So Far So Good

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 3, 2006

2006 seems to be off to a good start.

We welcomed the New Year and promptly went to sleep. Our Open House, at least 10 years old, remains popular for those who attend but this year we had our lowest turn out yet. The door opened at 2 and the first guest walked in at 2:40, which happened to be Robbie’s girl friend Stephanie. We had maybe two dozen adults visit and Kate easily had half as many friends turn up, including a pal from GWU.

Monday and Tuesday, DC Comics was closed so I managed a good clip of writing on my Star Trek: Corps of Engineers story. I have some material I am quite happy with and recognize I need to beef up other sections. I’ll finish the first draft and then go back and layer material in. I also need to see what’s established by the comedy duo of Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore in the preceding story to make sure nothing is contradicted. For example, there’s a new crewmember and I put her in a cabin with someone and want to make sure they don’t establish some other bunk assignment.

Also, because I got up really early for an errand on Monday, by the afternoon I was a little out of it and wound up on the couch watching three episodes of The West Wing from season three. I’ve been working my way through the DVDs and I remain amazed at how Sorkin takes something from a throwaway bit of business in one episode and revisits it in another. Also, just the amount of story he can cram into 43 minutes remains awe inspiring. I’m trying to keep those lessons in mind for the story since I have the crew split up and running around a space station. We’ll see if I’m even in the same quadrant when all is said and done.

There was snow and slush and rain today so Robbie wound up with an unexpected snow day, delaying the return to classes meaning Deb was the only one up and out this morning. Tomorrow all three of us return to the routine and it’ll be interesting to see what the new year brings us.

Ringing in the New

Posted by Bob Greenberger on January 1, 2006

Well, the year didn’t quite wind down as I expected.

Much of the day was spent running errands and getting the house ready for the Open House today. Around 3, Deb settled down to watch figure skating on the DVR when trouble began. Apparently, our two-month old DVR hard drive crashed. I pointed out the customer service tech that the first one Robbie brought home was DOA and now the second one lasted only two months. What kind of çráp hardware are they buying?

Anyway, I rush out to the local Cablevision office and swapped it for a new one. The lady there said she didn’t have any trouble with her own unit and hadn’t heard many complaints from customers. During my drive over, it had started flurrying but I didn’t pay it much attention since the weather reports indicated rain mixed with snow and no accumulation. However, it got heavier and was sticking.

The drive back to town was slow and slippery. I detoured to hit my local comic shop to discover he closed before 5. As I wended my way home, I noticed traction was an issue even on some of the busier streets.

Once home, Deb and I quickly reconnected the new DVR and everything is running just fine now. Our only regret is about five episodes of Rome and most of this season’s Alias, among a few odds and ends, have totally vanished unwatched. We got word from Kate that she had arrived to cantor the 5:15 mass but the priest sent her home before the roads got worse. Then Robbie called from a group dinner that was running an hour late because people were having trouble getting to the restaurant.

That sort of synched it for us: we’d keep everyone home. We called our hosts for the evening’s festivities and begged off. Kate called the various places she was expected and announced she was staying in.

Well, it was a night for a real mixed bag of television for a while. A skating special, a few episodes of Ballroom Bootcamp, and then “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” (which Kate had never seen). When Robbie got home, Deb exposed them to the pilot episode of Remington Steele, a show we enjoyed back in the early 1980s. It was slickly made, well acted and thoroughly diverting. When that ended, we played another two games of Scene It? And then finally, we settled in to watch the first hour of Four Weddings and a Funeral, again, something Kate had never seen. We listened to a very unwell Ðìçk Clark countdown to midnight, toasted one another and pretty much turned in.

The snow had stopped shortly after Robbie returned and the plows came an hour later. The total accumulation proved to be about an inch and this morning he and I were out clearing everything off so the rising temperature and the sun could keep things clear for our guests.

I hope everyone had fun last night and I wish each and every one of you a Happy 2006. May it be a good one.