Small Fish In A Small Pond

Tachel and I posing for our x-mas card



Megan and Tachel looking a bit more beautiful



Megan and I at the Public Market getting our Petrillo's Bakery http://petrillosbakery.com/  pizza crust fix.  The public market has been one of the best reasons we've moved to Rochester from Chicago.  One thing that is strange about Rochester is all pizza is really expensive.  Considerably more than in Chicago.  Not sure why and if anyone has any ideas I'd like to hear it.  Anyway, lots of great stuff here and you should go if you get the chance



pomegranates!!!



Homemade knitted caps.  LAST DAY at the public market.  GET IT OR FORGET IT!



In what has become a x-mas tradition, Peter, Sarah, Megan, and I go to the Screening Room www.screeningroom.net  in Amherst, NY (just outside of Buffalo) to see It's a Wonderful Life on the big screen.  I wanted coffee at some point during the movie, instead Megan got me Seagram's Escapes Strawberry Daiquiri.  Nice...  It's considered a "flavored beer" and tasted like old Kool-Aid.  



Oh!  Megan got Chex Mix for Christmas.  And, that is it...



THANKS TO PETE AND SARAH!!!  IT HAS BEGUN!!!  They got me a book for x-mas called Take a Hike! by Rich and Sue Freeman about all the parks and hiking spots in the Rochester area.  This is Tryon Park (East of I-590 at Tryon Park Road in Rochester).  



Here's one of the many hills around town.  Notice that the trail has a steep slope on both sides.  I didn't realize western New York was geologically so crazy.  Lots of flat land that has been gouged by glaciers making lots of strange hills and waterfalls.



A view of Irondequoit Bay.



This is the second park I've been to that use to be an old sewer plant location before it was converted into a park in 1971 (Linear Park being the other).  No doubt, it was before the EPA and raw sewage was probably dumped into the Irondequoit.  This pipe is one of the few reminders of the past.  






That's about it.  Now that the holiday season is finally over, it's time to get back to hardcore job hunting and learning about my new home.  For x-mas, Megan got me a ticket package to the Rochester Americans ("Amerks" for short) hockey.  They are a part of the American Hockey League and affiliate of the Florida Panthers.  So, don't be surprised to see pics of us in Amerk's shirts, with hot dogs, banging on the glass, and chanting "HIT HIM! HIT HIM" in the near future...

So Much Snow. So Very Much Snow...

Last I saw, we've received 41.7 inches of snow so far in 2010 in Rochester.  That's just 10 inches away from the record snowfall in December with expectations near 60 inches total for the month.  As for the "Golden Snowball Trophy" Syracuse is in the lead with 55 inches.  "What is this trophy?" you ask.  Well, it's a nature driven competition between Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Binghamton, and Albany to see who gets the most snow.  Go to http://www.goldensnowball.blogspot.com/ for more information/



Oh bike.  How I won't see you until June.



It's been a long time since I've lived in a snowy climate.  Chicago gets snow, but not like Rochester or Muskegon.  What makes winter awful there is the bone chilling wind off the plains or Lake Michigan and the complete lack of wintertime activities because they have flat land as far as you can drive.  Maybe my wife will get me a sled for christmas...






So, I had 4 job interviews in a week.  All seemed to go well and were interesting in their own ways.  Certainly won't hear anything about them until after the holidays and the 2010 budgets are done.  Megan is out shopping tonight for gifts.  She'll be done by Modern Family is on.  Buffalo this weekend for dinner and It's A Wonderful Life on the big screen.  


I'm off to draw some pictures or something...

Eggo My Lego

This is a snowfall that started about a week ago and hasn't stopped. We've have a few inches since this was taken and about 6 more by x-mas.


The view of the bush outside my window. It has about twice as much snow after today.


This is Nick's "Yankee Gift Exchange" for Megan. Lego Star Wars guys!


They are so epic


Brave!


Fast!


LOYAL!


and the latest addition to our toy shelf...


Here's Grover on the lunchbox flashing the "Van Buren Boys" gang sign


Megan love "It's A Wonderful Life." So, when she saw that it was going to be on the big screen at the Music Box as a double feature, we had to go. We were completely unprepared. We thought we were going to a movie, not an experience. It was their 25th x-mas show that featured a choir, a organ player, and a possibly drunk Santa leading a sing-a-long. Everyone (except us) was dressed up and insane. Every time (literally) Mr. Potter came on the screen everyone hissed. Whenever Clarence was on screen people would ring their little bells. We were completely unprepared, but it was good fun.


The show was sold out. This is before. The second movie was "A White Christmas" with Bing Crosby and George Clooney's grandma. Megan has never seen it and I forgot which movie that was. Once it started, I remembered I really don't like that movie and Megan leaned over half way through and said, "I really don't like this." So, we left. The crowd for the second movie was weird too. There was some Army guy that was so excited by everything and sang along to the "Sisters" song.

Christmas plans are still somewhat in flux. I'm staying in Chicago for the 25th for sure. We're heading to a couple parties that day after we open gifts under our little tree. Michigan for a quick weekend trip (pending weather that won't kill us).

On a final note: You have to check out this story from Chicago today. It's like something out of a movie. Amazing and stupid at the same time! http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/man-survives-100-foot-fall-from-dan-ryan.html