A job makes you boring

When all you do is work and you can't blog about it, there isn't much to write about but your son.

We have a small problem in the apartment with our hot water being on the cool side. I can jump in the shower with 100% hot water and have a good 6 minutes. We don't even titrate it with cold. Ellis is so in tune with the procedures of the house, that as soon as I started to run the bath, he ran to the kitchen and ferociously pointed to the teapot, having already been conditioned that one cannot produce a suitably warm bath without at least one kettle from the kitchen.

I finally caught up with the landlord about it tonight. Tomorrow I hope to not take a navy shower, but instead allow the warm cascade to hit my back whilst I soap my front. Oooh, I just created an unwanted mental image, didn't I? Too bad. My blog.

Rachel has been showing a lot of favoritism to my interests while running our Netflix cue. We have seen Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt the past few nights. I find watching this show a little bittersweet. While I love the topic and enjoy the host, every time I watch it I think to myself, "Why in the hell do I have the job I have?" The answer: because Alton Brown invented that job before I thought of it and I think that demand only requires one supplier.

Boston has turned cold today. It was about 15 when I set out on my walk to work today. Walking to work is one of the nicest things about this job. Just 10 minutes walking and I am there.

Some of you know that figuring out how to get a bed purchased was a bit of a challenge out here. Rachel wanted a king and I thought we didn't really need it. My mind changed though when sleeping (or not sleeping) on the queen was so uncomfortable. To our surprise, and after testing several mattresses we settled on a European style no spring mattress in a European frame that was on sale. The bed is firm and the mattress weighs a ton. It sits directly on wood in the frame with no box spring. IKEA delivered it at 9:30 pm last Saturday and I was so fed up with the queen that I insisted on putting it together. In retrospect this might have been a divorce worthy action considering I was tired enough to sleep in the queen and I failed to verify that all hardware was present before starting and ended up lacking a key piece. My lovely wife drove to IKEA in a Zipcar to get the thing and now I write this post in firm comfort.

Time for bed. I have 4 hours before Ellis wakes up in his room and bed and cries for me. I kind of miss the snuggling, but I know it is good for him to start to make the transition.

misdirection

Things are a bit rough here with Trey working long hours, the apartment still being in shambles, and Ellis launching a campaign of terror against Scout. So, instead of writing about that, here's an update on Ellis's recent developments.

• He discovered his shadow for the first time on our walk back from the library today.
• PB&Js are his new favorite breakfast/snack/lunch. Unfortunately, due to the haphazard nature of meals lately, he ends up wandering the house eating and just dropping them when he's done. Much to his chagrin, Trey stepped in one yesterday.
• Unlike our old place, Ellis has his own room. So last night, for the first time ever, he slept in a different room than us- well, for part of the night anyway.
• Though, he's still not really talking, he's making more and more sounds that imitate words, such as saying "an dahr" while pointing someplace to indicate something is "in there".
  
• He's getting increasingly interested in doing things himself- throwing away his own trash, getting snacks for himself, getting and putting away his toothbrush. Naturally, more independence = mixed blessing for parents.
  

same same stateside

Ellis and I arrived in Boston this week and are slowly getting the house organized. We have the great advantage of being able to shop at Target, but otherwise, it's not all that different from Germany:

• Most people have accents that are not our own.
• Trey is at work a lot.
  
• The apartment's heating system is noisy and involves a lot running water.
• Driving is terrifying; the other drivers are crazy/mean, the signage is a joke, and when I (inevitably) get lost, turning around is well nigh impossible.
• This weekend, we will buy furniture for Ellis's room and some storage stuff at IKEA.

Apartment pics may be following. I'm pretty happy with the place, though frustrated by how much unpacking and organizing remains undone. The major drawbacks of the apartment are the treacherous stairs (also similar to our German apartment- how did I leave that out of the list?!) and the fact that the floors and doors seems to have been installed by someone without access to a level or T-square.

reunited partners in crime

I apologize for my complete lack of picture posts this holiday season. Here's a small sample of a typical day for Ellis and his frienemy Silas.

Make pancakes for breakfast
Close-up on whisking technique Brave the mud to feed the animalsClose-up on muddiness
Practice for spring on the ATVRelax at the end of a hard day

A few steps from Chipotle

I continued eating my way through the northern Boston suburbs today with three stops. Thanks to yesterday's trip out to work, I did check Helen's quality control and found it to be quite good. I also discovered that two thirds of the employees are family, there is a real Helen and I got the name of the supplier of the roast beef they use.

Today I stopped at the deli next door to lay in supplies for a long day chasing some difficult technical tasks locked in the lab. They use Boar's Head exclusively, one of my favorite brands of deli meat. (Yes, I am such a pig that I have a favorite brand of deli meat despite that fact that I have no other favorite brands of anything really. If you were wondering, Boar's Head is excellent because it is never slimy, isn't pressed and formed into unrecognizabililty and isn't ridiculously salty.) All sandwiches ($4.50-$8) come with a side dish selected from fries, pasta salad, potato salad or mac 'n cheese. The potato salad was excellent, red potatoes, tangy dill dressing.

My final stop for supper was a Taqueria in Davis Square called Anna's, where I had a stellar carnitas burrito. The meat was more or less the Mexican equivalent of pulled pork and their green sauce was excellent. They were also 1/3 cheaper and twice as good as the nearby Chipotle.

Things That Make Me Say "Yum!"

Being in a new town with new food, Pie Hole will be reporting back again. Here is the first installment:

Have you ever wondered what an Arby's style roast beef sandwich would taste like if it were made with really good ingredients? Well, I can tell you that it is really damn good. Two blocks from my work, in the direction of Rachel's, is Helen's Roast Beef. The menu is pretty big, but the most popular item is a hot roast beef (still pink) samich on an onion roll with a sweetish red dressing (catalina?) and mayo or barbecue as you like. It is a sloppy mess that would be completely worthless if you attempted to transport it further than the table inside Helen's. I might skip the red dressing next time, but at only $4.50 for an inch thick wad of good roast beef, it is cheaper than any meal within walking distance, only 20% more expensive than Arby's, and at least 10 times as good. I had it at 12:15 and didn't find myself hungry until 6:30. Impressive for a lunch consisting of only one sandwich.

What remains to be seen is if my wife's deep and abiding love for Arby's compromised bologna beef product that wiggled into her pallet when she was young and knew no better can repel her from a properly made, deliciously tasty, version of the same thing. I suspect she will embrace this high-class option, but will argue that Arby's is Arby's and shouldn't be compared to a non-fast food item. I guess I like a Big Mac now and then, but wouldn't ever argue that it tastes like a proper hamburger. Either way, I think that tomorrow, I will go back and check Helen's quality control by having another one, or two, if it is an appropriate hour for brunch.

Notes From Bean Town

I am back out here getting our apartment set up and putting in my time at my new job, waiting for it develop into a routine and feel settled. I got lots of little stuff, so bullets it is:

• I got accosted and almost threatened by a drunk guy in the subway yesterday. He wasn't really a threat, since he could only barely stand up and weighed ~140 lbs. He was angry with me though and just before yelling at me he had attempted to spit on a woman walking by.
  
• I got the apartment keys today. The rental agent warned me that the previous tenants had left it a mess and the landlord had pushed himself pretty hard to make it presentable, but it wasn't perfect. I found it not to be too bad and we will get a few hundred bucks off this month and next month's rent.
  
• The apartment seems pretty huge now that it is empty, but the yellow paint in the kitchen is a bit painful. It might have to go.
• I met the downstairs neighbors. They are pretty similar to us: living far from family with a 2 year old after spending a long time in grad school and now debating whether to buy and stay in Bean Town or head back to family in the south. They seemed pretty down to earth and said they were relieved to have a family upstairs since the previous tenants were totally crazy.
• I walked over to the apartment from work today. With ice clinging to the side walks it was 10 minutes. On a bike it will be a speedy commute.
  
• I walked down to West Medford Square which is two blocks from our house. There are several shops and a few restaurants including a diner with $4 breakfast and decor that hasn't been changed since the '50s.