Now this would be very interesting (and in our neighboring town)!
The Best Daily Deals in Hartford – Onyx Spirits Company – Moonshine Tasting and Mixology Experience:
It’s been a while since I last posted, but wanted to try and catch up before the summer slips by and it’s fall. I have several other blogs that have also slipped without updates as well, so here’s my reasons / excuses.
This spring took the family on a few excursions including several trips to my daughter’s college, one anniversary trip to Cape Cod, and a trip to Las Vegas for work for me. This is minor compared to my wife’s travel schedule which has been nuts. When she travels, my life is turned on it’s ear keeping everything running here, feeding everyone, and still putting in my 60 – 70 hour weeks. My exercise has gone to pot for the most part as well, difficult to keep a consistent routine going with all of that going on.
Our 25th anniversary took place at the end of February with little fanfare. We went out to dinner at a nice restaurant, then headed back to work the next day. Our big celebration consisted of a 2-night, 3-day trip to Cape Cod. We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Brewster, Maine. When we arrived on Friday, we just relaxed by walking on the beach, then heading to an early dinner at a very fancy restaurant. The package we purchased included a dinner at one of a couple of really nice places, a bottle of wine, and the two nights. The hosts at the B&B were lovely and I’d stay there again in a heartbeat. The second day, we spent just wandering around the Cape with no particular plans on where to go or when to be there. We saw several lighthouses and over 30 whales from the shoreline. We ate at a local bar close to the B&B and had fantastic food and relaxing conversation. The next day, we went south towards Woods Hole and Falmouth to see even more lighthouses check out the southern coast. It was very relaxing.
In May, I headed to Las Vegas for a 2-day information security forum. It was very professionally done, and gave me the chance to network with others in my industry. We stayed at the Cosmopolitan, one of the newest properties on the strip. When we finished on Friday, I walked the strip for a while. It didn’t take long to find a host of strange people. I walked through the MGM Grand for the first time since 1994 or 1995. It has gone so far downhill from what I remember, but other properties were simply over the top gorgeous.
Finally, this week took me on Wednesday (and my wife again on Friday) to drop (pick up) our daughter at college for her orientation. It was a bit strange leaving her there, even if I returned 15 minutes later to give her important items she had left in the car (wallet, ID, money). She may be grown up but she’s still our little girl at times!
Yesterday was the start of a 5-day weekend for both my wife and I. We took off early and headed to my youngest brother’s home near Hunt Valley, Maryland. We didn’t look forward to the drive because of the traffic, but it wasn’t that bad until we got near Harrisburg. So, we headed south through Hershey and bypassed the majority of the traffic. We also got to see a gorgeous sunset and got a whiff of chocolate as we traversed Hershey.
My youngest sister, two years older than I, had arrived shortly before we did, along with her youngest son and husband. Her eldest son showed up as we were leaving, so expect to spend some quality time with him today. My brother’s wife and kids are such a joy to be around. They are younger, with the three kids being all under 12. They have some fantastic toys that engage our kids as the “cool” older cousins. I have really enjoyed watching their kids grow up. While we didn’t really see them often until recently, we are now seeing them several times this year and now have solid relationships with all of them. They travel to Maine almost every summer for a week of vacation and have to basically drive by our home when doing so. With the drive here being almost halfway to Maine from Maryland, it makes for a perfect stop either on the way up or back.
I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving and getting a chance to just relax for a day or two before heading into the holiday rush.
The past few weeks at work have been absolutely nuts. Our team moved under a different manager during the summer, including a different VP over our team. This changes our direction somewhat, but we’re mostly doing the same thing we have been doing. The biggest exception to this is what I am specifically doing. We have three members of our team, but each brings a different level of experience to the team. I am, by far, the most seasoned info security professional on the team. I am a bit younger than my closest teammate in age, but she has spent a considerable amount of time in a related but somewhat more focused role. The youngest member of the team has moved around a bit and has, again, been less focused on our primary goal of information security for his entire career.
My focus on information security started when the industry was really in it’s infancy. Part happenstance, part luck, I ended up where I am through many hours and lots of persistence. So, I have a new role. The migration of our team into the new VP somewhat lined up with other changes happening in the Enterprise Architecture Services group. People would be aligned with specific domains – information, technology and applications to name a few. My specialty continues to be a strong background in data security, so I am now the domain advocate for the security domain that crosses all of the other domains. This is either a blessing or a curse. A blessing because it provides more corporate focus on information security, a curse because as of today, I am the only one in this domain. The fact that I still have responsibility for all of my existing projects, each requiring a great deal of attention, is my biggest challenge.
As this year winds down, I have an increased workload and decreased ability to “opt out” of projects. At the same time, I have increased visibility with the senior management of the company. If executed well, this could be an excellent career move. If I stumble and don’t ask for help and training and patience, I can easily be the driver of my own failure. The choice is easy – ask for help, pawn off existing projects, and create some time to focus on the new opportunity and doing the right thing for the company. I’m sure that I can work this out and succeed if I handle this right. Now, about that vacation I had to take before year’s end… that might just have to wait.
As I write this, it’s Saturday night, exactly one week after losing power. We had a very unusual October snow, dumping almost a foot of very wet snow on large sections of New England. The real problem wasn’t the snow, but the fact that we still had most of the leaves on the trees. This creates a huge surface area to catch leaves and weigh down branches. We lost dozens of trees and many times more branches. The limbs took down our power, and with it our well (water), lights, heat, refrigeration, and, generally, life as we know it. I worked at about 50% of normal this week, maybe 30 hours in all. By itself, that is a major cut in what I normally do, but it felt very strange to have hours of most days allocated to tasks such as using a chainsaw, not protecting my company’s data from harm.
Our house has been mostly dark, mostly cold, with a few limited assistances. Our next door neighbor is a construction worker, so has access to a large diesel generator. We were able to share it for the few days he and his family were in town. After his father got power, we got it to ourselves. That meant finding a way to haul diesel fuel from the gas station to home and finding a diesel gas can was a nearly impossible task. Thankfully, one store with them in stock was open early on Thursday morning – cash only, $12 for the can – a bargain! So we’ve been running the generator a few hours each day, powering the downstairs fridge and the freezer in the garage, plus a few CFL outfitted lights. We were drinking bottled water, showering at the high school or my office in MA, and going to bed early after working outside for hours every day.
Without too many more details, it looks like power may be back on in a day or two. Today, line clearing crews took the trees off the lines in our neighborhood, making progress ahead of the line crews. It’s clear that lines will need to be restrung – the high power green-colored lines have been cut in multiple places on our street.
So once we get power back, it’ll be a slow return to normal. We’ll need to re-purchase most perishable food and deal with the insurance. But, we’ll be warm, clean, and have running water. For these things, I will be thankful!
This morning was a typical crisp, cool Sunday New England kind of morning. While I have been fighting a sinus infection, I decided to head out for a short trip to find some foliage. It didn’t take long until I was in known territory, near a few bodies of water in Somers, Connecticut. I often drive by this location but never stop. There was a lake in the middle of town and a convenient parking lot. This photo was actually taken with my phone (Motorola Droid original) and immediately uploaded to Facebook. I have a few other pics, but this captured the morning perfectly.
This, my friends, is why I love fall in New England!
Last night, Sue and I attended a wedding for one of her co-workers. This gal is young, mid-20s at the most, and has been with her new husband since high school. They’re a sweet couple who have simple needs and a simple life. There were very few ties, a few pairs of jeans, and lots of people that have know each other practically forever.
We were closely watching Hurricane Irene since it was heading our way. With the wedding being more than an hour from home, we checked in many times to see the path and expected landfall in New York City. Once it crossed Long Island Sound, it was going to be in our back yards within an hour or two.
One of the cool parts of the wedding was the bridal party transportation from the church to the reception. Each of the cars was an antique, owned by the groom’s uncle, and each exquisitely restored. The bride and groom showed up in this burnt orange Packard Twelve. At best estimate, it’s from the early 1930s.
It was a simple wedding, with a happy couple, and everything in line for the start to a happy marriage.
Last night, we went on a three hour sunset kayak trip in the water near our rental home. We went with Castine Kayak Adventures to see the bioluminescent dinoflagellates that live among the seaweed in the shallow waters. After an introduction of each person (including their favorite 80’s song), we got a very brief lesson in paddling. We were then outfitted with our kayaks – three doubles and three single watercraft. The nine of us, plus two guides, took off as the tide was coming up quickly. We stayed close to shore, in fairly shallow water. The near full moon was obscured by clouds, providing for a very dark night and excellent viewing.
As the sky darkened, the lights started to twinkle as our paddles moved the water. As the darkness progressed, our paddles stirred up more and more light. Not knowing what to expect, we were all fascinated by the lights coming out of the water. Once the dark was fully upon us, we noticed the glow coming off from most of the kayak bows. The light was in streams on either side, plus the paddles were stirring up a full arc of light with each stroke. The guides said that this was the strongest they had seen the bioluminescence this year (if not ever).
This has to rank in the top 10 coolest things we’ve ever done on vacation, and one I would recommend for anyone even slightly comfortable in a kayak.
We are finally on vacation in Maine. Last summer, we spent a week only about 12 miles from where we did last year. Those 12 miles are by boat – about 45 miles by car. We are on the opposite side of the bay, significantly closer to Acadia National Park. The town of Castine is a sleepy little town. The house we are renting was built in 1803 and occupied by the British from 1814 to 1815. The owner’s great, great Grandfather built the house, so it has been in the family for over 200 years, although currently on the market for sale. I took a look in the basement and the original support beams are clearly visible – logs that were hand trimmed and notched to provide the support. Several of the logs still have some bark attached. When you look at the structure, you know it was a slow process, and carefully pieced together by hand.
This year’s vacation is with friends from Richmond, VA. We’re so glad to be able to reconnect with this family after 3+ years of not being with them multiple times per week, all year round. Heather is my daughter’s second mother and my “church wife.” She remains my non-family emergency contact since there is no one else I’d rather have contacted in an emergency. Dave and I became much closer in the final few years we were in Richmond – one of the most level headed guys in the group of friends. He can laugh with the best of them, loves music even more than me, and provides a very safe haven for his family and close friends.
Sue and I are both hoping to relax, reboot, and reconnect with friends in this week. We have both been strung tight, and are in need of a solid week of downtime before hitting the fall hard once again.
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