New York, New York

Well, here I go again……

Dutys @ Letterman

I love the city of New York. I have often noticed that people form either a passionate disdain or lifelong love affair with the city. Some even start out loving the place, caught up in its charm and promise, and end up hating it, drowned by its cruelty and forgetfulness. But one thing for sure, there is no middle of the road attitude for the place. You either love it or hate it. And I love it. Well as a visitor, I love it.

I think one of the many reasons for my adoration has to do with the city’s energy. Like no other place I have ever visited, I feel instantly connected to something much larger the minute I step on the streets of Manhattan. Of course the fact that its a mecca for live theater (and I am, by all accounts, a musical theater groupie) may be the other big reason I love the place.

On all accounts, it was a perfect place for the Duty’s to spend an all too rare nuclear family vacation at the end of September. James, Linda, Jill and Me. First timers, James and Linda had two big birthdays during our time in the city, which really were the big reasons we decided to go. Mom turned 60 and Dad, 62 (their birthdays are a day apart). First timer, Jill came as well despite having a torn ACL (however that would come in handy in instant seating at some of our stops). Our newest member of the family, Jill’s husband Hien, was unable to come due to lack of vacation days, and he was missed. However, one of the reasons Hien didn’t have enough vacation days was due to a week long vacation he took with my parents to Colorado earlier in the summer. Jill and I couldn’t go, yet neither Hien nor my parents ever seemed to mind our absence too much. My parents love their new son.

We had the ultimate hook up with lodging in my boss’ residence club, The Phillips Club, on 66th and Broadway at Lincoln Center. Two steps outside the front door, you bump into Juilliard. I brought some audition music just in case. Ha Ha. A hop and skip down the street, we were at Columbus Circle, and two more skips, Time Square. As I could write novels about the trip, I will highlight the top moments.

  1. Instant seating due to Jill’s torn ACL and massive knee brace at David Letterman. First time for all us to see a talk show filmed. Everything was small and time short. We spent a majority of time in pep assemblies leading up to entrance into the theater so we would all be properly pumped for the show. Had we gone a week later, we would have heard his big reveal. He didn’t lose any fans with us though. Awesome experience.
  2. Tour Bus, double decker, on the top. We bought the deluxe package (you knew James Duty would). Ended up taking the downtour twice to use up our tickets. Don’t recommend that. However, we got other extra tickets that we used. Funny Funny Funny tour guides. They weren’t trying to be funny btw. They just were. For instance, our first downtown tour guide, a boisterous New York woman of about 60, scolded us like children and if you were french speaking, she scolded in french. She would be totally offended if people talked during her spill, and she would scream in english and french “Share the Bus People!”. Mind you, her spill, her tour dialogue, was always about 5 buildings ahead of where we were. She was classic.
  3. 5th Ave Shopping and SoHo Shopping. Need I say more.
  4. West Side Story. Worth seeing. Not my favorite production but you can’t beat the classics. You will come away whistling “I feel pretty.”
  5. A day at Liberty Island. Always a must if you haven’t done it. We of course bought the photo you can have taken in front of the Statue. They put in a nice American Flag bordered frame. “And the Home of the Brave!”
  6. We decided not to eat in anything chained or national, and we were never disappointed. Of course you never would be in NYC! Every time you turn around, a great Irish pub or corner cafe was staring right back at you with a great menu.
  7. More shopping…… Really need I say more.
  8. Billy Elliot! Me=tears shed. Awesome awesome show. Made the whole trip worth it. Just go see it.
  9. Dad lived his lifelong childhood dream of seeing Harold’s Square and Macy’s. Really as iconic and American as apple pie and baseball and the whole bit. We have watched that parade out entire lives as a family (as most do). It will now be extra special.
  10. Got to see my good pal Scottie who also hooked us up with the Letterman tickets.
  11. Dad also got a special audience with Robin Roberts of GMA. Of course he would. He had a copy of the Checotah newspaper story about her when she came to the small town of Checotah (outside Eufaula) with Carrie Underwood a few months ago. I am sure Robin wanted that for her records, but bless her heart if she didn’t decide to come outside (after Dad had given the paper to the stage door manager which took it inside to her) and got a pic with James. I was already gone to Philly by this point and given that this was way way early in the morning, Jill and Linda did not make it. But there is a picture somewhere.

There were countless other things that happened that I am sure I am not remembering here, but it was a great trip had by all. At first, I didn’t know how the family would react to the city. There are so many people, and its not the cleanest place in the world. But given all the childhood moments that each got to live, I know that by the end of the trip, they all wanted to go back. So hopefully, maybe some of that love of the city rubbed off on them as well, and we can make many more trips to the big apple together. In fact James even called sometime after to share the real estate information he was finding. We both agreed that we couldn’t afford the upper west side (no brainer there), but it was comical to hear him explain the advantages of living there. I think he gets it, too.

March Madness!!

Well, my time in Abilene came to an end, and now, I am back home for March. My time in Abilene was productive, professionally. I worked most of the day and slept. There really wasn’t much else for me to do. I’m sure Abilene is great place for many things. However, I think given its isolation (in west Texas, every city is literally 3+ hours from everything else. I was actually closer to Dallas in Norman.), and its extremely conservative/fundamental base (its the home to 3 small faith based universities pretty well known in the conservative christian world: Abilene Christian Univerity, Hardins-Simmons, and McMurray.), Abilene obviously is about as homogeneous as a community of its size can get. I even think my home spot of Ardmore had more diversity. Now thats not necessarily a bad thing. Please don’t be offended Abilenians. I’m sure its a great place for family and growth.

Anyway, I did take a great and very relaxing weekend trip to Dallas while I was there. Sorry to my friends in Dallas that I didnt get to see. But I did get to reconnect with probably one of my oldest friends (and senior prom date :-) , Kari. I usually get to see her once or twice a year. Kari and I came to OU together, and she lived in Norman for a couple years after graduation. She then moved to Dallas about 8 years ago, and of course has been there ever since. Kari and I have always enjoyed the same simple pleasures in life. We don’t need much for entertainment, a fact we really noticed on this particular trip in our, well I wont say old but our “not as young as we used to be” state as we both preferred to stay in and take naps on the couch in the afternoon as opposed to getting out and seeing the city. We did make it to the Village almost every day, and a sure sign of the times, we both did pretty good in refraining from buying things we didn’t need (but of course would have looked fabulous in ) Perfectly happy I was. We got to spend a little time with Kari’s good friend Steven and just enjoyed the company of good friends. It sucks that for even as close as we all are, we don’t see each other more, but thats the way it is I know. Look at these great photos of the two of us. Our friend Elaine found the one of the two of us at prom back in ol ‘95. Man look at that hair, on both of us! Kari cut hers off shortly after coming to college (she always had long hair growing up and I remember the day she cut it all off shortly after the start of our freshman year. We all had some tears that day, but I love her with short hair!). But honestly, look at Kari in these two pics. She doesn’t age! I’m so jealous.
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But I had to come home for March. I had to be refueled and of course, I had to come back for probably the biggest event to happen to our family, the marriage of my sister Jill to her longtime boyfriend, now fiancee, Hien. We are T-minus 7 days (1 week) to the big event and we’re all working :-) More of course on the wedding as it approaches. I came back while I was in Abilene for a weekend of wedding showers in late February (check the photo gallery for pictures from that weekend). She had back to back showers here in Norman and one in Ardmore. The Norman event was hosted by me, Kate, Kristen, Casey, Blake, Claudia, Lauren and was held at our house here on Weymouth Way. Kate went out of her way to make it look so special. She converted our lovely cottage into an Italian winery and bakery. Kate always goes above and beyond for everyone she is so close to, but she has done that and more for me and my family and she knows how much I love her for that. Kristen and Casey also have been amazing friends throughout this process. Kristen has actually been a god send for our family as she is Jill’s wedding coordinator and just great friend. They have made this affair probably one of the most enjoyable for my family and my sister, and I know that forever we will be grateful. Its so funny that my wonderful, lifelong college friends are now my sister’s as well. And Jill’s friendship with them has been established independently from my relationship with them. It really is a family unit here at OU I guess, but of course thru Jill’s work in the office of student life and all her sorority involvements Jill has become close to my good friends. It’s great to see. The Norman shower, which was a couple’s shower, was a great success, and just a great party. Jill’s Ardmore shower was hosted by many of the family friends we have there, mainly from our church, but most was done by Jill’s (and our) very close friends the Vernon’s. I know Jill couldn’t have got to this point without the help of her lifelong good friend and bridesmaid of course, Allyson. She has really gone above and beyond as has her wonderful family, and the girl is in medical school…..like she has the time. Thank you all.

Well, I probably should end this long post. There will be more as the wedding approaches. And please check back as I will be snapping many many many photos!

Arrived in Abilene

I arrived yesterday evening after a ~5 hour car ride thru country that I have not seen in a long, long time. The drive through the western part of OK/TX is always interesting. Exciting at times when all of a sudden there are mountains in the background and you wonder if you are still traveling in the right place; lonely at other times when stretches of farm land reach right up to the perfectly straight horizon. I have been anxious about my time in Abilene because I did not know what it would be like. I mean I knew the work would be interesting, and as I have stated before, I really enjoy the team down here. But, it’s Abilene. I mean what am I going to do here. It’s not like I’m here for a weekend. I will be here at the least 4 weeks, and more than likely given the work that I need to do here, it will be extended thru March, possibly April. I do require a small amount of activity to keep myself motivated, especially since my last travel spots have been Scottsdale, Ft. Lauderdale, and Austin.

But then I arrived and got a look at the exceptional guest house where I will be staying, and I felt actually excited and at peace about the opportunity. I am staying a charming converted/remodeled carriage house known as the Cabin Fever that is a part of a family of small quaint cottages stuck right in the middle of the major thoroughfare Sayles street. The group of cottages are collectively known as The Sayles Ranch Guest Houses, owned and operated by Terry Browder and his wife. Check out my accommodations here: Cabin Fever. My place is wonderful. I think you can get a sense of it in the pictures. Everything has been remodeled in a rustic, Texas ranch house style as you can see. Cabin Fever is a rather large place with a full remodeled kitchen with all stainless steel appliances, a living area (complete with a 40 inch flat screen), a beautiful bathroom with slate tile shower, separate toilet room, brand new front loading washer/dryer, a tuck away loft that sleeps two, and a rustic master bedroom, complete with another flat screen and queen size, down and pillow topped bed. It even has a small courtyard/sitting area in the backyard that is closed in and is decorated with lit trees, lanterns, rustic shutters, and Mexican iron gates. Its great! If it gets a little warmer, I am going to have to sit out there and enjoy the night, maybe with a glass of something nice :-) . I met the owner, Terry, last nite. Nice guy, actually originally from southwestern Oklahoma. He came to Abilene for school and stayed (as this is where Abilene Christian University is, obviously, as well as two other small colleges I think). He told me that the tin tiles you see throughout the cabin are from an old store in his home town in OK. I highly recommend staying here if ever you are in Abilene (if you ever are). It is a little pricey, but worth it!

I started to realize that this experience would hopefully be a good thing. The isolation and my little cabin bungalow made me think of writers who have to get away to their country cottages to write or clear their head. Getting away from the bustle of things is always beneficial, and I hope in addition to the work that I will be doing at the company here (and I will be doing tons), I can focus on some me time and maybe accomplish a few things on that list of goals and resolutions. I won’t be completely isolated as I plan a few trips, one back home (its really not that far away), another to DFW, and maybe another to Austin if I am here a while.

Seriously though, if you want to invade my silence, please do! I have the room!.

I hope to post more pics, but I realize that I didn’t bring my camera cord. I might have to have that sent to me.

ZenBe Baby!

Many know that I love technical gadgets, and I absolutely love all things Apple so it should be no surprise that I am a huge iPhone user/supporter. What I love most though, especially for those of us who are all Apple users, is that the iPhone is completely integrated with my Mac and other Apple peripherals. With MobileMe, I don’t even worry about multiple copies of anything. There is one master for my contact list, calendars, bookmarks, etc., and they are constantly synced automatically, with out me even knowing. If i add or take away an important date or contact, no matter where I do it, it is instantly changed on all my peripherals. And since each of the peripherals holds a hard copy of the data not to mention that the information is also stored on the MobileMe servers, I don’t worry if one of my components goes down. I always have the information saved, not to mention its always on my TimeMachine.

Anyway, there was one item though that Apple decided not to integrate or just has not been able to do so into the iPhone and that is the “To Do” list feature of iCal. Now I am a notorious” To Do” lister especially when I am needing to get things done and push through deadlines. And even though I have utilized many systems over the years (legal pads, post-its, iCal, moleskin notebooks, etc.) when I bought my iPhone, one of the features I felt I was going to enjoy the most was that the iPhone could replace all my extra “life-organizing” items that I use to take with me in the day to keep myself organized. So when I learned that the iPhone did not have a “To Do” list feature, I felt well disappointed that my one stop shop feature was not quite so.

But then came the software updates and the App store and ZenBe! ZenBe is an online organizing program that you can keep and manage much more than just To Do lists such as calendars and contacts. But given that iPhone was missing its To Do list, ZenBe stepped right in with a special To Do feature for the iPhone (http://lists.zenbe.com). Its a free app and a free service. Download the app and create an account and then you can easily set up your lists. What I like is that its so easy to use. It is not complicated with unnecessary tools like colors and fonts etc. You just make your list categories and place the single to do items under those categories, and its done. I love that each item has a check off box, and just like the seem less integration of MobileMe, ZenBe syncs any changes you make with the online version.

Now I know there are many ToDo list apps for the iPhone, and I have tried a couple, but I love how easy the ZenBe is to use and understand. It provides checkbox completion and integrates so well with its server parents. I operate three lists: work, personal, and grocery. The Grocery list has actually been the most handy I have ever made, as I can keep an ongoing list and thus every day when I am on my computer I pull up my ZenBe list from the website (I have it bookmarked) and add items that I know I am running low on. Alternatively, if i am not on the computer I can add to the list on my iPhone and of course, its in sync. Then I never worry when I go to the store as long as I have my phone. I check the items off as I buy them (and this also date stamps them) so I know that I bought the item and when I did it. Not such a big deal with things like Milk (because you always know when you are low or out or if you have it or not) but a much bigger deal for those smaller items that you can never remember if you bought especially when you make that afterwork run to the store trying to pick some things up for dinner.

I know this sounds tedious (and I am probably the only person who could write a 750 word post on a to do list) but it really has ministered to my OCD side, and it works so well. If you are a lister like me and are in need for a new system and have an iPhone, try this one out!

Zenbe

A new year, a new post

Sorry that this has been the least updated blog spot, but I am back on board and posting for the new year. Soon I will be heading to Abilene, Texas for the month of February and working with a company down there utilizing unique antibody technology to help fight infections and cancer. Cool stuff. I don’t think I will be setting my sights on anything outstanding in the Abilene area as I don’t think there are any to see; however, I really like the team assembled there so it should be a good experience. For my friends in the Austin/Dallas/Ft. Worth areas I could make a weekend trip to one of these locations. Contact me!

My holidays flew by, and I am sad by that still. Many of you know that I love Christmas. I am one of those freaks who starts listening to holiday music in September. And as I was riding around on the ice/snow/sleet covered streets of Norman this week (thank you snow storm for being a few weeks off), I am not ashamed to admit that there might have been Sleigh Ride playing in the background, which was really bitter sweet as it just reminded me that I will have to wait another 365 for the legitimate worshiping of all things seasonal. Oh well. I did get my New Years/ greetings cards out this year and I will have to admit that they were quite fun to do, and I was very excited to send out. I think everyone enjoyed.

Work is in its usual force. Up and down. Currently up at the moment and it will really kick in as I head to west Texas. Many know of my varied interests in the scientific fields, so my main new year’s resolution this year has been to really focus my abilities and talents into a single stream of goals, meaning narrowing and being more specific with my career objectives. I think I am finally formatting the details to the career I think I want, and hopefully with a little bit more counseling can have a pretty solid outline for my career. Ultimately, I want it all to lead me back to a college classroom, this time obviously as a teacher.

Enjoy the new site design and features. I have included a twitter link to my every waking moment and, don’t worry, I will most definitely update all the mundane actions of my life. HA HA.

Sorry, again that I have been a bad updater. But if all else fails on this site, please always check my photo gallery as I try to update it. Of course, it is not updated currently.

Okay it’s lunch time!