If its tomorrow, it must be Tampa...

Mid-week getaway to Tampa, FL, courtesy of Mike and Joel, and the condo Joel's family owns and rents out as a time share! Its M & Js week, so we are joining them for the 2nd part of their week (Wed-Sunday). This vacation cant come soon enough for either of us, and the guys are totally great for including us! Never been to Tampa. We already have tix for Busch Gardens for Thursday (since I recently became the inadvertant KING of ROLLERCOASTERS...). Will be glad to get away from this awful allergy season up here in the Northeast. Pics of ensuing hilarity will be posted upon return...

The Press Release from my new office... More shameless promotion!

William Raveis Welcomes Fred Rose!
William Raveis Real Estate, Mortgage & Insurance is pleased to welcome Fred to formally launch our Boston rental division. With a successful core business
and proven track record as a savvy rental broker, Fred will expand his current relationships with clients and property-owners to create a significant presence in
the rental marketplace in Boston. Raveis will continue to grow the rental team and reinforce the company’s commitment to best serve Boston’s real estate needs.
Prior to real estate Fred spent seventeen years as a small business owner in Beacon Hill. As a graduate of Emerson College, Fred parlayed his love of the arts
with a talent for marketing and has widespread professional ties throughout the City. His past involvement with the Beacon Hill Civic Association and Beacon
Hill Business Association matched with his strong sense of community involvement and links to various local and national charities keep Fred an integral part of
the Boston community.
Fred states that "I joined Raveis because it is a strong company with many business tools and resources for growth and the style and personality of a
neighborhood boutique. As a former business owner and recently as a part of a small real estate team, I look forward to merging the best practices of these two
backgrounds and creating my own identity in a firm with so many powerful resources to take my business to that next level. I am both thrilled and confident to
be working in such a forward thinking, supportive environment. I am a great proponent of teamwork and ethics, and Raveis exemplifies that!"

Hosting some family...

A year after my father's memorial service, we were able to host my sister and her husband here in Boston (their first visit back since 2001). It was great to reunite under a circumstance that wasn't centered around deaths or funerals, and it was fun to be on home turf (although we were saddled with some pretty crappy weather). It also hadn't really occurred to me until after they had left that they had only stayed with me once before, all the way back in 1996 when my nieces were very young. This time, it was just the two of them... A nice long visit for them split divided into equal parts work, visits with old friends, and the final few days with Greg and me. Since they left I have thrown myself into my new position at my new office, and cant believe April is already over. Its been a quick month!

State of Play

Actually went to a movie on opening day, for a change!
State of Play is a brilliant, labyrinthian thriller the sort of which Hollywood hasn't made in years. true, it's been compared to ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, and it certainly shares some similarities. The truth of the matter is that this genre film has sadly found itself incorrectly categorized as "dated". The medium, not the message. Journalism Version 2.0
The dividing line between the old and the new (Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams, respectively) is presented matter-of-factly in the first reel of the film. While Crowe embodies the grizzled, old-school print journalist, his polar opposite is represented by McAdams' news blogger. Nearly 30 years ago, MTV redefined cinema and television editing for short attention spans, and now the journalism industry (and it is, we learn, an industry) has finally caught up. Not a good thing, necessarily. The inherent battle between old and new is put to the test once two seemingly random deaths are surprisingly linked, launching this political thriller into orbit. Who do you trust? How far will you go to get a story? How important are the facts WITHIN the story? That is the real treat that State of Play offers up. Obviously, a stellar cast shines in this adaptation of a British mini-series. Helen Mirren is brilliant as the ballsy Brit editor, and McAdams is a treat in her best role to date. The film belongs to Russell Crowe, though, and it is his complicated relationship with Ben Affleck's embroiled senator that gives State Of Play its energy and spark. That Crowe's journalist is ultimately vindicated comes as no great surprise; the journey itself is what fascinates us. Great flick!

2 Great Thrillers...

Just banged out my first James Grippando novel- a fantastic thriller that moves faster than anything Ive read in the last few months- "Under Cover of Darkness", and while I finished that one I started the latest by John Lutz: "Night Kills". Lutz is consistent and reliable, and his books fall into the Must Read category for me. Been playing catch-up with his paperbacks over the past several months. I have two Grippando books on deck, so my Commuter Reading is all set through April... Finally caught up with BODY OF LIES on DVD, the Netflix envelope had been sitting on the TV for five weeks and counting. Liked it alot/ A military intelligence thriller that really drives home the difference between giving the orders vs. carrying them out; how it feels to viscerally be in the danger as opposed to being the brains of the operation thousands of miles away, giving direction while caught up in the mundane (feigning interest at a child's sporting event, or engaged in potty training...). The first time I have seen Leonardo DiCaprio in a role where I believed that he wasn't on his way to a prom. His best role yet.

Spring Forward...

Lots happened these last few weeks, primarily my finally making the jump from my former employer, and signing on with the William Raveis office. It marks the first time in nineteen (!!) years that I have not been working on Charles Street. The jump to an office on Newbury Street is, I think, the best thing for me. In addition to being in a professional rut in an imploding professional environment, the new perspective (literally and figuratively) has already resulted in two deals since my switch. I learned a lot where I was, and unfortunately along with the good there was plenty of bad. A spin on the old "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me..." was what ultimately gave me the kick in the ass to go. I will miss the old office, but not what had degenerated to. Total bummer, as it had been a great place to be...