Thoughts and Resolutions for 2009

New Year's thoughts:

A: I don't always do the things I say I'm going to do. I think there are two main reasons: (1) something seems obvious and important when I say I'm going to do it, but I then completely forget about it, and (2) I think of the thing I am supposed to do at times when I am either unwilling or unable to do it. I want to be the type of person whose word is as good as gold.

B: I spend too much time playing video games. They're fun. They're escapist. But there are too many things I'd like to look back at having done instead of playing video games.

C: I'm 32. If I don't get into good shape now, I probably never will. I'm not in bad shape (walking 40 minutes every weekday helps), but I'm not in great shape, either.

D: I'm not a terribly social person, meaning that I don't crave or actively seek out social contact. That's not a new realization; I've known it for a long time. And it's not necessarily a bad thing. But I've been thinking about it recently. While I'm generally happy being somewhat of a loner, I need to do a better job taking care of relationships that matter.

New Year's resolutions:

A.1: I am going to come up with a reliable system of keeping track of things I need to do. For the system to work, I either need to be able to access it at all times or I need to be disciplined at keeping temporary lists that I then reconcile with a larger system. Possible solutions that I think might work for me are: (a) a mobile-phone-based system (such as rememberthemilk or toodledo on an iPhone) or (b) a written-list system, reconciled on a regular basis with a computer-based system (again, such as rememberthemilk or toodledo). I think (a) might work better for me because of the fun gadget factor, but I will do a little research before jumping into it.

A.2: I am going to allocate at least 3 hours each week to taking care of miscellaneous personal tasks I wouldn't normally take care of (e.g., filing, cleaning my home office, etc.).

A.3: I am going to allocate at least 3 hours each week to taking care of miscellaneous church tasks (meaning church tasks other than (a) preparing for the next Sunday, (b) performing visits and interviews, and (c) implementing the program or initiative I am currently obsessing over, three things which I already do fairly well and which take 10-20 hours per week on average).

B.1: I am not going to play any video games in 2009, except: (a) multiplayer video games and then *only* when either (i) someone else initiates the game or (ii) the game is part of a pre-planned group activity, and (b) Wrath of the Lich King through the earlier of (i) the end of January and (ii) the completion of Icecrown.

B.2: I am going to build a database-driven web site using MySQL, PHP, and JavaScript. (I feel ok with JavaScript and think MySQL can't be that different from other relational databases I'm familiar with, but I don't know anything about PHP.)

B.3: I am going to record at least one new Christmas song to send to people for Christmas in 2009.

B.4: I am going to mark at least 365 verses of my scriptures in 2009. My goal is to read every day until I mark at least one verse (the idea being that, because I have a system for marking and don't do it arbitrarily, I will have had to contemplate what I've read at least a little). However, making that into a resolution would be unrealistic, so the resolution is to mark the scriptures. Verses marked in excess of the number of days elapsed in the year will not be counted except during December, so that I can catch up but not get ahead (until the holiday season).

C.1: I am going to work out (meaning at least 8 minutes aerobic exercise and at least 2 strength training exercises) at least 20 times each quarter-year in 2009. In no more than 10 calendar weeks during the year will I fail to work out at least once.

D.1: I am going to post on my personal blog at least twice each calendar month in 2009.

D.2: I am going to speak with each member of my family on the phone at least once a quarter in 2009. (Believe it or not, non-Vincents, that would be a significant improvement!)

D.3: I am going to speak with at least two leaders in my ward on the phone each week, on a rotating basis (in addition to PPIs).

D.4: I am going to take each person I manage at work for "coffee" at least once each month.

D.5: I am going to make a video for Sophie's first birthday, comprised of pictures and video clips from her first year. I will do so in a somewhat standardized format with the goal of making a similar video every year for each of my kids.

E.1: I am going to systematically keep track of my progress on each of these resolutions and report on my progress on this blog at least once every two months.

Sophie's Blessing

We don't baptize babies in the LDS Church, but we do give them a special blessing that we believe contains guidance and direction for their journey through life. On Sunday, we gave Sophie her baby blessing at Nathali's parents' home.

Here was Sophie in her pretty Sunday dress:

In the Vincent family we have a nice tradition of blessing babies in the same blessing gown. Here's Sophie in the blessing gown:

Christmas Sophie

Santa Sophie:

Waiting while we hear Santa Claus upstairs on Christmas Eve:

Up close, her eyes look blue so far:

Wearing her cute outfit from Grandma V:

Giving us some sweet smiles:

Big smile:

"That tickles!":

Getting some love from mommy:

Sophie's Bathtime

Here's Sophie having a bath:

Cuddling up afterwards while getting dry:

Getting a back rub after she's dried off:

And practicing lifting her head up:

Sophie in Some Cute Outfits

I swear we didn't put her in this pose:

E (and Sophie)

We miss having my sister E around (despite her mouth full of spikes). Her two months with us here flew by.

E took a few pictures of Sophie (and us) just before she left at the beginning of the week. Sophie wasn't in the mood for a photo shoot, but we were able to get some nice pictures anyway:

More Sophie

Here's Sophie in her very favorite spot -- her changing table:

Sleeping with mommy:

Sleeping in her sling:

All alone on the comparatively huge bed:

Being her adorable little self while, yep, sleeping:

Hanging out with Omi:

Doing her best Mick Jagger impersonation:

And comparing shoe sizes with me:

Baby Sophie Goes to Church

Today was Sophie's first big outing, after a morning of very light snowfall.  She went to church (although only for sacrament meeting).  And she even made it to the pulpit -- twice!  It was our Primary presentation today, and Nathali (as 2nd counselor in the Primary presidency) opened up the presentation with Sophie in her arms.  And then I happened to be holding Sophie when it came time for me to say a few words at the end of the presentation, so I brought her up with me, too.

 

She was pretty calm and alert for most of the meeting, which meant I could listen to the Primary kids while I stared dotingly at my little Sophie.  The Primary kids did really well.  Nobody got too nervous.  Even the funny moments weren't all that unusual, like "this is the end of my talk" and "Doctor & Covenants" (apparently the Primary president told the kids to say it this way because some of them couldn't say "doctrine").

Mawidge Is What Bwings Us Togewer Today

I performed a marriage today.  There were about 100 guests, mostly from the bride's side.  They probably wondered why the bride chose an American guy in a suit with a big zit on his nose to perform the ceremony.

 

(As a side note, a couple of years ago I was teaching a Primary -- Sunday school -- class to a group of kids aged 8-12.  An 11 year old girl asked how old I was.  I told her I was 29.  She said, "I'm surprised -- you look a lot younger!"  I replied, "Thank you!"  She then added, "You know why?  Because you have so many spots [zits] on your face.")

 

It was a nice ceremony.  One of the people on the program didn't show up, but we worked around that.  Mostly it was nice to see two young people make a commitment to each other.

Sophie Sucking on Her Sleeper

(See -- I say almost exactly the same thing!)

Sophie at 10 Minutes Old

(I noticed I say almost exactly the same thing in every video of Sophie so far -- I've promised to stop!)

More Sophie

I can't remember being more contented than I was earlier today, feeling and hearing the quick breath of my slightly flushed sleeping newborn girl lying on my chest while the bright, lukewarm autumn sunlight shone in from our garden and an occasional yellow or orange leaf followed its meandering, wind-blown path to the ground.

I am utterly smitten with my little Sophie.

Sophie Nathali Vincent

Welcome to the world, little girl!

Sophie was born at 5:30 a.m. She weighed 2.39 kg (7 lb 4 oz). They don't measure length in the UK, but they measure head circumference: she came in at 34 cm.

Here's Sophie sharing her first bonding experience with her mommy:






Here's daddy with his little princess:



And here's a view of Sophie:

Happy Halloween!

Halloween isn't as big a deal in England as it is in the U.S.

But we still got ready for trick-or-treaters:



We also put our own costumes on:



And we ended the evening with dinner at the Hitchcock Hotel, where I got a (spooky!) Hitchcock Burger:



(Ladies' size, of course.)

London Living

I work in a fairly new building. My law firm moved into it about two years ago, when it was first completed. In those two years, the people who manage the building don't seem to have been able to figure out the fire alarm. We had dozens of fire alarms in the first few months. They've tapered off over time, but we had another one today.

Since I had to evacuate the building (the fire warden came around and practically yanked me from my desk) and my BlackBerry's reception was having problems, I decided to walk down to Liverpool Street station to get a haircut. But Liverpool Street station had been evacuated, too, on account of a security threat.

Liverpool Street station was not functioning last night, either. I left work at around 7:20 to get to an 8:00 antenatal class. When I got to Liverpool Street, the power had just gone out on the Central line that runs out to our house (and to the nearby antenatal class). I suppose I'm glad I wasn't in the Tube when it happened. But I had to take a train halfway there and then get a taxi (which meant waiting 15 minutes in a line, in the cold rain). Taxis in London aren't cheap. So I spent around $30 just to get out to the class.

These are the routine joys of living in London.

At the Athens Airport

Athens airport is in many ways the antithesis of Copenhagen airport: unstylish, inconvenient, and low on amenities.

I wanted to buy some water for my flight. There were plenty of options pre-security, but those are of course useless. After security, I found a sole vending machine near my gate. 500ml of water for 50 euro cents -- a good price. But it wouldn't take my 2-euro coins, which is all I had. So I walked all the way across the terminal to find the only other option: 500ml bottles of soda for 3.10 euro each at a little refreshment stand. Six times as much for something I wanted less.

And on going through security, I was told my 118ml bottle of contact lens solution was too big and would have to be confiscated. Can't be more than 100ml. Even though it was only half full. Now, the people here are just following the rules. I don't begrudge them that. It's just some of the rules are ridiculously stupid. This particular rule is one of many that wastes tax (and in this case consumer) dollars and time for, in my opinion, no benefit.

Random Thoughts from Athens

1) Having a taxi driver who, on the way from the airport to my hotel, swerved from lane to lane on the freeway, raced down narrow alleys, and honked at people upwards of a dozen times was strangely reassuring. I guess he fit the stereotype I expected. (He had plenty of arm hair, too. And he was very friendly.)

2) If you're ever at the Marriott in Athens and have about 2.5 hours before you have to speak at a conference at the hotel, you've got plenty of time to walk up to the Acropolis and look around for a while. If you walk fast.

3) If you're going to be climbing marble steps, it's a good idea to wear shoes with at least a little bit of traction.

4) A lot of people seem more interested in taking pictures of themselves contributing to the slow erosion of monuments than they do in preserving monuments. (It was amazing to me how many people ignored the multi-lingual signs and repeated warnings of archaeological staff to stay off various parts of the Acropolis.) I guess their thinking is that at least when the monuments are gone, humankind will be able to remember them thanks to the roughly zillion digital pictures of people standing/sitting/spitting/whatevering on those monuments while flashing grins/grimaces/victory signs to emphasize their triumphant being-in-the-same-placeness with those monuments. (Ok, I take pictures of myself or other people with cool things, too, but I usually try my best not to contribute to the destruction of those things.)

5) Athens is a mess in many ways. Bad streets. Worse sidewalks. Crazy drivers. Architecturally and culturally more chaotic than London. But there is far less litter in Athens. Almost none. Which makes a big difference. (Maybe it's just the neighborhood I'm in.)

Athens

I'm going to Athens for the first time next Monday and Tuesday to speak at a conference on derivatives.  I arrive midday Monday and had been scheduled to speak Monday afternoon and early Tuesday afternoon.  I had hoped to spend Tuesday morning looking around Athens.  But now the conference organizers have asked me to speak Tuesday morning, too.  Oh, well.  I'm sure the Acropolis sucks, anyway.  I'll make my own Acropolis, and it will be *way* better.

Shorter Days

From now until April, I'll basically never get out of the office until after dark.  Since I don't have a window it means I'll be surviving on electric light.  Like a bat.  But one that lives inside an office building instead of a cave.  And has the lights on all day.

Random Thoughts From Boston

1)  The Chipyard at Quincy Market makes some pretty fine chocolate chip cookies.  Like homemade.

 

2)  I think I sat next to about the most hyperactive 10-year-old imaginable on the flight over here.  Seven hours of repeatedly standing up, sitting down, fiddling with everything fiddle-able, periodically watching what I was doing, shaking his sister's seat (in front of him), etc.

 

3)  Going back to the Star Market supermarket in Porter Square reminded me very much of my early time in Cambridge.  I suppose the weekly routine of going to the supermarket may have been about the most consistent and uniform activity I participated in during law school.

 

4)  Pet peeve: when people confidently give you wrong directions.  (I never trust them anyway and end up using a map.)

 

5)  Shopping list from Star Market: 3x Crispix, 2x Lucky Charms, 2x Fruity Pebbles, 2x Crunch Berries, 1x Peanut Butter Crunch, 1x Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs, 1x Kix, 2x Cheese Nips, 2x Wheat Thins, 1x Austin Cheese and Peanut Butter Crackers (for old times' sake), 1x Triscuits, 1x Ritz Toasted Chips (cheese flavor), 1x some random multi-grain cheese snack.  Might still have some room in the suitcase for a run on CVS tomorrow.

 

6)  I hope the two LDS interviewees on the slate tomorrow have good grades.

 

7)  I've only been doing the minimal amount necessary to be non-negligent as a board member of the World Foundation for Asia recently.  Meeting up with two of the other board members rekindled the fire (for now, at least).

Shrimpy Accommodation

Shrimpy Transport

Strange Times Are Afoot

My clients are mostly financial institutions. I heard rumblings of Bear Stearns' and Lehman Brothers' collapses a while before they happened, so they weren't huge surprises.

I was quite taken by surprise when Bank of America agreed to take over Merrill Lynch this weekend, though. I work quite a lot with ML and hadn't heard anything through the grapevine.

When three of the big 5 "pure" investment banks in the U.S. topple within six months, the financial world is due for some changes. Here's hoping the U.S. government doesn't overreact as crazily as it did to Enron and 9/11. But here's betting it will -- re-election politics almost mandate it.

Now the big question: does this all signal the end of America's financial hegemony?

EDIT: I've posted a few thoughts on the Fed's reaction so far at Heuristic Devices.

Spider Season

Last September our house was invaded by spiders. Big ones.

This year doesn't seem to be quite as bad yet. I'm hoping the cool summer meant fewer bugs and thus fewer spiders. We'll see.

Yesterday morning, as I was leaving for work, I just about ran into a garden spider's web spun directly between our two front hedges, right in the middle of the only path out of the house. I tore it down (with the aid of some appropriately long object).

The spider was undaunted. This morning, as I was leaving for work, the spider had set up house in exactly the same spot. I took the web down again. I *almost* felt bad about destroying its house for the second day in a row.

As I got home from work this evening, I saw the spider was at it again. By the time I took out the recycling a few minutes ago, the spider had finished yet another web, albeit to the left side of the pathway this time. I left it there for now. The recycling guys can run into it when they pick up the recycling.

Ela Woman

It's official -- Ela Woman is coming to stay with us for two months beginning in early October. (Her infrequent sidekick, Anne Lady, will make her typical token appearance sometime in November.) Watch out, bad guys!

Car

After three years of going carless, we finally got a car a couple of weeks ago. Now I just need to get a driver's license . . .

Blogging tools

I've been playing around with Blogger this evening. The Blogger team has obviously made some improvements since I last blogged.

But I'm thinking of getting some third-party blogging tool so that I can tell myself I'm a blogging whiz when I make my annual blog post. Anybody have any experience with BlogJet or w.bloggar? (Or any other blogging tool?)

New blogs

Ok, I've decided to create three separate blogs to keep my political and religious thoughts separate from my personal/random ones. You can still visit Heuristic Devices for my once-a-year political rants. Or you can visit Religion in the Postmodern Age for my once-in-a-year religious ramblings. Or you can check out this site once a year for my yearly random thought.