My Battle with the New York Times' Customer Care

I am very frustrated with http://www.nytimes.com/ right now. Last Tuesday, I needed to access an account to update subscription information for an office delivery. The Customer Care link was broken, so I had to call Customer Service and wait in a queue to speak with someone.

Just now, I needed to check the status of a different account and I received the same error. The Customer Care link has been broken for well over a week. My thinking is that maybe they're purposely leaving the link broken so that people can't cancel their subscriptions online and they'll be too lazy to call?

So, I click on "Customer Care" and...

ARGHHHHH!

Partying with Thomas Jefferson

Congratulations to (Braintree, MA native) UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun on his 800th career win! When I came into work this morning, it appeared Jim had celebrated into the wee hours of morning...

Looks like my Library of Congress shot glass got quite a workout

I gave Jim some coffee, washed off my desk and the shot glass. Jim's back to new (although Thomas J. still looks a little green.)

Congrats, Coach C!

A Passing Incident from Today's Yoga Class

I've been attending yoga classes at the BCAE and at my gym since last May. The only positions I know by name are Child's Pose and Warrior II Pose. (I once read that while in Warrior II you're supposed to line up your front arm as if you were shooting arrows into your enemy's heart. I don't have any enemies, so I like to pretend I'm Link from the Legend of Zelda.)

Link in Warrior II

During my noon class today, we were in a pose that started with us bending at the waist and touching our toes. Then we moved our feet to the outside of our hands and crouched down so that our palms were facing the same direction as our feet and our shoulders were pressed into our knees. The next step was to press into the mat with our hands and lift the rest of our body into the air.

"Remember to focus on your breathing. Listen to your breath," my instructor said while impressively holding the pose. All I could hear were small struggling sighs and grunts, as we all tried to levitate our butts in the air. Then, I heard something that wasn't a breath or a determined sigh, but rather like the sound of a motor boat passing by and then fading into the distance. The sound of silence that immediately followed was almost more awkward than the fart itself.

Don'tlaughdon'tlaughdon'tlaughdon'tlaughdon'tlaugh!!!! I repeated to myself, determined not to be the one to burst out laughing and further embarrass the farter. I closed my eyes to try and shut out the scene and desperately focused my attention on my breath.

Then, I slowly opened my eyes and realized that I was in the pose! My feet were off the ground and I was supporting myself in a pose that I had never thought I'd be able to achieve. I'm guessing the farter probably wanted to sink into the mat and die today; however, personally, I'd like to thank whomever it was. Without their boisterous contribution to today's workout, I would not have achieved the success that I did. I award this person a passing grade for today's class!

Jai-ya

So, on Saturday I completed an 18 mile run with FitCorp. I popped 2 Advil with my first Gatorade stop, and my knees felt pretty good. (Although, they "knee-ed" a lot of rest yesterday.) The run took me 3 hours, and since I don't run with headphones and don't like to make conversation while I'm running, this leaves me a lot of time with my thoughts.
The worst part of the run is the first couple of miles; that's when I think to myself, "18 miles?! Are you crazy? Holy crap, it's so freakin' cold out. What have I gotten myself into..?"
Usually, I just end up repeating a song snippet over and over in my head and work myself into a trance like state to take my mind off the run. Unfortunately, on Saturday, I had Tatiana del Toro's (of American Idol fame) Hollywood Week audition stuck in my head, which was a poor rendition of Whitney Houston's, "I'm Your Baby Tonight."
I'm a huge Curb Your Enthusiasm fan, and I also get a kick out of reciting the mantra that Larry gave to Richard Lewis, only to ask for it back. "Jai-ya." If you've seen the episode, you know what I'm talking about. It's actually a great phrase to repeat over and over again.
I have to say though, that the highlight of Saturday's run was the fact that I didn't have to leap over frozen pools of vomit leftover from Friday night festivities. Kenmore Square and Cleveland Circle are usually pretty good for at least a couple of chunky sidewalk presents.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's 56th birthday, and she and my dad came up for brunch and cake. My brother suggested Eastern Standard, which turned out to be a great suggestion. I especially enjoyed my Pom spritzer. After brunch, we came back to our place for cake and presents.

The fam

David, Nick & I got her an Ipod & an arm holder thingee for the gym.

Here's my dad patiently waiting for cake

Lighting the cake. Due to the cake's rectangular shape, I had to frost it on a cheese themed platter. It wasn't a cheese cake though.

First bite- Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!

It's Official

If you're a registered runner in the 2009 Boston Marathon, you can confirm your entry on the BAA's site.

Better start training... ;-)

In addition to training 5-6 times a week, I am also fundraising for my charity team, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary.

Please consider making a donation: https://www.firstgiving.com/got2trotlibrarian $5... $8.79... $20... No donation too small! (Or too large, for that matter!) Thank you!

Mustache Contest- You Be the Judge!

Last week, I had the extreme honor and privilege of judging a mustache contest. Each participant had about 4 weeks to grow & groom their whiskers as he pleased. There were 4 female judges, and we were to judge on 3 points: fullness vs. patchiness; if the mustache contributed to the person's overall look in a positive or negative manner & overall creativity. Below are some of the entrants, including the winner and the loser. Based on the photos below, who do you think has the best 'stache? (Names have been changed to protect the hairy.)

Jim

Rob

Ian

Liam

John

Fred

Carlton

Andy

Oscar