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So I was introduced to someone over the internet. I say “introduced” because we hadn’t met until yesterday when he moved in. In fact we never communicated. It was all arranged by someone else. So yesterday, I drove to Federal Way to pick him up. when I got there I couldn’t believe my eyes. He is so cute, and young! You have just got to take a look at him, I just know you’ll fall in love with him too. His name is Charlie and I’ve got pictures of him posted here.

See, I told you you’d love him.  So now my life has changed drastically, caring for this cutie.

I should have done this much sooner.

Here is my musical taste over the past few months. Enjoy.

Well that’s it. I’ve finally done away with my old desktop PC. I’m at the verge of being an all Mac household. Whew, and its about time too. The old desktop is probably the oldest computer I have ever had. I acquired it way back in ‘99 when the startup I worked for at the time finally went under. It lasted through a few upgrades some not so graceful yet it persisted. So as at any solemn occasion we should observe a moment of silence in respect for the dear departed PC… OK lets party!! Did I mention that I love Mac’s. “Everything just works” Actually today I got rid of two PCs. The other was an old laptop that was as old as dirt. Yeah, yeah, I went through all the security measures, I wiped the hard drives, removed the ones in the desktop for later disposal, the whole shebang. The only PC I have left in the house is a Gateway laptop I got back in 2001. And its gone as soon as I can convince myself I’m not getting rid of something that is still useful. Well I should be able to do that already, I almost never use it. And why should I? Since installing VM Ware on my Mac, I can run any Windows programs I need to with Windows XP running inside a window on my Mac. As ironic as it is, my Mac is the fastest Windows machine I have ever worked on.

Whats with this insatiable human desire to choose favorites? Is it the way we define ourselves or is it the way we find our place in this vast cosmic sea of possibilities? I don’t know maybe its just me. Anyway since moving to Seattle I have started collecting quite a few favorite things. For instance, my favorite radio station is KEXP, my favorite coffee shop is Cafe Ladro, my favorite lounge is Mona’s, my favorite eat-in pizza place is Talrico’s, my favorite takeout pizza place is Papa Murphy’s, my favorite West-Indian restaurant is Pam’s Kitchen, and now my favorite Greek restaurant is Kokora Greek Grill. Is this what it means to settle into a place?

Music: Muse, “Feeling Good”

I haven’t listened to the radio in literally years. So Imagine my pleasant surprise while trying to find an empty frequency to broadcast my iPod to my car radio, I found a cool station. Now I’m not talking about the dime a dozen carbon copy radio stations that stick firmly to their prescribed formats. You know the type I’m talking about. You can find almost identical copies in just about every major city in the US. No this station is cool and listener supported so the commercials are few and far between. Now don’t get me wrong this isn’t your parents listener supported radio with classic music, long awkward pauses and seldom heard strange Irish and Celtic folksongs. No this is Arctic Monkeys, Thom Yorke, Radiohead, !!!, Dandy Warhols, Berg Sans Nipple, and Bob Marley all rolled into one. Did I mention its listener supported. It reminds me of a college station but much cooler. Its KEXP, you can listen to them on the web at kexp.org and if you’re wondering what song that was, that they played yesterday at 4:15 PM, they have a complete track listing. They play tons of local bands and Seattle has a lot in just about every genre you can imagine. This radio station has turned me onto more cool music than any other station in the last 10 years. Now, I have pretty normal dreams, but I have never dreamed about a radio station before. I kid you not, I actually dreamed about making a contribution to support this station. So you can imagine if it makes that much of an impact on me it has to be good. KEXP is my only radio station. Thanks for turning me on to radio again.

Music: CeU, “Véu Da Noite”

Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of drum and base music. Most notably Pendulum, a band out of Perth Australia. I think I especially enjoy the juxtaposition of my mild mannered personality against the hard reality of my music.

Music: Pendulum, “Essential Mix 18-09-2005″

So again, like MoJo-JoJo before me I was again beaten up by the Power-Puff girls. Why do I do it? I guess its because I love hanging out with cool people that are like family.

So, here’s a run down. Arrive on Friday dinner consisted of pitas, cold cuts, strawberries and Strawberry Cheese. How cool is that?

On Saturday I got to have some of my favorite beer Paulaner Hefe Weizen which put me in just the right mood to be covered up in pillows by the Power-Puff girls and treated like a talking couch. Just when I had forgotten what its like to be a five year old’s favorite toy.

On Sunday we went to the meeting and we met up with Eva from my doctors office and I got to give her the good news that I probably won’t be back at the doctors office for another six months. Yippie!! My friends said it was good to see me eating again, and believe me its good to be eating like a normal person again. Now I can do all of that cool stuff again like drinking coffee (budding Starbuck’s fanatic), drinking alcohol (Aspiring Wine connoisseur) and eating cheese. I LOVE CHEESE. After the meeting we enjoyed the company of a couple from Jackson Heights that are now at Patterson. I had only seen them in passing in Queens, but now we got a chance to sit down and talk for a while. For dinner we had pork roast with cranberries and for desert pumpkin cheese cake. Did I mention that I LOVE CHEESE cake.

Monday was great too. We headed out to the Vanderbilt Mansion, took some pictures and drove past the Franklin D. Roosevelt Mansion. We ate at this neat little diner, you know the kind that’s made out of all chrome. The kind that seems to be a staple on the East Coast. The food was really good. There I found the sandwich I had been craving. It was a bacon and blue-cheese cheese burger, except it was served as a club-sandwich and it came with sweet potato fries. That was different, but not in a “That’s odd” way but in a “Hey that’s imaginative” way.

When we got back home, I found the two Python books I ordered at my doorstep. So I’ve got some good reading ahead of me, as I devour yet another programming language.

Today, I got started packing up the apartment. I say “I got started” because Satonya began about a week ago. I know that we have to move, but I’m not completely sure where to yet. So I could be writing you from Bora Bora soon or even New Delhi. But probably no where that exotic. Who knows I might even end up on the West Coast. Of course if i get a job offer from a company in the area I’de be happy to hang around a bit longer. But things seem to be a bit dry in this neck of the woods. So the search continues.

Music: Seal, “Colour (Acoustic)”

So this weekend we’re heading out to Mike and Lisa’s. I just know I’m gonna have a blast. Not that we’re gonna party or anything. But there are just some places that makes you feel like home. Mike and Lisa’s was a mainstay for me during those first few years in NYC. Don’t get me wrong, New York was cool for what it had to offer, the cool spots in the city, the trendy little resturaunts and bars, the Cellar Bar, Cavo’s. Good times all of them. I lolved my friends there, but I hated the city itself. I know I’m probably not making any sence here, eh.. who cares. But when the city was just too much for me, I headded out to Mike and Lisa’s. There is something about being around really cool people and getting beaten up by the “Power Puff Girls” that makes it all worthwile. Somehow I’m looking forward to becomming a toddlers favorite toy again. It’s a really great thing when frieindships become like gold.

Enough for now. Good times here I come.

Music: Pendulum, “Plastic World”

Yesterday was really awesome. We went to family night with Joy and Chuck. It was really fun. It started off with a Broadway type tap-dance number. Out in front was none other than my best friend’s wife Cindy. She was really good. I had no idea she knew how to tap. And I’m not just saying that because she got me in as a guest. There were two original songs, two solos, cultural dances from Hawaii, The Philippines and Mexico, various comedy acts and a Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Like I said it was really awesome.

Afterward we went to Williamsburg to eat. The wait for a table at Sea was ridiculously long. The entrance was totally packed. Fortunately, because Williamsburg is such a cool little area, we walked over to another really cool restaurant, Planet Thailand. Didn’t it used to be Planet Thai once? Any way really cool restaurant, good food. But what’s with the “We only accept cash”? Who pays with cash these days. “Coincidentally” they had an ATM machine in the restaurant right next to the DJ’s station. A two dollar ATM fee. Can you say kickback?

I was my usual reserved self. Then the conversation changed to type casting. Chuck thought I was an INSP or something like that. Wow, that was off. Do I really act that differently from my personality at times? I told him I’m an INFJ, and I think he started realizing it after a while. He said he should have observed me a bit longer. I came pretty close In guessing his type. I was only off by one letter. All in all, I think Chuck is a pretty nice guy. I think he and Joy will be good together. Somewhere in the conversation someone said Joy was an INFJ, but I don’t believe it for one second. Truthfully, I don’t know what Joy is. I think I stopped type casting my friends shortly before I first met her. I mean it’s so much work to correctly type cast someone and these days I prefer to be pleasantly surprised by someone’s personality. I guess I’m becoming more laid back in some areas.

Music: Timo Maas “Caravan (featuring Finlay Quaye)”