2005-10-07
Long Update
Well, I got this cool new layout, so now I am going to have to a little more consistent in my writing (besides, if Dland All-star Piper tells me I should write more, I guess I have to write more often.
I have had a couple of posting thoughts brewing over the last week or two. Things are a little slow today at the office today so this might be a long post. I am always conflicted on a day like today, the stock market sucks, but my phone does not ring, so I can goof off a little and leave early on a Friday. So I will throw out a stream of consciousness post here and see where it leads.
My wife had to cancel her doctors appointment to discuss her lack of libido, but she has gone off of her birth control pills. It is like magic. She goes off her birth control pills and our sex life almost immediately begins to go back to normal. We made love on Wednesday night for the first time in who knows how long. I think she is going to stay off the pills at least until she sees the doctor. Hopefully we will keep the Trojan man a little more busy over the next few weeks.
The next thing that I want to talk about is sleeping with my kids. Some parents dislike sleeping with their kids and/or having kids in the bed. My wife does not mind the kids coming in after 5:30 in the morning or so, but does not sleep with them in the bed and does not like them in bed with us for most of the night. On the other hand, I sleep great cuddled up next to the kids and don’t mind them a bit. The kids know this of course and they slip down to our bedroom in the middle of the night and head to my side of the bed. I would say that 75% of the time I don’t even wake up when one of them slides in next to me. I just keep sleeping. If I do wake up and it is before 5:30 they go back to their bed or they can sleep on the couch in our bedroom.
When the kids are little and sick, this rule does not hold. Earlier this week, we started battling the sneezing wheezing and running nose battle with all three kids. The older two are getting to the age where they can get sick without being totally wiped out, but N our youngest is just 12 months old and he cannot really tell us how bad he feels, but you can just tell he is miserable. Tuesday night N just felt so bad that every time we lay him down for bed, he would just sob miserably. I felt so bad for him that I decided that he needed the full Daddy treatment that night. I told my wife what I was going to do and she agreed to sleep in the guest bed that night. I took N down to our bedroom and let him sleep however he felt most comfortable. Mostly this meant that he was cuddled against my chest in the crock of my arm for most of the night. Nevertheless, he slept and felt better in the morning, but about every hour, he would cry-out in his sleep and change positions. As he would cry out, I would comfort him, petting his little head, shushing him, telling him that everything was going to be O.K.
This process reminded my of something that happened to me when I was in college. I lived my college girlfriend and one night I must have been whimpering or crying out in my sleep, I don’t know for sure which. But it must have awoken me because I woke up to find my girlfriend gently petting my head, shushing me and telling me that everything was going to be O.K. I have got to admit that even ten or twelve years later it still felt pretty good to wake up to that. It might be my best memory from that whole relationship. I know my sick baby appreciated my efforts the other night as much (or more) than I appreciated my girlfriend’s efforts years ago.
This is not a transition my high school English teacher would approve of, but with Bush’s announcement that he would consider utilizing the military to enforce quarantines should a flu pandemic sweep the U.S., my thoughts that Avian Flu was going to hit the mainstream came true this week. Keep your eyes on it, I just have a feeling that we could see some nasty stuff start to take off this winter.
Lastly, I was reflecting this week about how lucky I have been with my work travels. I am lucky in the fact that I do not have to travel often, however, when I do, I usually am afforded first class accommodations and I tend to travel to the same cities often so I get to know them reasonably well. I thought I would include a list of my favorite places to stay in some of those cities. If you are going to one of those cities on expense account, I would highly recommend them all. If you are going to those cities and paying your own way, I would highly recommend an Embassy Suites or Amerisuites. I am not trying to brag, but most of these hotels are not where I (and I suspect most people) would look for first and I thought I would share some of favorite treasures with anyone who might be able to take advantage.
Boston: The Charles Street Inn is located in the Beacon Hill area of Boston, just up the street from the Boston Commons. I absolutely love the Beacon Hill area for its quaint charm and I love staying at the Charles Street Inn as a really Bed and Breakfast and for the fact that on a jog in the morning you can easily swing through the Commons and into the Back Bay area.
Houston: I lived in Houston for two or three years, so I know the city fairly well. It is so big that there are a ton of places to stay, but if it is at all close to where I am going, I try to stay at the St. Regis in the Galleria. It is a great hotel, located in a good location to get almost anywhere in the city.
Las Vegas: I have written about Vegas before and I usually stay wherever my conference is going to be held, but the next time I take my wife to Vegas, I am going to make sure we stay at the Venetian . The hotel and casino are very nice, without being over the top and as for shopping and eating, I think the Venetian is just the most fun and most reflective of who I am. The new Wynn is cool and the Bellagio is stunning, but I feel most comfortable at the Venetian.
New York: I have probably stayed at the Waldorf more often than anywhere in the City and I have stayed at a lot of different places, however, the coolest place I have stayed and hope to stay the next time I go is the Peninsula Hotel. It is located on Fifth Avenue about 55th Street, so it is a good location if you need to be in the Mid-Town area. But, being so close to Times Square, you really are in the middle of everything. This place is expensive, like twice the monthly rent of my first apartment for each night (like $625) a night, but it is what you would imagine an old school New York hotel to look like. When a tiny room at a Hilton costs $400 a night, in some twisted way, this does not seem all that out of whack.
Washington D.C.: I don’t travel to D.C. a whole lot, but the last two times I have, I have been fortunate enough to stay at the Hay Adams Hotel. It is literally across the street from the White House and as the web page says, you can only stay closer to the White House if the President invites you himself. If you know D.C., this hotel puts you right by the White House and in walking distance (I like to walk) of the Capital, the Mall, the Monuments, and the Metro to take you anywhere in the city. If you like art, I would recommend a non-Smithsonian museum that is also in walking distance from the hotel, the Corcoran Gallery. I had never been before my last trip to D.C. and I just fell in love with the early 19th century American Art in their permanent collection.
That is about it for today. Have a good weekend.
-- rockabillie at 11:12 a.m.