All posts by johncohn

Monday night – NYC

Not again ?! !^%$& !!! I typed in a large portion of a blog story on my Blackberry yesterday while driving  and it froze up before it posted. The picture below is the only proof that I wrote it.. seconds after this picture about an hour’s worth of typing on that tiny keyboard vanished into the ether.

I stuck between trying to recreate what I wrote.. and the reality that I need to leave here at about 6 AM tomorrow and REALLY need to sleep.. I think I’ll do this in abbreviated form.   So..

Yesterday:
   Woke late.. Diane, Chai and I took a great snowshoe.. all three of us were pretty lazy.. we turned around about half way through our normal loop.. but it was still a great workout because of the deep snow. Chai kept rolling in all the deer sleepign areas.. she must like the smell.. she didn’t like the snow it got on her.. Diane had to help her get this stuff out of her fur..

We got back and Diane started breakfast.. we had a bunch of kids sleeping over..In addition to Gabe and Max,  I think we had Mason , Mowalka, Alex L, Abbot , Jessie and her friend Marley. Jess had cut her hair to bangs and was wearing black and looked like Audrey Hepburnesque to me..

We just met Jessie’s college friend Marley . she was not named after Bob Marley… even though Bob Marley had come up several times last week.. in fact it was Bob Marley’s birthday last week .

Marley had her Hebrew name in ink on her back.. it was Malcha which means Queen .

Diane made an amazing birthday breakfast for me with fresh fruit crepes and smoked salmon.. and two birthday cakes (chocolate and apple) it was so nice !

We lit a candle in one of the cakes and did the birthday song. I loved that all four of us were together. We also lit the Sam candel to bring Sam into the picture..

I love Diane3’s Apple cake.. .. it’s probably the worlds most ugly cake.. but it’s also the best tasting. iI’s my absolute favorite.

Then we went ad opened presents.. my folks got me these cool mcoassins.. (thanks ma and pa) .. I also got a mug, a cordless drill and a new PC for upstairs.. a nice haul !.. With that I declared an official end to the marathon 3 day birthday .

We had a few hours before we planned ot leave for NYC so I went down to Champlain to give the team that was working the weekend some morale support. Those guys are working SO hard on this project. I took them some birthday cake to build their strength

I got home around 4 hoping to get on the road.. but we weren’t all ready.. Instead   I talked to Julia Z who told us a cool Sam story:L She was doing Yoga with Diane at MMU. She came out of Relaxation and looked up.. and for a few seconds she could see Sam sitting peacefully right beside Diane,smiling. She blinked a few times and he disappeared.. I love hearing stories like that..

Then I went outside and  helped Gabe try out the new rail in the backyard.. He got a few test runs in before his binding broke.. We had to give up because it as getting dark. It looks like it’s going to work !

Max and I finally got on the road at about 5:40 .. Its impossible to describe the 8 hour drive down.. it was black ice all the way from White River to Brattleboro.. we would have turned back if that had been an option. In all we saw 16 cars off the road, three of them on their roofs. It was bar one the scariest driving I’ve ever, ever done.   The lessons here are a) leave earlier, b) check the weather before you leave and c) take a four wheel drive car if you can..

Luckily the ice cleared at the Mass boarder. max and I ducked into a Chinese restaurant for some General Tsao’s Tofu and Chow Fun.. good stuff. I really enjoyed our drive down.. good conversation and he always turns me on to the best music.

We finally got to Pratt at about 1:45…Max had homework to do.. so I basically stopped the car just long enough for him to grab his stuff and go. He gave me a hug and ran ..

I headed into the city to find the Apartment that good friend David has graciously allowed me to use on this trip.. I got there about 2:30. what a beautiful building.

I got up to the apartment, took a quick look around and fell fast asleep..I woke to a beutiful and cold day. the views from this apartment are gorgeous.

David even has Tin’s Giraffe picture on the all. it looks great there .

I had an ultra productive fay working in the apartment.. Around 2 I headed out to my meeting at the IBM building at 590 Madison.Ave.

My friends were waiting for me there.. This was the kickoff for a Technical Vitality Council for Manhattan. I gave two short talks.. one on the IBM academy .. and one on Video game engines.. both talks when pretty well. it was a good crowd.. lots of good conversation.

After the talk one of the guys offered to take us for a beer.. we all tromped over to his favorite hotel bar.. only to find that the hotel was missing !.. He swears it was right here a few months back ! We headed to another palace.. As soon as I got there, my friends from the IBM?Sesame Street meeting called. They were cross town at a Chinese place. I hopped a cab and met them there.. I had the best talk with Mr Beckwater, the cab driver.. he’d been driving for 43 years.. and never had anything bad happened to him.. the weirdest thing that happened was having a baby born in his cab in 1966.

The IBM/Sesame Street meeting was great. No Burt or Ernie.. but the humans that showed up were really great …   they all obviously love what they do.. I spent a bunch of time talking to Biola (cool name !) who was doing a Sesame Street production in Tanzania. I gave here some SamStones to take with her on her next trip.

The restaurant was great.. they had  these great carved vegie animals

One of the IBM folks tried on my hat and did the Statue of liberty pose.

After dinner, I hitched a ride cross town with one of the IBM Research folks.. I noticed it was 16 degrees.. cold for here !

I was happy to get back to the apartment.. I’m pretty beat.. I shut the door and peered out the spyhole.. this is what it’s like to live in the big city !

This place really is beautiful. It was so wonderful of David to let me us it !!!!!!

Here’s aa picture off ne of the 100’s of windows I can loo into from here.. what an interesting life..

OK.. I need to sleep now.. I have an early morning drive back.. Sleep tight my friends.. Gnite New York, Gnite Sam !
-me

sunday night – in the car

Folks… max and I are driving to nyc. We got hung up with bad weather so we’ll driving for awhile. I”ll try to write more later… For now we gotta keep driving. Nite all..nite sam

Ps safe in nyc I dropped max of at pratt at about 1:40 making it about an 8 hour trip, given the roads I’m just happy we made it. I just got to david’s beautiful apartment that he”s so graciodsly letting me use. It”s amazing more on that and the drive tomorrow. It”s after 3 and I need some sleep ttfn
-me

Friday night – taming of the shrew

I had a really good day today… got lots done.. didn’t stress to much.. got exercise and took it pretty slow. I’m being very mindful of how I’m feeling going into my birthday tomorrow.  It’s already my brithday in much of the world..   At one level I think I’m doing pretty well.. at a another level I can feel myself being argumentative and brittle with folks at work and folks on the phone., .. a sure sign of hidden stress for me.. I’m reminding myself to observe rather than judge when I see myself doing something like this..      I did a bunch of observing today.. how am I feeling abut being another year older.. how am I feeling about Sam ?   All in all… I feel pretty ‘ok’ .. we’ll see how tomorrow goes..

   The day passed quickly with work stuff.. first a home then a few hours at Champlain.. As I said productive.. but not too much to report.    This evening we had the treat of going to Gabe’s classes;’  Shakespeare plays..  I got there at 5:30 since I was the official videographer. It was chaos in the rooms as the kids got ready


Finally it was time to start !

the kids were magnificent.. there were 5 different plays.. each about 20 minutes long. They included excerpts from Midsummer Night’s  Dream, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, Much Adu About Nothing, and Taming of the Shrew.. which Gabe was in.

Here’s Gabe waiting to go on….

Here’s Austin as Malvolio

Gabe had a great part that included him getting hit over the head with a guitar.. t was really, really cute.

Here’s Will

and Sydney…

At the end of the play everyone scattered. in a few minutes the theater had been carried away.

After the play we went to the Cider House in Waterbury to hear Marshal and Friends play some really . really excellent Irish music. Tim and our mutual friend Mark came down to join us. The place was packed..

Rusty and Rj’s mom was there and tipped them off that it was my birthday.. They sang a great ‘Happy Birthday’ Irish style to me.. it was really wonderful.. I needed it !

There were many of our friends in the bar.. Aisha, Elisabeth, Wanda, Rusty and Rj’s mom and her husband and friends, the Ferrel’s neighbors. It felt like old home week .
 At one point, Diane, Gabe and Max snuck off to play pool.. When I went to get them. Gabe was glued to this pre-video, video Machine. it was fun watching him play..

OK.. I’m falling asleep after each sentence.. time to say good nigt.. It’s one minute until my 49th birthday.. I’m going to make it a good year.. I love you All.. I love you Sam… Happy Birthday to me !

-me

ps. Our team from Mexicali is taking the  penguin plunge tomorrow at around 11 to 11:15.. If you’re still interested in sponsoring us . please let me know ASAP. Thanks !