I hate cops!
OK so I don't really hate them as such, but they can be real a-holes sometimes. Take last night for example. I went to pick up N and K from the hospital. To cut a long story short, theres a cop who stops me about 10 yards after I leave the hospital (very minor driving mistake due to it being dark and me being unfamiliar with the roads). So we sit waiting for what seemed like 10 minutes until he came to the car (which I suspect was a ploy on his part... read on. Not to mention it being very cold and our 3 day old baby needing to be home ASAP). Eventually he decided to come talk to me and gave me a warning for the "offense" but get this: he ticketed me for not wearing a seat belt!!!
Anyone who knows me knows I NEVER drive without a belt. Then I realised: I removed the belt so I could lean out the window to talk to him. When I mentioned that to him he tells me" well Sir, you didnt have a belt when I approached the car so I cannot change this ticket".
Makes you wonder why he didnt come to the car immediately... waiting for me to remove the belt perhaps? My wife saw a news report saying the Mass cops are giving as many tickets as possible because they were "under performing" and its all part of a reward process based on the number of violations you report. What a dick head!!!!!!!
Spot Pond
Every day on the way to visit the family at the hospital we pass a place called Spot Pond... so I decided to stop off a couple of days ago with Karina as it was a lovely autum day and she wanted to see the ducks. As you can see, its a really beautiful place... the water is literally crystal clear.
Its a boy!
Sorry for the lack of updates lately but with our UK family being in town, getting ready for the move, and the birth of our 2nd child, its been a little insane here! Anyway the great news is that on Wednesday 22nd at around 8:20AM Natalie gave birth to a very healthy baby boy! He weighed in at an astonishing 9lb 15oz - wow! We have named him Kyle Nicolas Stephenson and he's an absolute gem! Mum and baby are both doing well. Enjoy the pictures......
What the...?
I'll not dwell on this and I'll not explain the relevance but if anyone reading follows the NFL you'll understand why yesterday I drank a whole pile of beer and elated at the Dolphins inexplicably destroying the Bears for their first loss of the season. Trust me, its a big deal :)
The NBA is back
Friday was fun! Not only was I feeling pretty relived that finally I'd resigned and now I could start looking forward to my family visiting in a couple weeks as well as a great new job, but also - the NBA season has started again! Nice - months and months of basketball to tide me over till almost the start of the next NFL season (yeah, I already wrote this year off for the Dolphins). Anyway - I picked up a very good, and expensive, ticket for the Boston Celtics vs Detroit Pistons (row 7, on the centre court line) and had a blast! Banknorth Gardens where the Celtics play is pretty cool - very new (or at least it seems that way) with the Metro going pretty much straight into the building.
Great atmosphere, as is always the way at NBA games from my experience. Lots of families and kids which makes everything that much more relaxed. The Celtics have a new "dance troup" (ie - cheerleaders :) ) - so it would have been rude not to take a few dozen pictures for your viewing pleasure! The Celtics held pretty well onto the game, keeping the score very close through most of the game but in the 3rd period and definately in the 4th, the Detroit pulled ahead and the final score was Pistons 101, Celtics 88.
Better than I expetced. In a way I hate the Pistons (they knocked the Heat out of division finals a couple years ago) but it was great to see such a star-studded team. Watching Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton play from close up was an excellent experience.
The next games are already booked up - the Orlando Magic game next week and then I'm taking the family to see the Nicks. Should be fun. I hope they don't fall asleep :)
Karina the entertainer
On a less depressing note, I thought I'd share a funny story! So Karina and Natalie were at the storytime kids hour at the local library yesterday. The lady who reads the stories asked the children if they had been to the circus (see below post!) and what was their favourite part. So, Karina holds her hand up and when asked about it her response was "When the elephant made a big poo!" Ahh, thats my girl :)
End of (another) era?
Well, we didnt see this coming! Today I officially resigned from my new job here in Boston. Why? A lot of reasons, too many to go into really. The deciding factor was simply that I'm not happy here. Well, I *love* Boston, but I just hate my job. Can't really say any more than that. I guess its not the position I hoped for but ultimately the place has a long way to go in terms of organization and discipline and I simply don't wanna fight that battle. I guess I'm a "big developer" (rather than a smaller more independent studio) kinda guy after all. So - that didnt last long did it? 5 months approx. Seems longer. Gonna miss New England and Boston, I was starting to feel settled in the area and I know Karina is loving the baby groups she's a regular of. She even said the other night that she didnt want a new house and she liked it here. Poor little thing, its gonna be hard uprooting her yet again. But - its all for a good reason and hopefully a better, happier future.
So without giving too much away right now - we're headed to California! I landed what I hope will be a really excellent job in a really excellnt (bigger!) developer and for the first time in ages I'm actually very excited about making games and making a contribution. Anhd they are filing a green card application for us when we arrive so with any luck this time next year Natalie should be able to work. It was very clear that that would never happen here.
If this one doesn't work out - well I guess I'll look into the plumbing business :)
Trick or Treat
Sorry for the lack of updates - its been a little mad here lately and we're all a little stressed (more on that in a future post once things are a little more settled). Anyway, we have been doing stuff, just not that interesting!
So last night was Halloween - our first in the States. I didnt honestly know what to expect so we decided to partially decorate the house and get some "treats" in for the kids and try to take part, in a slightly understated-English sort of a way. Karina had spotted the costumes in Toys 'R Us a while ago and insisted that the only proper way to dress for this spookiest of nights was, appropriately, as a pink butterfly princesss. Who are we to argue?
Last week she went to 2 parties (at the various toddler and pre school groups she attends) and also a day time Trick or Treat in the town square nearby. They opened all the stores for Trick or Treat and the kids went from store to store collecting candy. Of course, she was very popular but nothing prepared us for the amazing productivity she would experience in the confectionary-amassing-department last night! By the time I came home they'd had about an hour touring the local houses and grabbed a bucketfull of candy. We went out with her again and less than an hour later, bucket number 2 was full!
As we live slightly off the main roads we didnt get any visitors (we were also told it was a very quiet Halloween - but to an Englishman the sight of a street full of Ghostbusters, 6 foot tall Scooby Doos and several sexy-devillettes does NOT make for a quiet night!) so we also have the candy we bought too. Mass cavities and diabetes all around!
All in all a great night and she surprised us with her confidence. At the end she was tired and Trick or Treating was performed by being carried from house to house and a quick "Trick or Treat, thank you, bye-bye". Almost clinical in her efficiency :)
