Please Click Here

5 Jan

An old friend of mine from my summer camp days, Doug Gordon, who I’ve mentioned a couple of times on this site, has written a book called The Engaged Groom. Many of my friends are already married (some with child or children), but perhaps there are some out there reading my site who are newly engaged or close to being engaged. If so, check out Doug’s book. If you’re already married, be a pal and click on the link for Doug’s book anyway. And if you’re not even close to being engaged, please still click on the link for Doug’s book. (It’s a contest. If I refer enough people to the web site for his book, Doug will send me an autographed copy.) And if you’re interested, Doug did a chat yesterday on Boston.com. Here’s a link to the transcript.

A Plug in (and for) the Globe

5 Jan

I found out not too long ago that my blog was quoted again today in The Boston Globe‘s “Sidekick” section.

Now, I’m not one to complain (alright, maybe I am), and I’m really appreciative of the folks at “Sidekick” for quoting me as often as they have, but I wish those responsible would have chosen a different entry this time. The posting they quoted from — just about in its entirety — was the one from Monday where I commented on the Globe‘s story about the increasing number of millionaires in the Boston area. It’s a good plug for the paper, in the paper. Continue reading →

Need Some Mulch?

4 Jan

Alright, enough with the Florida-related postings, I know. But I have one more topic I wanted to write about. One of the things that really surprised me last week was just how much damage Hurricane Katrina did in south Florida, and how much of it still hadn’t been cleaned up. The area around where my grandmother lives, already depressed and older looking, was marked by crumbling stone signage and a great many tree stumps. You could now see greater distances from one place to another than you ever could. Worse, I think, were the trees that were ripped from the ground; many of the stumps haven’t been righted (which left large holes in the ground) and the spaces had not been cleaned up. Aside from being an eyesore, it was just dangerous. Over by my parents’ place, about 20 minutes away, there were large piles of trees and branches, sitting right off the golf course, just waiting to be ground up into mulch. I know that Katrina left a lot of damage in its (her?) wake, but the way the story has been reported, you’d think it was all in New Orleans or the neighboring areas. Sure, life in south Florida wasn’t affected nearly as much as it was in other places, largely because the damage in south Florida — while significant — didn’t compare to that in New Orleans. But considering Katrina hit four months ago, seeing these things, and seeing them just sit there like an accepted part of life, was like a lingering reminder that there’s still a lot of cleanup work to do in more places than most people realize.

Clearly, I’m in the Other 19

3 Jan

According to the Boston Globe yesterday, the number of millionaires who live in the Boston area is expected to surge 50 percent over the next five years. Specifically, this means that the number of millionaire households in the region will increase from 58,000 in 2004 to 88,000 in 2009. Apparently, one in 20 households is already a millionaire. Who knew?

The story says the increase is most likely to affect Baby Boomers, those who work at a financial services company or a law firm, or in the technology industry, and those who have numerous liquid investable assets, so I guess I’ll be staying in my current tax bracket. And something tells me the city is going to get a bit pricier to live in — never a good thing for those of us who aren’t millionaires.

Still, I’m an optimist, and I’d hate to think I’ll be left out of such a development. So I’m hoping that any day now someone is going to appear on my doorstop with a giant check à la Publishers Clearing House. It’s a good thing my apartment is clean.

A Very Good Place to Start

2 Jan

To quote (sort of) the great thinker Michael Jackson, “You wanna be startin’ somethin’? You’ve got to be startin’ somethin’.” And you’d have to agree that ain’t no time like January 1 to be startin’ somethin’.

So, I’m happy to announce that The Great Clean-up of 2006 — step one in “The Great Reinvention of Martin Lieberman” — has begun. The top of my dresser is now clean and my laundry bags are now empty. Of course, this means that my closet and some drawers of my dresser (particularly those containing socks and t-shirts) are now over-stuffed. But small steps, people. Small steps.

Today I hung up a ton of shirts and pants that had accumulated over about a month and a half, probably more. That’s a lot of clothes. And thank God for Brooks Brothers‘ no-iron shirts or else much of it would be wrinkled. Also, I’m ashamed to admit that one of the two laundry bags (full of now-clean clothes) included a mix of loads that were at least three months old — though it’s likely some were closer to five. Oh yeah, and I also threw out a bunch of junk — including old issues of magazines — and picked up a lot of dust bunnies off the floor. All told, a very productive day.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions this year is to take better care of my apartment. Today I tackled the dresser, laundry bags, and floors, not to mention the magazines that were strewn across my coffee table. Next comes going through my clothes and either throwing out or donating old stuff I don’t wear anymore (depending on what state they’re in). After that, I’ll finally tackle the clutter, whether it’s the stacks of mail on my kitchen table, the magazines under my coffee table (again), or my multiple bookshelves, DVD rack, and CD collection. And somewhere in there, I plan to hire a professional cleaner to make this place shine once again. (Anyone have any recommendations for a cleaning person? Seriously.)

If you know me at all, you know that this is quite an ambitious plan (if you can even call it a plan), especially since I’d love to have much of it done by February. But perhaps by putting this in writing and not just saying it, I’ll actually get something done for a change. As I said, you’ve got to start somewhere.

It’s Good to Be Home (Not)

1 Jan


This was Friday in Florida. Mid 70s, not a cloud in the blue sky. Ahhhhh …


This is what I woke up to today here in Boston. High 20s, snow, grey skies. Yuck.

Does this mean vacation’s over?

It’s Too Early

1 Jan

Nothing says “Happy New Year” quite like the sound of your building’s super loudly shoveling snow off the walkway outside your window before 8 a.m.

In second place, nothing says “Happy New Year” quite like your neighbor’s radio alarm going off, playing Backstreet Boys and Linkin Park (among other chestnuts) … and she’s not even home to turn it off.

Happy New Year, indeed. (grumble, grumble, grumble)

Last Posting of 2005

31 Dec

‘Twas the night before New Years’
and here in Florida state,
my bags are all packed
my vacation was great.

I head back to Boston
on Saturday ’round noon,
knowing that New Years’ plans
will be happening soon.

While here I played golf
and I also ate lots.
Thanks to my sunblock,
I’m even tan in some spots.

So to all my good readers
in cities or the sticks,
I wish you all a Happy New Year,
and I’ll catch you in oh-six!

I Hate Cold Turkey

29 Dec

It’s hard enough to get into the holiday spirit when you’re in Florida, seeing as the weather is so nice and the neighborhood where my parents live is (by edict of the community’s bylaws) decoration- and light-free. Of course, it also doesn’t help that my parents aren’t into the Christmas spirit like I am, that we keep to ourselves on the big day, and that we barely listen to the radio. So it’s easy to forget that Christmas was only three days ago; it seems like so much longer, if it ever was Christmas. Hell, it barely even feels like Hanukkah, and tonight is only night four (of eight, if you didn’t know). How is it possible that this year, more than any other year I can remember, it seems as if the holiday season came and went quicker than ever? Wasn’t it supposed to be, like, the year of the Super Holiday, what with all three of the major ones happening this last week of December?

To wit: my folks and I ventured off to Sawgrass Mills this evening. If you’ve never heard of Sawgrass Mills, let me describe it simply as the largest outlet mall in the world (or so I’ve been told). End to end, the place must be two miles long, or longer. That’s a lot of stores. Unfortunately, however, less than a week after Christmas, that also meant a lot of stores that were practically empty or in total disarray. It wasn’t even worth walking into the Gap Outlet, and J. Crew was a total bust. My mother said Chico’s was the same. Who could find anything in Ralph Lauren — the place was a mess. I even dashed into the Books-a-Million store to grab a copy of Doug’s book (which hit stores this week), but it seems the copies they had in stock (and I asked) were all gone (already!). Even the take-a-picture-with-Santa booth was already being dismantled. It was as if the entirety of Sawgrass had joined together to confirm that yes, Virginia, there was a Christmas — but now it’s over, thank you very much. Please move on and excuse us while we clean up.

I know some people would rather the holiday season end before it even begins. Many of those same people are probably overjoyed that things have ended so quickly. But I genuinely do enjoy holiday time, and all kidding aside, I wish it was longer. There’s really no other time during the year when people are as happy as they are during the month of December. Think about it — temperatures are falling, days are getting shorter, things are coming to a close (at least calendar-wise), there’s stress from family, stress from work … need I go on? And yet, the music, the lights, the decorations, heck, I submit that even the gift-giving (and receiving) puts people in a happier mood.

So I’m not sure why people and stores are so quick to let it all go. All that build-up, all that hype, and then pffft — just like that, the music stops, the sales get changed from “After Christmas” to “End of Season,” and people become a lot less jolly. It makes New Year’s Eve such an anti-climactic and forced “holiday.” And what do we who live in the northeast have to look forward to after New Year’s? Snow, cold, less daylight, more snow, and more cold … for three more months (at least). Whoop-dee-doo. In Florida, tourism goes down after the holidays. Is that really worth rushing into to? Is that really any better than Christmas?

So I suggest extending the holiday season. After all, Hanukkah is eight days long, and aren’t there supposed to be 12 days of Christmas? Yeah, I know: the decorations have been up since right after Halloween and you’ve heard Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” a few too many times. So what? Weren’t you happier during the past month than you are now? As far as I’m concerned, there really is no good reason to go cold turkey on the holidays. With so little to look forward to until Spring arrives, maybe an extension of the season wouldn’t be so bad. Who’s with me on this one?

Christmas in Florida

25 Dec


Oh, the weather outside ain’t frightful
And the temperatures are so delightful (mid-70s)
And since we’ve no place to go (‘cuz every place is closed)
Here’s a picture taken from our patio …

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →