News (pun intended)

There's lots of new things going on these days for me, and for those I know.

1.) New babies: I would like to congratulate several people on their new children, two of which are twins. My cousins Suzie and Tedd were blessed with twins earlier in the week. It's too bad I live so far away, I'd love to see them! Likewise, my former (woh, that sounds weird to say) coworker and friend Craig and his wife Tanja were also blessed with twins! Finally, my longtime friend Russell and his wife Darcy will soon be blessed with a baby. In fact, Russ didn't answer his phone when I called him earlier, so maybe he...I mean his wife....is in labor right now! Well, actually, Russ never answers his phone when I call. I think he screens them ;o) .

2.) New apartment: When I last left you, I think that I mentioned that I was entertaining the idea of moving into my own place. Well, that is more than an entertainment now - it's a fact! At least, if I can pass my credit check. I hope they don't disqualify me for paying my credit card bill late back in June of 1997....In any case, if anyone is going to visit me anytime soon, I hope you like to get up close and personal, because this place will be a tight squeeze with two queen size beds (one for the guest and one for the host & the guest's girlfriend, if applicable ;o) .

3.) New favorite soccer team: I would like to formally announce the latest addition to my "favorite teams" list: Liverpool FC (of the English Premier League)! Liverpool will be added to my ever-growing list of favorite soccer teams, including Corinth...I mean Palmeiras of Brazil, Eintracht Frankfurt + Borussia Dortmund + Stuttgart of Germany (in that order), Juventus Turin of Italy, and whatever team David Beckham is playing on. I took a girl named Liz to see the Liverpool vs. AS Roma game over in New Jersey and had a great time, despite being somewhat late to the game (we missed the announcement of the players).

4.) New job progress: My new job is going well. Because I work at various locations in the city of NY, would you believe that my current work location is ONE block away from my apartment?? Let me tell you, it's a rough commute. I get through about 1.379 songs on my iPod (results may vary) from door to door. (geek speak warning) Today I was running a vulnerability scanner at work and apparently my coworker and I took down a hospitals network because the old-school Cisco switches thought there was a denial-of-service attack going on. Oops. (/geek speak warning)

5.) New eye-lid: I am pleased to report that my lower right-hand eye-lid is recovering well from the surgery that I had two weeks ago. It's still a bit puffy, but that should recede as I continue to baste it in anti-bacterial ointment and as time goes on.

6.) New investments: With my new salary and my newly acquired funds from the sale of my precious car, I am eagerly anticipating my re-entry into the mutual fund / stock market. If anyone is planning on an entry into the market anytime soon, I would recommend that you wait until about two weeks after I buy in, because the market will surely be a good 10-20% lower within days after my purchase :o/ .............................