Real Estate People are Unbelievable

At least sometimes. I decided to go to an open house that I knew about today since I had nothing better to do. I didn't think that I would have a serious interest in the condo, but I hadn't seen one in this particular complex yet, so I took the opportunity to take a look. Anyway, as I suspected, the condo isn't for me, it's rather small, too close to the highway and another busy road, the campus is a little cramped, etc. (but it was cheap!) Anyway, as I looked at the place, the realtor asked the typical questions, do I have kids, where do I work, etc. The realtor then went on to stress about how I didn't "need" any more space since it is just me. I love how these realtors love to tell you exactly what you need, while at the same time not really knowing anything at all about you. What does she know what I need or want? I mean, I could have lots of extended family and friends who plan to visit all the time, or maybe I have a couple of huge dogs, or a hobby the requires space, or I need a fully functioning home office, in addition to a guest bedroom or something. Sheesh!

My New Apartment

So, I'm really liking my new apartment. Even though it's basically the same layout as the corporate apartment that I was living in for 3+ months, it seems somehow nicer. It's in a building that is a little removed from the rest of the apartment complex, the people who live here seem a little more established, permanent, etc. It's on the top (3rd) floor so I get a ton of sunlight and it's nice to be able to sit out on the little deck and watch the world go by a bit. The Heritage Trail is literally out the back door, so that's an added bonus. The corporate apartment was on the first floor and right across the parking lot from the club house, so I tended not to open the blinds too much, and I never once opened the shade in the bedroom. It was a bit like living in a cave, which was okay for the dark Winter months. But now that the weather is turning nice, it's a pleasure to live in a light, airy place. Lola is enjoying it too, it took her a while to become comfortable with the deck, but now that she is, she likes to patrol the "neighborhood" by announcing her presence from the deck to other dogs who happen to pass by. Anyway, I like it here and, unlike every apartment I've ever lived in, in NYC (or environs), I never hear my neighbors and can thus feel comfortable that they're not really hearing me. There have been a few times that I've gone out into the hall and been amazed that my direct nextdoor neighbor is blaring their TV. I never would have known from inside my place. I am comfortable enough here that I've actually even hung pictures! Amazing. Seriously.

Been So Long

Since I've written. In the time since I last posted, I have moved everything out of my NY apartment, moved everything out of the corporate apartment and moved into a new apartment in my complex. I've also written 1,000s of lines of BI code, been to numerous meetings, watched a bunch of movies, picked about 4 or 5 ticks off the dog (and one off of myself), seen one tiny yellow frog (sitting on the glass back door apartment building entrance), had one dinner w/ Carolina & Janos in NYC (with a number of vodka/sodas), driven 100s of miles , missed one dinner with my cousins, had one big fight with my father (we're still not talking), bought one Bose iPod docking speaker thingie, stressed & fretted for endless hours over my work at New Company. I guess that's been my life lately in a nutshell.

I'm starting to enjoy the nice weather here in New Hampshire. In NYC, by now I would be starting to really dread the coming hot weather, but not so here. Of course, we'll see what the reality of a Summer in Southern New Hampshire is really like, but I'm optimistic so far.

You Know You're in New England on Opening Day

When you can walk down the hallways of New Company and see grown men wearing stoopid Red Sox baseball jerseys over their oxford button-downs. I mean, WTF??? Yeah, you're a fan. We get it. Sheesh!

A picture of my nephew during a recent ski race.

Funny

I think I mentioned before that the business side of the project that I'm working on at New Company had asked that I sit on the trading desk once in a while, in an effort to maintain ongoing communication and a working dialog between myself and the trader who is driving the requirements for the project. So, I've taken to sitting out there in the afternoons for a few hours. Anyway, today this guy who works on the floor (completely unrelated to my project) approached me, introduced himself, said that he has noticed that I had been working on the Floor lately and then asked if I was from "Compliance". It took me a beat, but I finally realized that the man thought I was a spy. Me!!! Anyway, I had to laugh and tell him that no, I was just working on a project with one of the traders. Now I have to wonder about how long this guy has been twisting in the wind thinking that I'm sitting behind him hovering over all the doings in the area.

Call Me a Freak

but I actually kind of like Mondays. It's the anticipation of a Monday that I can't take. The start of Monday morning can be a little rough, between going to bed insanely late on a Sunday (a habit I just can't seem to break) and that period of time when I first get in where I'm trying to remember what I was working on the Friday before and trying to get re-immersed. But once I hit my stride on a Monday, I actually kind of like it. I've had my time off, I've loafed plenty, watched movies, read, or done whatever. Work is almost a novelty again. I really like Monday nights however. Just having gotten through the day, made some progress on some stuff and feeling like I'm in the swing of whatever I'm working on. And there is also that relief factor. Once the Sunday Night Monday Dreads are over, the reality of a pretty good Monday feels great in comparison.

It was raining when I got home from work tonight, but I took Lola for a walk on the Heritage Trail anyway. We walked for about 45 minutes and had the whole trail to ourselves, it was pretty nice, even with the rain. Also nice and cool, but not cold. Perfect for walking (and running too, if I had been so inclined).

What a Moron

I am. Logged into my bank to check that I've remembered to pay certain bills and to check balances, etc. and I see that I've somehow managed to paid my mortgage twice this month. This is particularly helpful in a month where I am paying DOUBLE housing costs already! Sheesh!

Wow

So apparently that trail/access road/path that I found behind my new apartment building is no such thing afterall. Apparently it is part of the Heritage Trail! I guess the thing goes on for about two hundred miles or so. More than long enough for a long walk or run, I would think.

I took Lola for a walk on it this afternoon and it really was quite nice. We ran into a couple of other people out walking dogs and a couple of people running, but otherwise we had the whole trail to ourselves. We only went a couple of miles because the stupid socks I was wearing kept working their way down underneath the bottom of my feet. So irritating. I just don't know what I did with all the Thorlo Socks I used to own, but the socks currently at my disposal are just not going to cut it at all (they have to be demoted to gym-only socks, I think). Anyway, other than the discomfort and annoyance of having to constantly stop and yank my socks back up around my ankles, it was a very nice walk and one I hope to do often.

I know it's been a long time since I have written. Life has been generally busy here and in my down time, I've been rather tired and not inclined to sit and blog about my day.

Anyway, work is going generally pretty well, I think. This was a particularly good week as I feel I've made a lot of progress on some stuff, and have gotten some things figured out. It makes me feel encouraged anyway. I'm hoping the rest of my team will feel the same way, once we come down to meeting about the progress of the work.

Dealing with the formality of the organization continues to be a source of frustration. There are so many elements and layers at New Company to getting stuff sorted out (that in my old job wouldn't have been a big part of my job). For instance, every time we upgrade our reporting software to a new release, there are big security implications that I am somehow expected to know how to negotiate. The security area is managed by a completely different department and getting myself and users access every time there is a change has become a bit of a nightmare. It's just one of those administrative complications that will probably end up being not such a big deal once I get it figured out, but in the meantime, it's got me crazy. At Old Company, this sort of thing would have been resolved by my walking over to the office of whomever handled this sort of thing (which would probably be right around the corner from my desk), explaining my problem and having it fixed, figured out, whatever. Another source of frustration is the shifting roles of people in the various areas of my project. When I started, we had a tech project manager who was a very pro-active liaison between all the various areas (the business, the production tech group, the security people, my team, etc.) she has since been promoted into a new role with the business and the guy who has replaced her, while very nice and approachable, has not been very much help at all. To the point where I've had to take over some of the roles that the former PM used to provide (for instance the security thing). I think all-in-all, it represents an actual opportunity for me (and I view it as such), but it does add some stress and frustration on to my day. But all of this is the sort of thing that comes with starting in a new company and so is part of the adjustment process.

I am now actually looking forward to moving into the new apartment. With the weather starting to turn nice, I think I will enjoy sitting out on my little deck and since the new apartment is on the top floor, I think I will find this even more pleasurable there. Additionally, there is a little playground outside of the apartment that I'm in now and with the nicer weather, the kids are starting to crawl out of the woodwork and play there. And anyone who knows me knows that I really don't enjoy the sound of screaming kids. So, having my sliding door open and enjoy the nice fresh air, but have to listen to the screamers? or keep it closed? hmmmm, looking forward to that new place. I'm also looking forward to having my own furniture and stuff with me finally (thinking I should cave and buy a new, queen-sized, bed though). I am not looking forward to having to pay double housing costs however. Freaking, #&%@, slow-ass, useless co-op bastards! ARGH! Anyway.

After work one evening I took Lola for a walk around the area, since the weather was so gorgeous. We wandered down by the apartment building that we're moving to and discovered this great path/access road whatever. It's packed grass & dirt, runs along the river and looks like it goes for quite a ways. I think this will be a nice option for long walks now that Winter seems to be on the wane.

Anyway, so things are coming along here in NH. I need to seriously start thinking about finding a permanent living solution, but at least I'll have my own apartment shortly. I also have to start calling the various utility companies to arrange electricity, cable, etc. btw, anyone have any opinions of cable (Comcast) vs. DirecTV?