Julia’s promised Toronto post is (I’m told) mostly completed, so maybe that will happen before 2009.
Meanwhile, we brought Data to a nearby beach where he went swimming (voluntarily) for the first time way back in the day.
Monthly Archive for December, 2008
Here are pages I did for Sunday’s paper – the front and the cover of our “Perspectives” section.
Today we had a follow-up on the counterfeit busts from yesterday. This time the focus was on local retailers and the fake bills they’d seen. I put together a graphic with ways to detect counterfeit money and, I think it worked out alright. The graphic I like, but I don’t like the way the rest of the page plays with it.
Here’s the front page for tomorrow. We had a late-breaking story about a Secret Service / local police / state police / Homeland Security sting operation on a counterfeit ring that was centered in Danbury, but went as far south as Florida. I had an idea for the graphic. In the end, time grew short and, though the basic element of the graphic is intact (including a border I created from the actual border of a $100 bill), there was no time to flush out all of the names and details, leaving the graphic a little empty. Oh well, at least it was something different.
Here’s the front page for December 9. I’m really only posting it because I’m proud of my photo bar text (the story is about how recycling centers are struggling with low selling prices for raw materials).
Julia has promised me she is going to post details of our three-night visit to Toronto, so I am just going to post a few photos. We didn’t do a lot of sightseeing, mostly we just relaxed, so I didn’t take a whole lot of photos.
Click “there’s more to…” to see them all or visit my SmugMug.
The CN Tower overlooks an ice skating rink at Harbourfront Centre.
We are currently sitting in the nicest airport shuttle of all time, complete with free wireless internet, power outlets for every seat, and cheesy classical music.
After a horrible airport and flight experience, this is a good start to our time in Toronto.
As it is December 1st, and I haven’t made a blog post in so long it feels practically criminal, I feel it is high time for an update on the lives of Brett, Julia, and of course, Data. It is already late and Brett and I have an early flight tomorrow morning to Toronto for a short vacation, so I’ll get straight to the point.
First and foremost, it is necessary to point out that five months from today, on May 1st 2009, Brett and I will be married barefoot on the beach on Grand Cayman, where my family used to vacation yearly when I was young. The ceremony and reception will both take place at the Grand Old House, which we know from having dinner at its restaurant is a beautiful venue. The 25 guests (including Brett and myself) will be staying at Lacovia Condominiums from Wednesday or Thursday to Sunday in order to allow for plenty of celebration and relaxation. Brett and I are both so happy to be having a very small wedding where we know we will have time to really enjoy the company of our guests. We haven’t done a great deal of planning yet, but we do have some very important details figured out so we certainly aren’t worried (yet). Although we occassionally feel the stress of planning and decision making, we are trying to enjoy the wedding process as much as we know we will enjoy the wedding itself!
Brett is in his 6th month of work as a page designer for the Danbury News-Times. He is still loving this job and tells me that what he does never feels like work – if only we could all be so lucky! Somewhat recently, he did a great amount of research and bought a very impressive entertainment system for our apartment that has served to be a great excuse for us to unwind (aka be lazy) during the down time we have together – my parents and our friend have also enjoyed movie nights at the apartment. I can imagine that in the coming winter months the purchase will continue to show that it was well worth the investment. Brett also very patiently entertains and assists in my various home decorating ambitions and (sometimes ridiculous) wedding ideas. In addition, he makes some of the most delicious comfort food you can imagine which are enjoyed on an almost daily basis.
I am in my 9th month of working for a nonprofit organization in Greenwich. Although I know I am very lucky to have a job considering the state of the US economy and current unemployment rate, I feel somewhat unfulfilled in my career goals – my position is not quite in line with what I hope to accomplish professionally. I can’t say that I know exactly what I want to do, but I plan to keep my options open and see what might come my way. I have not lost sight of my desire to attend graduate school, but I think (know) that more work experience first will certainly be beneficial when applying to schools. I’m thinking about taking some classes during the summer of 2009 to see if I can get a better idea of exactly what I want to study in graduate school. We’ll see what pans out…
Data is very busy being his ridiculously cute self. He spends most days outside, which he can do as much as he pleases because we have peace of mind knowing that he is safely confined to the property by the invisible fence. Brett tries to take him to Spencer’s Run regularly – the dog run at Waveny Park in New Canaan – but it seems to close quite frequently because of inclimate weather, even when the conditions appear to be ideal, or at least normal… as one can imagine, this can frustrate both owner and pet. He often goes with Brett to the News-Times office, where he is quite popular with the other newspaper employees. Additionally, we are lucky enough to be able to visit Brett’s mom in Suffield almost weekly, where Data is able to romp around for hours on end with his mother Joey, and Border Terrier George. He may start participating in shows again, and may even travel with a professional handler to Florida in January in order to be entered into about ten shows in just as many days. If he does well, he will most likely continue to participate in shows in the Northeast or elsewhere until he becomes a champion. All-in-all, life is pretty good for our boy.
Well, I think that’s a succinct wrap-up of our lives at the moment. I hope this post finds you well, and I promise that I will be better at keeping you, our devoted Data On The Move readers, more regularly up-to-date.
<3 J