Tis the Season

Thanks to the generosity of my parents we were lucky enough to get see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The trip was a stunning success and aside from a minor miscalculation in direction went off with out a hitch.

I was actually glad that the weather had turned a little colder. I wanted to be bundled up in heavy coats and hats and gloves. I think it adds to the spirit of the whole thing. As it turned out it, was just cold enough to achieve the effect I wanted and not cold enough to be uncomfortable.

The city was packed with holiday tourists and shoppers. The crowds were so thick by Rockefeller Plaza that you had to wait on line just to peer over the edge to see the skating rink.

Morgan and Connor (the ham)....

the Coach store window....

Skating Rink at Rockefeller Plaza...

Crowd inside Radio City...
The Christmas show was excellent and the kids were pretty awe struck by the grandeur that is Radio City Music Hall. The only down side to the show was all the misanthropes using their flashes on their cameras. Although they were instructed not to do so by a pre-show announcement they fired away throughout the entire show. I hesitated to even use the word camera in this case. Most people were using their cell phones. At one point it looked as if we were in the middle of a lightning storm with all the flashes going off. I could see some of the peoples screens on the back of the cameras/phones and 99% of the pictures they took were of the well illuminated head of the person in front of them. Do they really think that tiny flash is going to light up an entire stage the size of Radio City. Silly people.
Nancy waits for and $8 cup of wine...


the show...more show...
Toy Soldiers.....

Inside St. Patricks...

by the rink in Rockefeller Plaza....

All in all we had a great time and even saw "The Naked Cowboy" as we drove through Times Square, which Morgan promptly decided was in her words "inappropriate".
Naked Cowboy...

Thanks to Nancy and her impeccable navigating, we whisked into and out of the city with the precision of a Special Forces team on a covert mission.

Picture Gallery >>www.tjarmstrong.com


On a sad note.....

We lost a family pet today. Abigail the hamster passed away after providing the family with two years of love and companionship. Morgan took it very well. She had been preparing for the inevitable lately. We knew that hamsters only live about two years and Abigail "Ham Lam Sam" was approaching, if not past here second birthday.

We will miss you Abigail and we'll always love you.

Reno Part II

OK so now I’m in Reno and this is Nevada where you can gamble anywhere you want and smoke anywhere you want. The first thing you’d expect to see is a slot machine right. Sorry my world traveler friend, it was an iPod vending machine. A what? Yep, an iPod vending machine, where you can insert two hundred to three hundred dollars of your hard earned, or hard won dollars, in a machine and take home or on the plane a shiny new iPod. I wondered to myself what good it would do you to buy one before you got on a plane? It would not be charged and it would not have any content on it. After I get over that shock then I see the slot machines. I realized we weren’t in Kansas anymore or New Jersey for that matter.

iPod vending machine

After clearing up a little confusion with the rental car we are desperately were seeking some lunch. We head for the nearest semi fast food place we can find, which turns out to be TGIFridays. Which is ok because the have beer, which makes my Polish friend feel better. We order lunch and a drink and wait and wait and wait and wait. The waitress (aptly named) then informed us that the computers were down and they had to enter our orders by hand and that it would be a little longer……. The computers were down? What the Fu Fu F u uFu u c…..What do they have to do, download the recipe for a cheeseburger? Fries? Come on …..Anyhow.

Then it was off to our intended target. A Mom & Pop business that my company just bought. I not sure, that, had my bosses really looked deeply into this company, they would have bought it or burned it. Let’s put it this way, they are not building the International Space Station or the Hubble Space telescope but I found 30,000 drawings on there network! And I use the term network loosely. One woman actually used GoToMyPC to access files right there in the office. I will spare you all the technical details but it was nightmare of Homeric proportions.

Our hotel.......just kidding...actually Reno's first TV radio repair shop.

The company we bought.........just kidding

The Atlantis Hotel Casino and Spa

After we discovered what faced us the rest of the week we decide it’s time to check in to our hotel. Which by the way is a spa and a casino and very tacky and very smoke filled. Even though I had a smoke free room, the stale smell of cigarettes still waffeded up the elevator shafts and permeated the room. I did not gamble very much. As an Armstrong I have learned that our luck does not show it self at the tables. More often it shows it’s self in the company we keep and the relationships we forge.

The rest of the week proves to be fruitful. We slog through all there files and manage to glean the information we need. By week’s end I am exhausted and almost ten pounds heavier. I can not eat out three meals a day. I simply do not have the discipline to have just a salad or just some fish when needed. Especially when you’re at Outback and the guy from corporate, turns out to be Ex-Army and it’s two for one drink night. My boss even asked me if he was going to have to carry me back to the hotel. To which I replied that I turned pro at age 15 and that, “if your going to drink like a sailor your going to get up and go to work the next day like one too”. I think he felt a strange sense of relief.

That pretty much sums up my trip. Hey, I know it wasn’t China, or India like some of my contemporaries have so courteously reminded me that they go on real business trips, but it was my first and probably my last. I am sure I will remember some little snippet that I have forgotten about the trip and maybe it will be enough for it’s own post. We’ll see.

All the pictures are here: http://tjarmstrong.smugmug.com/gallery/2071912

there not much but they are all I have......

Cheers,

Tj

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran’s Day. There’s a great sale at Wal-Mart. Where you can buy the latest mass produced goods from China. I hear there’s also a great sale at JC Penny’s where you can pick up a simply stunning terrycloth bathrobe made with pride in Shri Lanka.

That’s where you must have been today. You must have been out at all those great sales. I hope you got some great bargains. I hope you got a good jump on all that pesky holiday shopping, we all know what a pain it is.

The reason I know you were out bargain hunting is… I did not see you down town at today’s Veterans Day ceremony. It was a brief affair. A few words from the mayor, a little prayer from the padre, the laying of a wreath to honor the fallen. That’s all, not much. It just would have been nice if more than fifteen people showed up for the ceremony. In a town of six thousand plus people you would think there would have been a better turn out. They were out in force at the High School football game. The whole fuckin’ town was there. Do you think you could have stopped by on your way to the game or on your way to the mall to downtown and shown your support for the men and women who defend this country? Most of whom spent at least four years and maybe as many forty years of their lives making sure you had the freedom to go to football game or to the mall.

I am a Veteran and I did not join the Navy so that some day people would bow down to me or raise me up on their shoulders and carry me through town. None of us did. And that is why you need to remember. You need to remember on your own, with out having to be asked. You need to remember that soldiers died today. You need to remember to show your respect when there isn’t a parade that you have to go to because your son or daughter is marching in it. You need to remember.

For the last few weeks the nation has been bombarded with election news and advertising. The news media has told us that the number one thing on voters minds was the war in Iraq.

Was it.

Was it really.

Tj

Viva Las Reno....

Reno at night

Getting up at 4am sucks. Plain and simple. There are only two reasons to get up at 4am. Fishing & Golf. I had a 6:47am flight and thanks to Mr. Atta and his 9/11 buddies I now have to arrive two hours early to remove my shoes and go through security with every blue head snow bird fleeing the dismal NJ winter. None of which have any intention of causing harm on the aircraft.

As far as my last post goes you can throw all that out the window. Imagine my surprise when a woman came inching down the aisle with a nothing less than a bow and arrow set in her hand. Come to think of it I did not see bow and arrow on the list so I guess she was OK. Granted it was a tourist bow and arrow set but it was a large one and you could have easily taken the suction cups off and fashioned a sharp tip that could have poked an eye out or something. Needless to say I kept one eye on her the whole flight.

Speaking of flights... my flight out took me through Phoenix then to Reno. It was an uneventful flight to Phoenix the only hiccup was that the video system was on the fritz , darn. I was really looking forward to a straight to DVD movie and a couple of the lost episodes of Three's Company. It was pretty funny when the flight crew was trying to get the system to work. Now when I say trying to get to get it to work I mean flipping the switch back and forth causing the small overhead LCD screens to raise and lower repeatedly. It was as if the plane was waving at you, or calling for help. Just when you thought they gave up the screens would come down again and flicker with some grainy image Joyce Dewitt or John Ritter. A few times I actually laughed out loud.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

The Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is interesting. Interesting and LARGE! I was glad I had both my legs and only one "Polock" to drag with me. According to my calculations the Phoenix airport could not be the Rhode Island airport 'cause it wouldn't fit! I had to switch planes. Not airlines. I figured I would have to walk from gate A3 to A4 or something simple like that. Noooooo..... If you check with the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport hall of records, you see my name under "Longest distance traveled and still in the building while dragging a "PoLock" who has never traveled before except for the trip from Poland to the USA and who asked more questions than my 8 year old son". That's some record, and I am damn proud of it.

On to Reno on a short hop. The flight was a little over an hour and the weather was clear so it made for some interesting viewing. I played tourist shot some pictures out the window. Coming from New Jersey you forget what a large and beautiful country we live in. I can't imagine what it must be like to live in some of the small towns that we flew over. I mean I grew up and live in a small town but it doesn't feel small sometimes. When you drive out of town in NJ you simply drive into the next town. Out here when you drive out of town, you "drive out of town" you better have some supplies with you, like gas and water for one. If you break down or get a flat or run out of gas it's gonna be a while before you make human contact again. Cell phone service? Ha ! I laugh in your general direction.

My vote for road of the week.

Reno is a good looking town and although I did not get to explorer all of I was impressed with what I saw. Impressed enough to consider bringing the family out here this summer to see the area including the Lake Tahoe region. I was quite disappointed when I did not make it over to Tahoe.

View from my room.


Same view if you leaned out really far... or zoomed in....



That's all for now. I will finish some time this weekend with some tales for the border of "Dumbfuckistan"..........in other words ...pretty country.....pretty slow people........

Tj

Infrequent Flyer

Belmar Beach, Spring 2006

This Monday I embark on my first ever business trip. I am going out to Reno, Nevada. The company I work for now (www.permapure.com) has purchased another company and I have to go out there to ensure the smooth transfer of all their engineering data back to here in NJ. Sounds important doesn’t it? The company being purchased is a small one and their assembly procedure for their equipment is kept in form of hand done drawings, notes and kept in the heads of people that do the assembling. Since none of the folks that work there are coming here I have to glean this information by what ever means necessary. Thanks goodness President Bush has signed a bill allowing for tougher interrogation tactics. I’ll get these people to talk.

Being the infrequent flyer that I am, I figured I better read up on some of the latest travel restrictions and procedures. So I punch the Transportation Security Administration web site ( www.tsa.gov ) to get the latest info. Everyone has heard about the liquids & gels ban on the news, and I wanted to make sure it was ok to board an aircraft “gelin” as TV commercial for Dr. Scholls says. Well it turns out that you are not allowed to board an aircraft gelin. Ok so we scrap the gel filled insoles. At this point I figure I better check the rest of the list.

Who knew….

They really have to publish a list like this? Could there really be a person on this planet with an IQ above a cucumber that thinks some of this stuff is ok to bring on a plane? The following list is only a snippet for the whole list which is actually quite funny go here.

TSA Prohibited List

What do you mean I can’t bring fireworks onboard a plane? How ‘bout my cattle prod? I can think of nothing more fun than juicing some jackass who is blocking the aisle with one of these 9,000 volt babies. I can’t bring tear gas on a plane? WTF? They have removed all the fun of traveling. You can bring your brass knuckles but only in your checked baggage, not in your carry on. I thought brass knuckles were illegal anyhow? Most martial arts weapons are not allowed onboard either. Nunchkus, throwing stars, black jacks? Who travels with a black jack? I prefer a sock full of dimes anyhow!

Gasoline…. Hmmm…..Gasoline…. ? ……..nuf said

Axes, Guns, Flares ? I don’t know about you but these are a few of my favorite things. How am I going to motivate that lazy flight attendant to bring me another bloody mary with out having my “Starter Pistol” . Nothin’ says get up and go like the pop from one these little gems.

Anyway…. I will let you know who the trip/flight went when I get back. Or maybe I’ll have a special “Form the road” report for ya’..

Tj

Resurrection...

Fall Colors....

Good morning, afternoon, or evening dear reader. As you can see or will notice I have wiped clean my entire blog. It did not take that much effort, but it was a rather difficult decision. The reason I purged the entire thing was, I got paranoid.

You see, I was laid off again in May of this year and had to embark on the dreaded job search yet once again. Being the up to date trendy sort, I read and article or two about today's job market, and the do's and don'ts of being hired in these very competitive times. The articles focused on how people, that were more than qualified for jobs, did not get them because of questionable content in their blogs. Particularly discontent at work style stuff.

Initially I left the blog alone, with all of it's work place/boss/co-worker bashing, I figured no one would ever find it and put 2+2 together and figure out it was me. After a couple months of no interviews or even call backs, the paranoia set in.

I meant every word I said in the old blog and every word of it was true, but I have many mouths to feed and I could not let anything stand in the way of landing a new job. Anyway..... So call me a yellow journalist or a wuss or any other derogatory emasculating word you can think of but, I did it. I'm not proud of it. But it's over and that’s that.

Now you are asking your self: What's to become of the blog? Where am supposed to go, to get a semi regular dose of sharp tongued cynicism and cringe inducing wit? Well stay tuned faithful friend I am sure that something will get under my skin and need to get out. More than likely I will use as a platform for what ever I damn well please. Maybe even some enlightenment about today’s world and the times we live in, all with the extra shake of the hot sauce bottle that is the mind of me.

2006 Fishing Trip

Captain Mike tries to make a Sea Robin "bark" for Gary Lynch