Author: Josh

[flv width=”500″ height=”375″]http://www.janicek.com/video/20081217_HappyBirthdayGrandma.flv[/flv]

Last Tuesday I flew out to New York to visit a client. Elise flew in later that night and joined me at the Algonquin Hotel (which has a ton of history).

Wednesday I got up early, had breakfast with Brian at the Red Flame and a good visit with a client. After the meeting, I was pretty much done with my work week. Elise and I took a cab down to our NY office where I introduced her to most everyone that I know and then to lunch at Mercer Kitchen. We then took the subway back up to our hotel and then tried to go see the tree lighting at Rockefeller Plaza. That was a mistake. There were way too many people there for us to even try to get near the tree. We managed to get a couple blocks from the event and could watch some of the performers and festivities on the big screens they had on the adjacent corners. By that time it was getting cold and there were just too many people about, bumping into each other, so we headed back down to our hotel, and then to dinner at Trattoria Dopo Teatro. I then took Elise to Times Square where her jaw dropped (as mine did a year ago when I first was there). We bought a snow globe for one of my coworkers and headed back to the hotel to call it a night.

On Thursday we got up and had breakfast at Red Flame. Elise REALLY wanted a NY bagel, so she got 2 eggs over easy, sausage and toast. Go figure. I had the corned beef hash and a bagel. Then we headed to the subway to take us to the Financial District where we checked into the Gild Hall. Very chic spot. No spittoons. We lugged down to Battery Park and then caught the ferry to Liberty Island (got a NY magnet for the fridge) and got a close up look at the Statue of Liberty. Then caught the next ferry to Ellis Island. Ellis Island was the highlight of the trip for me and I highly, highly recommend it. There’s so much history there and all of the information available in the self-paced tour are beyond engaging. Ellis Island ate up the majority of our second day. By the time we were done, it was time to hit the train and get some food. We walked up and down Pearl Street in the Financial District until we happened upon some locals and asked where we should eat. They quickly suggested Harry’s, a renowned steak establishment. We had planned on having a nice dinner at night at some point, but due to the recommendation, it was going to be this night in particular. Elise had the 10 oz. filet, and I opted for the scallops because I’d had a huge, awesome steak on Tuesday night with Brian. Elise’s and my meals were both fantastic! After dinner, we walked to the local market for some fruit and water too keep in the fridge back at the hotel, then it was time to hit the hay.

On Friday we walked over to Ground Zero. Elise endured that same feeling I got when I first saw Ground Zero. Then we walked over to Ladder Co. 10 and watched one of the fire engines leave the station, and then tourist taking photo ops with the firefighters. Then it was over to Century 21 for shopping. Holy hell. Never again. I don’t know what to compare Century 21 to other than mad moms hunting Cabbage Patch Kids in the early-80’s. We did make out with some hats, which were much needed as the temperature hit the lower-30’s. We then walked over to Grand Central Station, took some photos and video, and then over across from the Chrysler Building to a little joint for pastrami sandwiches and tomato basil soup. Then we walked back to Times Square, and then took a subway to Central Park where we walked around for a bit and then took a horse-drawn carriage ride. After freezing our butts off, we walked over to 5th and stopped into the Apple store, FAO Shwarz and Tiffany & Co. At that point, exhausted, we took the train back downtown and walked a bit around the seaport before settling on Ryan Maguire’s Ale House. Totally reminded me of my second paying cook job at the Tap Room in Bellville – just a pub with great food.

On Saturday, backs and legs hurting, we headed out on a foot tour again. Our first stop was at TKTS to wait an hour to get tickets for Spamalot. Then we walked through Chinatown, got lost, found Little Italy and had a great lunch at Paesano’s, then went up to NYU, Greenwich Village, then back down through SoHo and Tribeca and finally back to the Gild for an hour of feet up relaxing. Then back on our feet to the train to midtown to see Spamalot at Shubert Theatre. Before getting to the theatre, I had to treat Elise to her first NYC street vendor hot dog. The show was a blast, and even better, when we walked out of the theatre, it started to snow!

Took the train back to the Gild and Elise was still hungry, so we walked to the market and hot a sandwich and some chips. We finally got to bed around 2 a.m. and had to wake up at 6 a.m. to catch our flight back to Austin.

We had an absolute blast in New York and are looking forward to going back soon.

Photos can be seen here.

[flv width=”500″ height=”375″]http://www.janicek.com/video/20081204_immigrantmuseum.flv[/flv]

You can keep up with us via Facebook or see our photo gallery from NYC here.

I’ll try to keep things up-to-date on Facebook.

[flv width=”500″ height=”375″]http://www.janicek.com/video/20081129_amazingtd.flv[/flv]

The other night while Elise was running some errands, I was getting Maly ready for bed and decided to take matters into my own hands and take the nail polish remover after Maly’s toenails. The four-week-old nail polish was all chipped and looked ugly.

“Do you want to put new nail polish on your toes?”

“Yeah! Green nail polish!”

“Sugar, I don’t think we have green nail polish. But we can go get some this weekend.”

Three days later, she held me to it. After playing around the house this morning, I asked Maly if she wanted to go to the store to get nail polish.

“Yeah! We get green nail polish!”

So daddy and daughter and had ourselves a little shopping spree on Saturday morning. She picked out her green nail polish as well as a Cinderella lamp and a bag of jelly beans.

It’s going to be so hard to not give her every last thing that she wants, but I know I have to teach her.

A cold, mid-November night and the smell of burning oak reminds me of my Dad. And I love that feeling inside.

“Daddy, how’s your work doin’?”

“It’s actually doing really well. I had a really, really good day today.”

“…”

“You know, you’re such an little angel. How’s your work doin’ as my little angel?”

“It’s been good.”

Every weekday evening my daughter asks me, “how’s your work doin’?” To which I try to muster some enthusiasm for the sake of a conversation with my child. I guess because I had a good day today, I took that extra moment and thought about what my daughter was asking me. She doesn’t fain concern or inquisitiveness. She really cares. And I took another extra moment to ask her about her job.

She has an awesome job. And she does a damn good job. And she’s severely underpaid.

We’ve been slowly tinkering with idea of potty training Maly. A month ago Elise bought her a set of princess panties and today is her first day wearing a pair. The girls are at church right now and I’m curious to see if Maly made it through mass without having an accident. She already had an accident in one pair this morning.

Maly loves the praise and attention we give her whenever she uses her little training potty. It’s got to be frustrating when one is accustomed to just going whenever and wherever, and then expected to react to that biological urge and make it to the toilet in time to tend to business.

I wonder what sort of impact would be had if the civilized world reverted…

“So, Mr. Janicek, your company has made significant improvements in the world of bacon injection technologies. Can you explain these improvements to the board?”

“Hang on there, rrrrrrrrmmph, Bob. Workin’ on a job here. Could you slide that copy of US Weekly across the, mmmm uhh, table. This’ll only take a minute or two. Anyone got a match?”

Four of us took an extended lunch today, went on a photo scavenger hunt and had a blast. Michele and I came up with ~30 words yesterday, narrowed the list down to 10 and off we went today on our first monthly scavenger hunt.

The word were:

Glass
High
Wind
Season
Sign
Smoke
Number
Grand
Signal
Open
 

Maly and Elise in Des Moines for Beggars’ Night.

47 other states don’t really know what Beggars’ Night is, many Iowans included, so I’ve been told.

It’s Halloween to me and it’s all I’ve ever known – a Pagan holiday where we celebrate the dead. I’ll be embracing my secular spirituality and remembering and honoring those that are no longer with me.

Regardless, I think my daughter is a cutie as Cinderalla, or “Cirellellella”, as she’s know in our house.

As I crossed San Jacinto St. this morning a stranger approached me.

“Excuse me, sir!”

I avoided eye contact and kept walking. He called for me again. I stopped, turned and he began to speak. He told me that he was a staff sergeant in the Air Force, stationed in San Antonio. He went on to tell me he’d run out of gas at the Social Security Administration and needed some help. My instincts told me to just say, “sorry” and go about my way.

Without recounting the entire exchange, I allowed myself to be sold. I escorted him into the building and walked to the ATM where I withdrew a crisp $20 and handed it over to him.

He asked, “how am I going to be able to get this back to you?” I handed him my card and said, “call that number.”

“Josh, I really, really appreciate this.”

I have a tendency to think that I’m a good judge of character, hence me handing a $20 bill over to a complete stranger in exchange for nothing. He seemed very sincere.

He told me if I’d be at that number in an hour. I told him that I would.

He never called.

I don’t mind so much that I’m out $20. I mind that this is what our society has become. I mind that I’m raising an innocent daughter who is a beautiful person and will have to enlighten her by teaching that not everyone is beautiful.

Although they should be.

Mr. San Jacinto Street Scammer, I don’t want my $20 back. It’ll find its way back to me somehow.

[flv]http://www.hartzvictims.org/video/Hartzeffect.flv[/flv]