March of the Minivans

Last weekend, we went down to see my folks in Connecticut for Christmas (after an early unwrapping at our house first), and had a lovely time for the couple of days we got to spend there. Christmas night, I watched "March of the Penguins" with my parents (Jane and David watched intermittently with us). Interesting movie, not worth the hype though.

So this week, after returning I went straight back to work. On Thursday I went into Boston to take a new server live at one of my clients that is located right by North Station. So when I go there I usually park at the Garden (there's plenty of spots open during the day so long as you're out by 6) and walk over. This time, though, I didn't realize that "Disney on Ice" was doing two shows during the day.

I was in a long line going in - and looking at the crowd I realized that I was trapped in a March of the Minivans. Worse, though, was the departure. I left the client at 5:30, and made it to the Garden 10 minutes later. But there had been an afternoon show as well, and I was on the bottom level. It took me nearly half an hour to get out (trapped below the ice, essentially - like a penguin in the jaws of a seal). But the good news was finishing the year on a strong note.

I worked briefly Friday, then went with Jane (who had the day off) to meet all my ex-employees at a lunch for my former lieutenant - now joining the ranks of the laid-off from my old company. Bleh. Our staff of four IT people serving about 160 employees is now down to one person and a Illinois-based help desk for about 70 remaining employees.

On a better note, today we made a voyage to Ikea and bought David his Grownup Bed. It's a full-size bed that he should be able to hang on to until he's ready for college someday. And Ikea is an interesting experience. Everything's remarkably cheap, decent quality, and crowded. And the food in the cafeteria is surprisingly good, and also cheap. All in all a major success.