Since I've gotten so used to getting so far behind, I thought it'd be prudent for me to try to get back on track with a multi-weekly blog. So, here she goes...

Uncle Mike's in town this weekend for a trade show in Manhattan. It's been a few years since I've really talked to him, but we met up last night for dinner at Druids, which was a very nice restaurant in the middle of an otherwise typical bar. But the crowd was older, the volume was mellow, and the food was great. Uncle Mike: a die-hard Libertarian, Scientologist, Harley-Davidson-riding, leftover hippy, all wrapped up into one man. Although he never graduated from high school, he is quite intelligent and has lots of stories about him pushing his civil rights all the way to the breaking point, such as when he insisted on sitting on his car trunk after being pulled over for making an illegal turn and remained there despite the officers (apparent) illegal orders that he had to get back into his car. It took the officer unhitching the semi-automatic at his side from it's holster and pulling out his night-stick before Mikey decided that maybe it was better not to be confrontational and get back in the car. But, that's Uncle Mike for you :).

This morning I met up with my nameless friend / manager / boss / counselor for a "counseling session" at one of the nicest brunch spots in the city, Balthazar. After downing a few slices of some of the best bread in the city, I muscled a platter of pallet-pleasing eggs florentine into my belly, washing it down with fresh grapefruit juice and a fresh bottle of euro-water (Pellegrino, of course). No expense was spared during this "counseling session", as important subjects were discussed, ranging from "People Skills" (dating), "Firm Profitability and Performance" (the wages our co-workers who are quitting are making), and our own Career Goals (strategies for getting out from under "The Man"). It was a very educational morning....