My personality type?

This site claims that it can predict your Myers-Briggs personality type by analyzing your blog. I entered Tomorrow-land's URL into it and this is what came up:

ESTP - The Doers
The active and play-ful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

Then I entered Dionne's blog into the analyzer:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

Sounds about right to me!

Billy Badass

I must be on some kind of Billy Badass kick lately, because I'm getting a bike, got a fresh tat and am even considering growing a beard just for shits and giggles.

I've actualy wanted to get a tattoo for about a year or so, but could never decide what to get. It couldn't be something trivial, so I eventually decided to get my lovely wife's initials done up. Luckily my co-worker had a 70s-era graphic design book with tons of really cool stylized letters, so I chose one that captures not only Dionne's initials, but also what I call her on a daily basis -- Di (pronounced like "Dee," not the princess who got killed by the paparazzi).

I know it's probably not his most challenging piece of artwork ever, but I think I found a pretty damn good tattoo artist. Check him out my man Guzik here. I kinda want another one now!

Old Lady at the Club

My wife isn't even close to being an old lady. I don't know why she calls herself that. It might have to do with the fact that she was recently up in da club... despite being married. Now, I have no problem with it, but I guess that's why she feels that way.

Check out a picture or two at her blog here.

Halloween 07

Di and I always enjoy celebrating Halloween. Last year, we hosted a party. Since we're in a new city and don't really have any friends here yet (don't worry, we've been meeting and hanging out with lots of new people, though) we decided to just give out candy and carve up a pumpkin. Gatsby, of course, insisted on dressing up.
I went all out in the jack 'o lantern department this year. I consider this year's jack o' lantern to be my Pumpkin Sistine Chapel.


It's a hunchbacked goblin holding a beaker full of bubbling magic potion. Unfortunately, only a dozen kids even came by, so not that many people actually saw it lit up. Wtf is wrong with people these days? Are they so afraid of molesters and whatnot (yes, I used that pseudo-word) that they won't let their kids bother neighbors for candy?

Now ad free

Fuck Google AdSense. For some crazy reason I acutally thought their crappy ads would give the blog some kind of Interwebs Authority as a legitimate site. What the hell was I thinking? Oh well, now I can't count on that 2.23 cents I was due to earn this year.

Back from Nashville

Di and I got back from Nashville. It was a swell weekend (ugh, I'm starting to talk like a gosh-darn Southerner). We started off our trip by taking a major side excursion up to Dawsonville, Ga. so that Dionne could do some shopping at the outlet stores.

I was fine with that, on two conditions: she had to let me stop in the Adidas and Puma stores (I'm still a euro-trash raver at heart) and I would be able to devise a back route to get us back to I-75, the main highway between Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn.

The shopping highlight: Finding some incredible deals in the Adidas outlet, including the Adidas Superster IIs with graffiti designs on them. They also had a bunch of really cool t-shirts with national (soccer/footie) team designs. My favorite was a bright yellow, green and red Cameroon shirt with a huge lion head design on the back. What can I say, I like bright shit like that.

After we left, I figured out that we could take a little two-lane back road through the North Georgia mountains. It turned out to be about a 60-mile drive through windy, hilly terrain on a day with absolutely perfect Indian summer weather. In fact, the drive up to Nashville was suprisingly scenic. Chattanooga is quite an attractive city. It's perched on the bank of a winding river and has huge bluffs overlooking downtown from every direction. Reminded me a bit of Pittsburgh, actually. Just a bit northwest of Chattanooga is Lake Nickajack. Route 24 took us right across the lake and gave us some great views of the southern Appalachians.

Once in Nashville we stayed with Di's parents. Saturday morning I went with my father-in-law to their church (it's Episcopal, if you're curious) for the Men's Club saturday morning breakfast. I somehow received a round of applause when he introduced me to the crowd of men in their 50s and 60s (who were all named Jerry and Dale, if I recall). After a quick meal of sausage biscuits we spent the morning doing repairs on the church and rectory. My father in law was especially useful for his electrical/lighting prowess, which meant the other Men's Club members treated us all day long like we were Edison and Tesla themselves.

Not much else really happened. Di's parents treated us to a nice Second Anniversary dinner on Saturday night at J. Alexander's, a nice steakhouse in Brentwood, near Nashville. The drive up and back really inspired Di and I to get some camping done, so now we're planning to do a little camping trip in the next few weeks at one of the parks in North Georgia. We just need to stock up on some equipment first: hiking boots, a second warm sleeping bag, a lantern and a small camp stove.

All the way to Nashville

Di and I are driving to Nashville this weekend. It will be our first mini-trip out of Atlanta since we moved down here (we've barely ventured outside our neighborhood, let alone much Georgia or the south in general). We're visiting her parents. Should be nice.

Also, check out this great article on China.

More house pics...

Here's a little slide show of our new home in Atlanta that Dionne put together. Enjoy.

Where I'm at

I really do apologize for the lack of posting lately, but there's been so much change lately that I've barely had any time for blogging. Two weeks ago Dionne and I bought our first home: A condo in Atlanta. It's very exciting. The place costs us far less than we would have ever found a home for in Rhode Island, and I'm getting settled into my new job while Dionne prepares to start her ph.d program in a couple weeks.

The move was crazy and back-breaking. I flew back to R.I. last thursday, we packed the truck up all day Friday, had dinner and drinks with friends for one last time Friday night and then hit the road early Saturday with all of our belongings packed up.

We got into town Sunday and, with the generous help of family and friends here, we unloaded the truck in an hour or two.

That's when the real work began! We needed some new furniture, a new washer and dryer, new blinds and curtains and paint on the bathroom walls. Plus about 30 other little projects that we've barely even started. Plus the condo was piled high with boxes everywhere.

Luckily we've gotten quite a bit done over the past few days and are now starting to make some progress. The place is great... two bedrooms, two and half baths, new appliances, a deck, a community with a pool and tennis court, etc. Here's the picture of our new home:

Sudamerica!

I consider myself truly lucky to have done a fair amount of travel so far in my lifetime. I've visted many, many places in the northeastern U.S. (thanks to a father who flew the family around in a small plane, years of camping trips as a boy scout and later a wife who loves travelling as much as I do). I've also seen quite a bit of the southeastern U.S., Ontario, Quebec, a few great cities out west such as San Francisco (perhaps one of the greatest cities I'll ever see) and Denver and quite a bit of Western Europe: southern France, London, Amsterdam, Rome and Florence.

Now, I wouldn't turn down a return trip to the continent (Spain, Germany and Czech Republic would all be great), but where I really want to travel is South America. Maybe it's the sheer beauty of the place and the sheer exuberance that attracts me, but I think I better start taking spanish lesson. Ole!

Here's a great blog post I stumbled upon today that lists the top 18 skylines in the world. Only one, Sao Paolo, is from South America, but I've seen enough pictures of some other great Sudamericano skylines to know I need to experience these places before I die:

Caracas

Lima

Montevideo

La Paz

And the most beautiful of all, Rio de Janeiro:

People don't just visit, they move out here

Those are the words of Jermaine Dupri in the classic "Welcome to Atlanta" remix. Well, in our case, that's definitely true. Thing are moving forward quickly for Di and I. I spent my first week at my new job, learning about the place and getting settled in.

This new job is at a much smaller company than anywhere else I've ever worked and there are a lot of things different about it. For instance, the president of the company has his own blog and we're all expected to read it first thing in the morning. It's actually kind of a good way for him to let everyone know what he's thinking. We also post comments on the blog that sorta lay out a few of the things we'll be working that day.

For those who don't know, my job involves editing and writing for a monthly business newspaper/magazine. It's focused on a county in the Atlanta area, which happens to be one of, if not THE most booming parts of the region. It's nice because the paper is only three years old, which means the president wants me to look at ways of improving the product and how we can branch out, tighten up the print edition and just take advantage of new ideas and a fresh perspective. It's very cool. The president, who hired me, seems to have a very strong personality and lots of charisma. It's definitely not the kind of job where he says one thing and you do another. His word is gospel, but he's obviously very willing to listen to his employees, compliment them and do nice things for them. I think the arrangement will work very well.

Perhaps the biggest cloud hanging over my head, though, is on the housing front. I'm staying with Di's sister right now who's extremely gracious for having me, but our plan is to buy a condo down here this summer and get moved in sometime next month. It should be exciting. Of course, it's also incredibly stressful. We're tying to stay within our budget and avoid paying a big mortgage on our first home. Still, it should be enough for us to get a small 2-bedroom townhouse in a decent neighborhood. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

The plan is in motion

Wow. What a summer this is shaping up to be. It turns out I'll be moving down to Atlanta in about a week from now. I landed a job last Friday at a small publishing and marketing firm that produces a monthly business magazine in one of Atlanta's more booming suburban counties.

I've long wanted to find a job that would combine the aspects of the media business I like most: high-quality journalism and innovative use of technology. I spent about two hours meeting with my future boss last week and I feel like it's the kind of place that will take advantage of my skills and creativity a little more than where I'm at now.

So I'm heading down south over the holiday weekend. I'll be back up north for a couple of weddings next month. Then hopefully by July Dionne and I can find a condo to buy. So far we're blown away by how cheap real estate is.

Welcome to Atlanta

We stand at the vanguard of time and the precipice of history (I feel like Dwight giving his Il Duce speech on "The Office"). Wow. We've got a lot going on here in the biggest little state. It's looking more and more like the whole migration south could be happening before we know it. In honor of my soon-to-be new home, here are some amazingly cool graffiti-inspired sneakers that pay homage to Atlanta:

Where have I been?

I've really been slacking lately... I know. Life has been a bit hectic lately. Mrs. T-L and I are starting to prepare ourselves for the big move to Atlanta. We still have three months to go here in Olde Neuwe England, but the trek south is imminent. Also, my job here in Boston has taken an interesting turn lately: My boss has me now doing some copy editing work instead of just archiving. It's all very exciting, but leaves me little time for blogging.

What I have been spending my precious time on is job hunting. Here's a particularly "interesting" job ad I stumbled upon today:

Do you like to spend your days bouncing off the walls with smart people? Do you have so many ideas that you oftentimes feel like sticking your head in a paint can and shaking it out on a blank canvas? Are you fabulous?

If you just thought to yourself, How did they know? then you may want to consider [name omitted to protect the guilty], the countrys [sic] largest and most experienced creative advertising agency of its kind, offering more than 30 years of service in retail and direct-response catalog services.

I am fabulous. Somebody give me a job! Wait, that's what fabulous means now? Oh, never mind.

The regime change party

A group of my former co-workers had a party a few weekends back to celebrate the sale of the company to a slightly less odious corporate parent. Everyone was jovial. Here's another former co-worker's blog writeup. That's me on the left.