Author: Josh

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Long time friends and new neighbors

We just got word that our good friends, Doug and Marcia’s offer was accepted on a house a few blocks away. Doug is one of my closest friends from the good old days when we ran banquets at the country club. Doug left the club to go to law school in 1999. After graduating, he and Marcia lived in North Carolina for a few years. Doug happened upon a great opportunity here in Austin, recently passed the Texas bar exam, accepted the job offer and now they will both be moving back next month.

What’s funny is that the very first house that Elise and I tried to buy is on the same street that Doug and Marcia’s house is on. Another great thing is that Marcia is pregnant and due in February. Elise is due in April. So we’ll have friends within walking distance who will also have a newborn. That means the girls can go walking with strollers and talk about things like “lactating” and “onesies” and Doug and I can stand the driveway, drinks in hand and talk about lawn fertilizer and pressure treated lumber.

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8 years ago

Josh & Elise's first photo
Josh & Elise’s first photo – the college years

Josh: “You used to be so cute”

Elise: “You used to know the right things to say”

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Week in review: iMac

I began using my new iMac at the office this past Monday. My desk is aesthetically pleasing now. My plan was to force myself to completely switch to using my Mac at work. I can’t. I’m verrrrrrrrrrrry slow on my new computer.

My desk is aesthetically pleasing now because I have my iMac, Bluetooth mouse and keyboard and phone. It’s iFeng Shui. I had to add an adjoining desk for my old Windows machine and the server. When I need to do something that is time sensitive or mission critical, I use the Windows computer.

I try to use the iMac as much as possible. I will continue to try but in the meantime I’m like a three legged cat trying to bury turds on a frozen pond.

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Fat finger typing leads to dinner with like-named locals

Joey Janisheck (pronounced just like it reads) was “fat finger typing”, trying to get to his own website and accidentally typed janicek.com. He read up on us and sent me an e-mail just to say hello and to note that he and his family also live in Austin.

I wrote back and said, “Great! Similar tribes must come together and feast.”

Elise couldn’t help but make fun of me for setting up a blind date. I’m the anti-social one.

So we met at Rudy’s on Wednesday night and had a great barbecue dinner with Joey, his wife Melissa and the the little ones: Molly and Boston.

Not only are the names similar, but so are personalities and careers. Joey runs his own web development business and is the CTO of his household and Melissa is a caterer. Boston is Spiderman. I don’t know what our kid is yet. Probably a ninja.

We had a nice evening with the Janishecks and look forward future outings and possibly some parenting advice.

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Once Upon Your Dead Body

I’ve listened to Coheed and Cambria’s Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One album over and over for the past three weeks. Nothing else. I love it. I can play some mad air drums to that album in my truck on the way to and from work.

I had to stop listening. Someone recently asked me if I wanted paper or plastic. I instinctively responded, “No. I hope you die right now. Will you drink my chemical?”

I have no idea what that means. Sounds saucy but it’s better than that Kanye West song.

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Rock game hen

I wanted to buy quail. HEB only had frozen “marinated” quail. I don’t swing on pretreated packaged meats. I bought a couple cornish game hens and thought I was going to make a boring dinner.

I threw together a chile rubbed charred cornish rock game hen stuffed with cilantro and ground lamb with an ancho dewberry coulis, Colorado wild rice and pistachio crusted leeks.

Good hen

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Lucille’s Corn Pudding

This is a great corn pudding recipe from the Y Bar & Grill in Oak Hill

2 cans sweet corn
1 can cream corn
1/4 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients in oven-safe baking dish. Bake at 350 until done in middle (1 hour or more).

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Gelatonous Black Balls

I was walking through the mall this morning after picking up the new iMac and became hungry. I walked by Chick-Fil-A and somehow made the decision to opt for something healthier for lunch. I decided I would just go home and find something in the fridge. As I made my way to the entrance of the mall I happened upon a kiosk. Simon’s Sushi. I picked out a plastic box of unagi rolls. The lady in line in front of me was handed a green tea smoothie thing. I said, “Ooooh, can I have one of those too?” The man whipped together the green tea concoction and handed it to me. It looked weird as there were dark spheres at the bottom of my cup. I shrugged it off, paid my bill and walked outside.

I took a sip from the cup through the huge straw and drew two soft black balls into my mouth (uhhh huh huh huh uhhh huh huh huh). I shrugged that off as well as I didn’t want to walk back into the mall. I figured I was getting a taste of Japanese Mall Kiosk Kulture. I later found out that I orded bubble tea and the chewy spheres are tapioca balls.

Bubble tea and unagi rolls
Mmmmm. Tapioca balls.

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Work iMac

I bought an iMac for my work computer this morning. I paced back and forth in the living room this morning, trying to justify the expense. I sat down and created a spreadsheet to see my purchase options. I wanted to go the inexpensive route by buying the mid-range Mac mini and a used 17″ Apple Cinema Display on either eBay or Craigslist. I realized that after buying a Mac mini G4, monitor, mouse and keyboard, I could spend a little bit more and get a 17″ iMac G5 with twice as much disk space, built-in Bluetooth and Airport Extreme.

The salesperson at the Apple store sold me on the Bluetooth mouse and keyboard rig. It’s gorgeous!

iMac G5
iMac G5 with built-in iSight, Photo Booth and Front Row

iMac G5
Look, Ma – only one wire!