Andy Brett

Sunday Life Update

August 2008

As Facebook-stalkers will have already noticed, I recently changed projects at work. Gone are the days of Amtrak’s train 2105, 6:50 am from Penn Station to Union Station; my commute to work is now just under a half-hour, door to door. The 20 minute ride on the 1-2-3 takes me downtown to the new gig, for the NYC Mayor’s Office, near City Hall. In addition to the shortened commute, some other perks and habits of my new routine:

  • A great breakfast place, in Blue Spoon Coffee. They “import” H&H; Bagels from the Upper West side (and toast them too, a feature unavailable at the actual H&H;), so for $2.25 I get a bagel with cream cheese as well as eight cents left over to contribute to the tip jar poll of the day, or more if I feel strongly about the poll and wish to swing the outcome. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen something so simple and yet so effective at getting people (well, getting me, anyway) to come by each morning.

  • Easy access to City Hall Park. A great place to take out lunch from one of the numerous buffets and delis nearby; my favorite spot might be over by the 4-5-6 subway entrance with the great view of the bridge. The office we’re working out of can be a bit cramped at times and short on meeting space, so we have held more than a couple of our less formal meetings out there.

  • Speaking of the view, the view from the office is amazing, overlooking the park and with the Brooklyn Bridge and skyline in the distance. I have officially joined the legions of Verizion-building-haters.

  • Farmer’s market on Fridays in the previously mentioned City Hall Park. Yum.

In other news, the RoR app for the volunteer project is moving along well, though it’s getting near crunch time. I will say that committing to give weekly State of the Application addresses, while burdensome at times, has been really helpful in keeping things on track (and also “agile,” but that’s for another post).

It’s also been a bit tough to focus on work items lately given the impending sense of doom excitement stemming from the fact that in a week I’ll be getting on a plane for the Coast Raid. Still a lot of last-minute details to figure out there, but I am very excited to get up there and start racing - or adventuring, as the case may be.

Remember: adventure, not race.