June 25, 2007

Yet Another Delay Apology

Kurt wrote this around lunchtime:

Hey, everyone.  I know it’s been a while since I posted; entering the real world does that, especially when it comes in an especially memorable way.  Long story short, now that I’m a graduate of St. John’s University, the business of paying bills and such came around, and with it the necessity for a full-time job.  Of course, since I’ve already put in a few years with the consulting firm I’ve been interning with through my last few years at St. John’s, I thought it prudent to go ahead and take the full-time job they offered me.  I figured I’d kick back for a while in NYC, do some marketing for the company, maybe a little tech work from the office, etc. 

Instead, due to the circumstances of the thing, I’ve been pressed into service on the consulting end, and my relaxing full-time job in NYC has turned into an all-out race to get myself up to speed as a consultant, learning the ropes of business travel in the worst possible way (you try getting from NYC to Springfield, IL fast on the cheap), trying to manage travel expenses that run to twice my credit limit, and generally attempting to make less than a giant mess of things.  It’s been stressful, but I’m learning a hell of a lot in a short period of time, which I guess is what starting a career is all about.

Will I still have some time to write?  Sure, especially now that I’ve again cleared the somewhat imposing hurdle of having a very, very old post at the top of this front page and thinking ‘Huh… what’s one more day?’  Hopefully, it will even be good; I still have my impressions of last month’s annual Brooklyn Breweries’ Beer Dinner on tap, my impressions of the NHL draft and the new Washington Capitals uniforms, as well as the amusement of what it is to adjust to Springfield, IL when one is finally getting used to being a New Yorker.

 Some short takes -

  • Renting a car as someone under 25 is hellishly expensive, but it’s still faster and cheaper to bite the bullet and drive 3 hours from Chicago than it is to connect to Springfield from O’Hare out of LGA or JFK.  You might also get lucky and get a ‘Premium Elite’ package Avalon for the price of a compact if they run out of the Ford Focus.
  • The regional specialty of Springfield, IL seems to be the ’shoe’, a dish that would make any Pennsylvania Dutch cook proud - take garlic toast, top it with meat (generally buffalo chicken or sausage, although there are many other popular choices), cover it in french fries until the base is no longer visible, and then drench the whole affair in cheese sauce.
  • The other regional specialty of Springfield, IL, is predictably cardiology.
  • Consolidated Edison, like many predators in the animal kingdom, can actually sense weakness before moving in for the kill.

* Filed under: Life in NYC
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