservation. We also saw a pair of bald eagles guarding their giant nest up in the trees.

Afterward, we had a nice salmon and hummus lunch on the boat before a float plane landed and pulled up. After boarding the float plane, we were flown around the Misty Fjords National Monument. The cliffs and waterfalls were gorgeous and we briefly landed at a small float plane dock to take some pictures. Out the windows of the plane, we were able to see a few pods of orcas at various times during the flight.

Victoria
Our last stop was in Victoria, B.C., where we visited Butchart Gardens, a garden built on top of a former limestone quarry. One of the largest limestone excavation sites was turned into a two-story-deep pit of flowers and plants called the Sunken Garden. Other parts of Butchart are parceled out into theme gardens, such as the Rose Garden, the Japanese Garden, and the Italian Garden. It rained for most of the time we were there, which allowed Tammy to capture some gorgeous close-up shots with water droplets on the flower petals.

Seattle
We got back into Seattle at 8am and our flight didn't leave until 11pm, so we decided to check out the Seattle Aquarium and Woodland Park Zoo. On our way to the zoo, we ran into a Seattle gay pride parade. We hung around for awhile, enjoying the costumed revelers, casting aspersions at the protesters and their "God hates fags" signs/rhetoric, and enjoying the absurdity of the anti-protester protesters and their "God hates fun" and "Marching is a sin" signs.

We also noticed several people running for office marching in the parade (one for Mayor of Seattle, I believe), which was surprising to me. Linking yourself to a gay-pride parade would be a death sentence here in Florida.

...so that was our honeymoon in a nutshell. We both had a blast and it's the first all-about-us extravagant vacation we've been on. I'm hoping it's not the last. This trip made me want to get out of Florida that much more.

Seattle

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:25:11 GMT

I've almost forgotten about LJ ever since finally joining Facebook.

Tam and I started our long-awaited honeymoon vacation. We flew into Seattle yesterday and today we'll be boarding the Norwegian Pearl for a 7-day cruise of Alaska.

While taking our bus to the hotel, we noticed what most Floridians notice when they visit anywhere else in the world... elevation. There are hills everywhere and downtown Seattle is built on a pretty steep hill. Driving in, we had Puget Sound on the left, while on the right were skyscrapers arranged like stadium seating at a movie. Every single street seems to be lined with trees and many of them are marked with posters declaring them protected. Seattle takes its nature preservation pretty seriously.

We're staying at the Hotel Max, which is even more interesting than I'd hoped.

It is decorated with hundreds of works from local artists and each room has unique pieces displayed.

The front door of each room features a different local performance artist. We're right next door to the Darth Fiddler room, which is right next to the Spoonman room.

Even the key cards are decorated.

When dinner time came, our concierge recommended we try the Palace Kitchen for dinner ("It's a Tom Douglas restaurant, the guy who won on Iron Chef"). While we were eating (delicious!), a pig roast was being set up on the corner across the street for a wedding party. It was a bit surreal.

Afterward, we made the requisite stop at the Space Needle and took tons of pictures. You can see the trees lining the blocks (and a random park taking up an entire block). Very cool and very worth the cost of admission, but it's one of those things you'll see once and then never need to revisit.

I need to learn Photoshop to fix my closed eyes in this pic...

We stayed up late to adjust to Seattle time, but I ended up rising at 4am anyhow. Today we get checked in on the ship and depart for Alaska.

Post-season wait

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:57:10 GMT

Back in March, Burn Notice, easily the most enjoyable of the relatively few shows I watch anymore, closed out season 2 with a very satisfying finale that could have worked just as well as the series finale.

This week, three short months later, season 3 started. I wish some of these other shows that take a year or longer to pick back up would figure it out already. I've already forgotten what most of Lost was about, save the last few episodes.

My goals

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:26:30 GMT

Someone asked how I achieved my fitness goals and the answer was too long to fit in the microscopic reply box. So I'm linking to my answer here instead... cut for those not interested.

First and foremost, I haven't achieved my fitness goals yet. I've lost over 20 lbs from where I was back in August of last year (and even more than that from my high back when I was drinking all the time). However, I've still got about 100-120 lbs to go.

So instead, I can tell you how I got to the point I'm at now: eating better and exercising.

Eating better
We switched our eating habits over the last few years. We rarely use butter, occasionally some olive oil, but mostly Pam and non-stick skillets. We've cut out creamy, calorie-dense items and started making healthier versions of the recipes we like. Pastas are almost always whole grain. White rice has been supplanted by brown rice and we haven't missed it one bit. We always eat a vegetable (or at least a side salad) with every meal... steamed broccoli or green beans & mushrooms are sides in just about everything we eat.

I tracked my food intake meticulously for few months and started changing the things I ate. I started eating tons of fiber and trying to get more protein. I cut down on salt wherever I knew I wouldn't miss it. As we started eating healthier, I began to lose my taste for junk food. Potato chips are just too greasy now, even the Lightly Salted ones I used to get just aren't appealing. My old best friends Take 5 and M&Ms taste a bit fake and processed now. I rarely add salt to anything at the table. My fat & carb intake were(/are) a bit too high, so I've tried to cut down on them while increasing protein. I began increasing my fruit intake... I eat 3 apples a day, typically. Blueberry yogurt is yum. A banana a day helps with muscles on workout days.

Tracking your food will open your eyes to how even things that seem pretty good for you are really just empty calories. No need to cut back from junk completely (I still occasionally have Cookies 'n Cream Skinny Cows for dessert), but there are probably things you can find satisfying substitutes for or won't really miss when they're gone.

Exercise
The weight started coming off more noticeably as I began to exercise, particularly cardio. Couch-to-5K is great for helping beginners ramp up on running. Especially when you're not conditioned for it yet, running will burn tons of calories! Robert Ullrey made some very nice podcasts to go along with the C25K plan that tell you when to start running and when to stop, so you don't have to keep watching the clock.

I struggled with the plan at first and failed a few times, but eventually I was able to plow through it and run 25 minutes straight. If you only do one thing, make it C25K. I think it will be the fastest way to see (and feel) results, which will help keep you motivated. There aren't many 5Ks going on with the oppressive summer heat, but later in the year sign up for 5Ks at Track Shack. Even if you walk most of it and only jog for a few minutes here and there, you're still getting good exercise. That they're scheduled events makes me stick to them, vs just trying to run on a particular weekend morning. If you have a competitive streak, increasing your time will motivate you to do better and stick to something like C25K. And hey, free t-shirt.

I also do strength training. Many women used to be afraid of lifting weights, thinking it'd give them bulky-looking guy muscles, but I think it's becoming more common knowledge that that's just a myth. Women typically don't have the testosterone to build bulky muscles. Instead, you'll build nice lean muscles. Even if you gain muscle and don't lose fat, the muscle helps tighten up the overlying areas and firms parts up so they're not as saggy. Everyone seems to be jumping on the P90X wagon and it looks pretty intense, but something like that where you're doing a different type of exercise each day helps.

Challenges
Luckily I don't have much of a problem controlling what I eat. My biggest challenge is making the time for working out. I work from home so it seems like it should be easy, but I usually get sucked into one emergency after another with my clients. When Tammy and I used to workout together, it made us accountable. It's a lot harder for me to say "eh, I'll get to working out later. for now i need to fix this bug" when someone else is expecting you to workout.

To work around that now, I have an awesome, inexpensive personal trainer that I go to every Tuesday and Thursday morning. That rigid structure keeps me on track. She also shows me good form, explains what I should be feeling where, and she switches up my routine regularly so I don't adapt to any particular exercise. I still have problems getting around to doing cardio or yoga on my off days, but I'm still working with it.

Holy long post! That's about all I do. It's not any groundbreaking insight, but when I do cardio, my weight goes down, when I don't, my weight starts to float back up.

The haul

Sat, 02 May 2009 21:30:38 GMT

Our favorite local steakhouse, Barney's, shut down last month. I won a restaurant.com gift certificate for Barney's about 9 months ago that we never got around to using. Contacted restaurant.com customer service and they gave me a $25 credit the next day.

While shopping around, I noticed they had added a lot more local restaurants we frequent. I also found a 50%-off Mother's Day discount that expires tomorrow. Between the $25 credit and the 50% off my order, I managed to get a $25 Taste (tapas restaurant) gift certificate, a $25 Melting Pot cert, 2 $10 Urban Flat certs, and 2 $10 Maria Bonita (our new fav Mexican restaurant) certs, all for $11.

If you want some dirt cheap gift certificates to local restaurants, check restaurant.com out soon. The 50%-Off Coupon Code is "MOM" and it expires tomorrow.

Sleuths

Fri, 01 May 2009 22:34:29 GMT

On my list of "Games You Never Want To Play": Find The Mess

The game starts when the sound of a cat puking drifts down from upstairs. The objective is to figure out where the pasty pile of partially digested cat food is.

So far, I'm losing this round miserably.

Run for the Trees 5K

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:33:08 GMT

I'm a month late with it, but I finally met my goal of running a 5K in under 40 minutes this morning. Chip time was 38:50, a new PR for me.

Training

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:56:55 GMT

I started working out with my new personal trainer, Kat Fieler, a few weeks ago. When she's not making me do thousands of squats, lunges, and crunches, she's busy with much more noble ventures like leading free fitness classes for women recovering from breast cancer. She's quite selfless and inspirational.

I've made pretty good progress so far, ramping up quickly in weight and reps as well as flexibility in our yoga cool-down sessions. My calf cramped up pretty hard last Thursday though and it's been nagging me here and there ever since. I had no problem running 20 mins on Sunday, the calf ache going away after a few minutes, but today it just kept throbbing and I gave up before getting 12 minutes in. My hope for our 5K this coming Saturday was to be able to run as much of it as possible, finishing in under 40 minutes. Now I'm not so sure that's going to happen.

Fitness victories

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:24:43 GMT

I joined a weight loss support community on LJ last week to help stay motivated and post my accomplishments, but it turned out to be a lot of plump women being overly LJ-dramatic and catty. So instead, you guys get to hear it instead.

Today I had two very empowering fitness victory...

The first was making it to the 20 minute straight run of Couch-to-5K and completing it without much problem. I'm only running at 5mph on the treadmill, but it was still 1.67 miles straight which is more than I've ever ran continuously in my life. Our next 5K (and probably our last of the season as it gets unbearably hot) is in two weeks. If I'm able to keep that slow-and-steady pace for 3.1 miles, I should be able to easily beat my 40-minute goal and finish the 5K in under 38 minutes. The Florida heat may have other ideas.

The second victory was weighing in on Wii Fit, our glorified scale.

I hit 261 lbs today, my lowest since I plumped up from the boozing days years ago. My highest was back at the end of August 2008 when I got up to 282 lbs, so I've shed almost 7.5% since then. I'm 1.00 BMI away from being able to drop the "morbidly" off my "obese". I'm feeling a little braggy today. :)

Nomenclature

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 11:00:27 GMT

I take random surveys to get Seasons 52 Gift Cards. I took one last night with the following question:

Apparently "Broccoli" isn't the correct answer; I was disqualified from the survey after choosing it.

Walgreens Photo Kiosks will eat your pics

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:13:16 GMT

Be wary when using the in-store kiosks at Walgreens photo centers. I brought in the high-res version of this image to be printed on an 8x10 (two copies on a USB drive... one landscape, one portrait orientation):

I unplugged and replugged the USB drive several times to confirm the pictures copied over correctly.

When I tried to print the images using the kiosk, the photo specialist pulled the pictures up on the print lab to see which version looked proper and both were screwed up. The landscape version clipped off some of the bottom of the picture, replacing it with a gray bar:

The portrait version clipped off everything except the top of the image, replacing most of the image with a gray bar:

When I got home and looked at the images on the USB drive, I found that the kiosk had overwritten my files with the hacked up versions of the photo above, blowing away the originals. So make sure to back up the contents of your USB drive before bringing your photos in... whoever wrote the kiosk software thought it'd be a good idea to silently overwrite the contents of the drive.

Cell and Fitness

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:07:08 GMT

Switching my service from T-Mobile to to Net10 can now be officially declared "a good idea". After the initial battery charge, my phone went two weeks before finally needing to be plugged in today. With most of my phone calls being business-related and happening in my office, using Skype for unlimited outgoing calls for $3/mo means I've only spent about $6 for half a month of service.

I found an inexpensive personal trainer with her own home gym setup, so I've decided to start doing that to try and lose more weight. I lose motivation too easily, but having some rigid, scheduled appointments with someone I don't know will make it harder to say "eh, I'm not in the mood". When I *do* put forth the effort, the weight comes off slowly but surely, so I have high hopes. The money saved on my cell phone bill and the Sprint card for my laptop (purchased back when I actually left the house regularly, before working for myself) will cover a little less than half of the monthly cost, so it's totally worth it.

Spring Break

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:49:36 GMT

Today was Tammy's first day back at work after spring break. Our camping trip was great, in spite of the water gushing out from the kitchen wall upon our return. When we arrived on Saturday, we set up shop, fumbled around for an hour before the campfire finally caught, had some yummy grilled chicken and veggies and smores. As we prepared to retire to the tent for the evening, it started getting stormy. No sooner than we had zipped up the tent did it start raining. We woke up in the middle of the night with a thunderstorm hanging out right above our tent. Lightning, thunder, and torrential downpour is REALLY LOUD in a tent, and we eventually sprung leaks.

We spent the next morning draping our blankets/towels across the car to dry in the sun. Tammy managed to clean up the muddy mess in the tent with a ton of elbow grease. The thunderstorms from the night before took all the bad weather with them when they rolled out, so Sunday was cloudless and in the 70s. We did some relaxing canoeing on the dinkiest lake ever and took 3 mile hike on a few scenic nature trails that went up, around, and through a huge ravine in the park. The evening was spent relaxing, smoresing, grilling steaks and corn, and some riveting "Guess Who?" action (fun for exactly 3 rounds). We ended the evening huddled up in our sleeping bags against the 48 degree night.

Overall, it was a vacation win. Now it's less than 3 months until our Alaska cruise. We took some time after camping last week to finalize our plans, research and book all our excursions, buy all our tickets, etc. At this point, there's nothing left to do but stare at the calendar, waiting for June 20th to arrive. We've got two floatplane tours lined up, a kayaking adventure, a hike and railway ride through the Sawtooth Mountain Rainforest, and several hours to roam around a 50-acre floral garden in Canada. Thanks to everyone who contributed to our honeymoon registry and helped make all of that possible!

The Money Pit

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:22:03 GMT

Tam and I had an awesome camping vacation this weekend, only to return home to a clogged kitchen sink that eventually turned into an exploded pipe in the wall that leaked all over the floor.

The plumber ended up having to cut away a good chunk of the exterior concrete wall to get at the pipe...

The t-fitting had two rather large holes in it and we now have a nice hidden passage into our storage closet from behind the fridge. Hate this house.

Net10 Take 2

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 01:55:19 GMT

I had a rather terrible experience with Net10 when I first tried to switch to them six months ago. After two DOA refurbished phones from them, I gave up on them and stuck with the carrier I already had.

After another spat with f-ing T-Mobile, I decided to try switching to Net10 again today. This time I just ponied up for a new phone at Best Buy. It activated without incident and my number was ported from T-Mobile in about an hour. This evening I've been finding all kinds of ways to avoid using up minutes. Looking over my cell bill for the last month, most of my calls were to 800 numbers while sitting at my desk. While Net10 still charges airtime for calls to toll-free numbers, they're completely free with Skype. That will shave about $13/mo worth of minutes off my bill.

For times that I do need to make long calls to non-free numbers, Skype offers $0.02/min calls and the new 4.0 version has improved call quality. I've already been slowly moving incoming business calls away from my cell and over to my SkypeIn number so I can use my headset while typing notes/researching code. I've also started using the "click to call" feature most business websites have where I can plug in my SkypeIn number and have them call me to avoid further cell charges.

In the end, it looks like my monthly cell usage will drop to about $20/mo from the $54/mo I was paying with T-Mobile. The more I work the numbers, the more I'm glad T-Mobile was boneheaded to the point that I left them.

Also, it seems every new phone is now intentionally loaded with the most obnoxious ringtones possible in an attempt to get you to buy a decent one from the carrier.

Unintentional Cliff's Notes

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:58:19 GMT

Over the past few weeks, I've been trying to plow through Ayn Rand's enormous and verbose "Atlas Shrugged". I was finally starting to see some of the main mystery forming with industry grinding to a halt, the composer who vanished but still somehow composed, etc. Unfortunately, most of Colbert's program last night revolved around the novel and ended up giving away the plot before I got to it.

Need to pay better attention to my "spoiler alert" instinct.

Dollhouse

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 03:18:06 GMT

Just finished watching the second episode of "Dollhouse", Whedon's new series. I tried very hard not to compare it to Whedon's short-lived work of art "Firefly", but that's easier said than done given how "Dollhouse" falters through so many key elements that "Firefly" got right.

Eliza Dushku is adorable and believable, making her a great choice for her imprintable agent character, Echo. Echo's mind is a clean slate that gets imprinted with a personality for the show's assignment and then wiped clean at the end. It's an intriguing concept, but it means Echo's personality is pretty much static from the start of episode 1 to the end of episode 2. After the novelty of her becoming someone new every week wears off, Echo's rather boring and uninspiring. Any growth and character development you see in her is essentially lost by the end of the hour, save for the small fragment she remembers. It just not enough to get attached to.

Harry Lennix is perfectly cast as Echo's guardian angel... conflicted about how Echo is treated. He wears his traits on his sleeve though and his character doesn't seem very complex. His back-story adds very little depth... so far he seems to be exactly who you think he is.

Everyone else seems to follow the same pattern as Lennix's character, basic wooden archetypes with no real depth. The egotistical computer nerd. The compassionate overseer who believes her work with the agents is for the greater good. The angry head-of-security who complains about how much trouble Eliza's character is, inevitably setting up an episode arc with some sort of betrayal twist, I'm guessing.

All the characters have a common theme, they're all DULL. I was completely drawn in by how incredibly complex and flawed all of the characters from "Firefly" were. Now I can't help but expect that from any other Whedon vehicle. "Dollhouse" just fails to deliver at all in that regard and characters are really what I watch Whedon for.

Kayaking

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:50:42 GMT

Tammy and I went kayaking near Thonotosassa today. It was much more beautiful than the other two places I've gone.

Perfect way to spend V-day.

Random

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:38:02 GMT

I use Windows Notepad frequently to jot down random notes throughout the day... business TODO reminders, personal lists, random musings, whatever. The next morning, I'll wade through the 10-15 I have open and try to act on them or close them out. Every once in awhile, I come across one that I have no idea what it is referring to or why I jotted it down. Today, the winner was:

This comic is about how dumb John Roberts is.
Except remove "about how" and "John Roberts is".

It's not as clever as I'm sure I thought it was when I jotted it down and I have no idea what prompted it. The only John Roberts I can think of is the Chief Justice and I know he isn't a part of QC, Dr. McNinja, or GWS, the only comics I really read anymore. Last week's note was just "moose burgers".

The Ritual

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:26:03 GMT

An 18-wheeler on a crowded highway has their blinker on, trying to get into your lane to pass a slow car ahead of them. No one wants to be stuck behind the slow truck, so they don't let it over. You slow down and flash your hi-beams several times to let the driver know you're letting them in and it's safe to come over. Once the big rig is in your lane, he flashes his hazards a few times to show gratitude. Once he's passed the slow car and moved back over out of your way, you accelerate past and flash your hazards a couple of times in parting. The trucker flashes his hi-beams once in acknowledgment.

I've always been fascinated by this dance, a silent exchange of random politeness between strangers symbolized by nothing more than blinking lights. There's a beauty in how simple and functional it is. While it rarely plays out in its entirety, when it does I always feel like I've connected in some small way with the other driver. Last night, after a few hours of pretty heavy conversation with a troubled friend over dinner, I completed the ritual with a trucker on the interstate. I was still smiling by the time I reached home.

2009 Q1 Resolutions

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:05:15 GMT

Year-long resolutions never work for me, so I'm breaking them down into quarterly resolutions. So by the end of March 2009, I'd like to:

Hard - Run a 5K in under 40 minutes

This one's pretty self-explanatory. It's more of a way to measure my general "Get Healthier" goal. It seems like it should be easy to shave a minute or two off my time, but it's harder than I thought it would be. Tammy helped me set up a schedule for walking and working out to get me back into the routine, but I proceeded to get immediately sick afterward.

Easy - Pay off some debt

Now that my finances are pretty stabilized from my switch to self-employment, I'd like my Amex card to be about half the balance it is now within three months. It's a relatively low balance, my mortgage went down $220/mo this year, and I'm getting a big fat escrow refund from all the overcharges from last year. This should be a cakewalk.

Impossible - Get rid of my car

I hate my car. It's a big waste of money for something that I barely use. I've put less than 2500 miles on it since I started keeping track in April for tax purposes. I figure I spend over $4k a year on it when taking into account car payments, gas, tolls, insurance, maintenance, etc. My loan is still upside down for another year, so I can't get rid of it. I'm hoping someone will accidentally drop a dumpster on top of it and total it. That will also free up more money for Resolution #2. I have very little hope of succeeding at this resolution.

That'll keep me busy for the next 90 days.

Pet Semetary

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 22:06:47 GMT

Today we received a letter from the Army Corps of Engineers letting us know our property is on an ancient Indian burial ground or something and they'll be testing soil and water in the area next month:

Dear Property Owner,

Our records indicate that your property is on the former Orlando Range and Chemical Yard (ORCY) Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS). [...]

If any of these chemicals start reanimating dead, buried house pet corpses who claw their way out of their shoebox graves, I *BETTER* get some money for this stupid house.

Year in Review - 2008

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 04:37:44 GMT

It's been a hectic year.

I gave up alcohol (except for one last salute to The Big Lebowski on the big screen back in February). The typical reaction I get from telling someone this while declining a beer is "Sorry, I didn't know!", as if they've just tried to knock me off the wagon. While I definitely had my moments where I became a total jerk when I got really bombed, that tended to be a less-than-once-a-year event. I never felt out of control with my alcohol consumption, but I didn't really enjoy the next day feeling of exhaustion it inevitably brought (or the empty calories it packed on). Seeing others around me deal with their own dependence issues soured me to drinking as well. I haven't missed it much.
Seeing Mike Doughty in concert was definitely one of the high points of the first half of 2008. The solo, acoustic show in a venue as intimate as The Social really made the experience one to remember. His live album in the same vein, Smofe and Smang, has become a staple in my car's CD player.
Back in 2002, I realized how miserable I was down in SoFla with Tammy going to school 3 hours away. I decided that quitting my job at Citrix (where I could have easily lived out my entire corporate career) and moving up to Orlando with no job lined up was worth the risk. It took 2 months of searching, but I finally found a place at a young software shop in June of 2002. After nearly 6 years of working there, I developed some very strong friendships with many of my coworkers. Seeing most of those friends get sacked during corporate belt-tightening earlier this year was easily the lowest point of 2008 for me. Everyone landed on their feet though and all's well that ends well, I guess.
Losing most of my friends in the layoffs made it much easier to cut the cord and strike out on my own. I quit my job toward the middle of 2008 and started doing independent software development and consulting. For the first month or so, I had a nagging fear that I was making a horrible mistake and wouldn't be able to support myself or Tammy. Eight months later I couldn't be happier with my decision. The work is exciting and more meaningful, my morning commute went from 14 miles one-way to 50 feet round-trip, and my time is my own. Overall, I'm probably working the same or more hours than I did at my last job, but it's on my own terms and (for the most part) when I want. A lot of my hours are put in early mornings on the weekends when Tammy's not awake yet and I've got nothing better to do.
Tammy and I started doing 5Ks again this year. We managed to get in 5 since August and even squeezed in a tougher 5 Miler. We already have 3 scheduled for the first 2 months of next year. My times haven't been that great, but I did manage to hit one of my revised New Year's Resolutions... I was *FINALLY* not last (race results) in my division for a race.
And of course, the highest point, getting married last month. The whirlwind of activity involved in planning and executing a wedding with six weeks notice was a nice counterpoint to twelve and a half years of courtship. The ceremony was short, simple, and every part of it was meaningful to us. My family grew by approximately eleventy billion people when taking into account all of Tammy's extended family. That it all happened right around Thanksgiving just gave me more to be thankful for.

Slideshow

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:13:39 GMT

Our photographer decided to send us a surprise wedding slideshow. I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a lot of wedding blogging for the next week or two. Sorry!

Our Wedding

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:18:17 GMT

On Saturday, November 29th, 2008 at 3:47pm, Tammy and I became husband and wife. Our ceremony, in front of two massive cypress trees in a beautiful nature center in South Florida, was officiated by Tammy's brother Sean and we were surrounded by our family. Thankfully, the weather cooperated perfectly as we had no rainy day backup plan. We did have some minor hiccups; everyone got lost in the park which meant a lot of extra walking and aching feet by the time they made it to the ceremony, I forgot to turn on the video camera for the start of the ceremony, and we didn't realize during planning that the layout of the location meant that my back would have to be to some of the guests for the entire ceremony. Other than that, the wedding was perfect.

For all the talk we'd heard about how crazy the big day would be, we were both relatively stress-free. More than anything, it was just a whirlwind of one activity after another. We only had about a month and a half to figure out the wedding, but because of its smaller size, we were able to plan everything pretty meticulously early on.

We hired Frank Donnino to do our photography and were blown away by how much effort he put into making sure everything looked great (without being at all intrusive to the wedding ceremony) and how fantastic the pictures came out. Everyone at the ceremony loved him and I'd highly recommend him for any small weddings in the South Florida area. He was also less than half the price of his closest competitors, who I guess only price themselves for large gala weddings.

I put photographs that others took, including pictures of the reception dinner and the surprise waiting for us when we got home, on my Flickr page.

Everyone seems to have loved the Honeyfund registry idea and we've already got almost half the honeymoon paid for. Alaska is going to be awesome and Tammy has wanted to take another vacation cruise for years now.

I'm sure there's more to say about it, but I'm still exhausted. I've never been happier though. :)