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And one more boy makes Four of a Kind. That's right, yesterday (Mother's Day), my wife gave birth to our fourth beautiful baby boy. 7lbs 8ozs, mother and baby are doing great.
- CraigCurrent Mood:  excited |
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That's right as of 8:44 AM this morning (3/28) I am the proud father of 3 beautiful boys. The baby was 7lbs 5ozs and 20 inches long. Mother and Baby are doing fine.
Link for pictures
- CraigCurrent Mood: excited |
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So I realize that I havent posted in a long time but I thought this was pretty cool.
Back in the December Issue of Esquire they had "The Hardest Quiz Ever" (Click for Questions) . It was a list of 50 questions that required knowledge, thought and some incredible Google skills. They said that anyone who gets all th answers by Nov 28th will be listed in the February issue of Esquire as "Esquire's Smartest Readers". Anyone who knows me realizes that that is not something I could pass up without trying. Anyway I submitted my answers and I just got the following email from Esquire:
Greetings and Congratulations!
You have submitted the correct answers to our December issue's "Hardest Quiz Ever", a feat worthy of much greater compensation than we are actually offering!
As promised, we will be printing the names of "Esquire's Smartest Readers Ever" in the early pages of our February issue.
So look for me in the February issue if you are a subscriber. And if you want the answers they are published here
- Craig Current Mood:  happy Current Music: Fountains of Wayne - Bright Future In Sales |
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Okay so I havent written in a really long time. But on 2/17 at approximately 8:00am I had a life changing event. Not the good kind. Here is the story, I will flesh it out more over the next couple of days/weeks/months but here is the overview:
2/17 - Woke up. Bassi and I got the kids ready, fed them got them dressed. Yaakov (3) was going to school and Binny (15 months) was going to his babysitters house. As per our usual I was going to take Yaakov and Bassi was going to take Binny. We left the house at 7:30. It was cold but it was supposed to warm up as the day progressed. I noticed that I needed gas. Pulled into a station and filled up. At the station I noticed that the Megamillions jackpot was up to 70 Million. I didn't want to get out at the gas station to get a ticket because I had Yaakov with me. I dropped Yaakov off at school. It was about 7:45. I was running a little early so I decided to stop at the convenience store near work to get lottery tickets. I got out of my car and closed the door. I took one step slipped on the ice and heard a VERY loud snap. My leg collapsed under me. I screamed. I started pounding the ground and screaming for help. I had no idea how bad my leg was but I was sure that it was broken. I could not move at all. I began to shake violently, probably from going into shock. Four or five people can running over. One of them slipped on the ice herself. She was okay. They gave me something to put under my head. They tried to cover me with a blanket to keep me warm. Someone called 911. I dont know how long it was but the cops showed up and began asking several questions. They wanted to know if I had injured anything other than the leg. I said that I thought it was only my leg. I tried to move my right leg (the injured one) on top of the left leg for support. I have never felt such pain in my life. The leg burned and ached at the same time. I felt like the leg was pointing to the right but when I looked at it it was pointing left. I began humming to get my mind off the pain. Shortly Franklin Lakes EMTs arrived. They wanted to stabilize the leg. One EMT told me that there was an obvious fracture. The first thing they tried to do was to put an aircast on the leg. The pressure from the aircast caused me to scream out in pain. Then they tried to put some pillows around it. I screamed some more. Eventually they got me onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. The EMTs wanted to know what hospital wanted to go to. I told them that Holy Name was closest to me house. They took one look at my leg and said no way. I needed a hospital with a good trauma center. They decided on Hackensack. There was apparently a tremendous amount of traffic on route 208 due to rush hour. So the ambulance driver had to use the shoulder. That was very bumpy, and my leg was not stable because it was too painful. Eventually we got to the ER. This was the first time I really got to look at the leg. My knee was pointing to the right but the foot was pointing to the left. Not pleasant. The time was approximately 8:30am. The EMTs told me that they would call Bassi at work and have her meet me here. They said that I needed an advocate and they were right. Bassi got to the hospital at 9:00am and stayed by my side. It took them another hour before they even triaged me. All this time I am sitting on a hospital stretcher in the middle of the hall in the ER. Anytime someone passes me they take one look at my leg and go (ugh). One 6 year old kid passed by and I thought he was going to puke after looking at my foot. About 10:00 (2 hours after breaking my leg) they finally give me a shot of morphine. This does nothing to kill the pain but it does make me calm down a little bit. The doctor come by and give me another shot of morphine. Still no help. The hospital starts an IV line. The doctor give me a shot of something that starts with an L. I can remember the name. That helped a little. Eventually they got me into X-Ray. I would find out later that the leg was broken in two places. My Tibia and my Fibula were fractured all the way through. The bones had swivelled around inside the leg. My only option would be surgery, more on that in the next post.Current Mood: Pain Current Music: Stress - Dr Demento |
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So the meeting that was supposed to take place yesterday did not take place. Now they are apparently meeting this coming Monday at the staff meeting for the CIO. THEN it goes to the HR Tribunal. It just seems like every time I am about to find out about my job something comes up. Anyway I should know for sure on or about next Monday. Of course I have said that several times already :(Current Mood:  frustrated Current Music: The Wall - Pink Floyd |
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There is a meeting going on sometime today to decide if my client should offer me a job and how much they should offer me if they do (the above mentioned HR Tribunal). This stresses me out. I have been assured by all the right people that the job will be offered but somehow that is not enough for me. I need to know for sure. I should find out today or tomorrow but I don't know when. I somehow feel that if I knew when I would feel better. Anyway just anxious and stressed out. Also pretty sleep deprived, a two year old and a six week old will do that to you. I wish I had more to keep myself occupied with, things are just going in slow motion today.
Dec. 15th, 2003 @ 11:37 am
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| » A large elephant named Saddam |
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Okay I am paraphrasing George Carlin here but if I dont at least mention Saddam being captured then it is like a giant elephant sitting on a couch in the living room and nobody talks about it. So here goes:
I dont think that it is that big a deal. I understand that emotionally it will help a lot of people get over what he was capable of. But the problem is that he WAS capable of those things. When he was found he was no more dangerous than the freaky relative everyone has that smells bad and doesnt know how to have a conversation. I mean he had very little in the way of weapons on him. But even more importantly he had NO means of communication. He can not possibly be running anything. I think that there are much more dangerous individuals that we still need to capture. I dont think that this will bring us any closer to the WMD. And yes I do still believe that they exist although I dont have high hopes of them being found. I am not offering a position on the war in Iraq, not saying good or bad. I just dont think that the capture of Saddam makes anyone safer. I will however concede that it will make people feel better, and I suppose that is good.
Now please dont get me wrong. I think that the soldiers in Iraq are doing a great job. I am in awe of the things they do every day without question. I also dont think that the government has overblown this. I heard several reports tat bush's initial reaction to Saddam being caught was "That's nice". I agree and I applaud the govt for being pretty low key about. A small announcement, no frills. The medicare bill got more fanfare, and I have PLENTY to say about that, but later. The media however could not get enough of this story. The Today show in NY actually built a replica of the hole Saddam was living in, give me a break. You people need to get your heads screwed back on.
Dec. 14th, 2003 @ 10:49 am
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| » Post Party Update |
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Well the office party was great. I got to say hello to people I havent seen in ages. I am going to miss these people. It wast so bad not telling people about the job stuff, especially after my 4th or 5th beer :).
I eat only Kosher and Sophia, the Admin in our office is well aware of this. Most years I ask her if it is possible toget Kosher food at the party. She always orders it and usually something goes wrong. ONe year they forgot it entirely. Another year they remmembered it but forgot to warm it up. This is not that big a deal because the party in is NYC and I can always find an open restarautn after the party to grab a bite to eat. This year I didn't bother asking her, I figured I would just get something afterwards. But then Sophia calls me up and says, I got anentire table of Kosher food for you. That is 15 kosher meals, from Levana's, a VERY good kosher restaraunt in the City. The only problem with an entire kosher table is, I am the ONLY one in the company who keeps kosher. When I got there there were indeed 15 kosher meals laid out on the table for me. They were actually different there was steak and fish and chicken. All of it really good. NO I did not eat them all. I had parts of 2 and I brought 3 meals home with me. Talk about good leftovers. I actually convinced some people to try the kosher meals with me. It was fun. Didn't get home too late but Bassi had a really hard time waking me to get the baby. I promised I would get him tonight.
Dec. 12th, 2003 @ 12:01 pm
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| » Before the Party |
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So the Headstrong (My current employer) holiday party is tonight. I enjoy going to these things because I like the people and I dont get to see them often enough. But this party is different. I know that I am probably leaving but most people there dont know. And I dont really want to tell them in case the deal falls through. I know that it probably wont but I am just being careful.
Dec. 11th, 2003 @ 11:56 am
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| » Work Update |
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Okay so dealing with a large company is not something I have had to do before. They first started talking to me about a job offer back in October. It is now December and nothing is official yet. I know that this hapens with large companies but I wish I had more information. Basically the offer had to be approved by a Director, a VP and a Senior VP. I have been assured that all of that has happened. So why no offer yet? Well after all the approvals the offer goes to some thing called, I kid you not, the "HR Tribunal". I feel like I am on Survivor and I have to hope I dont get kicked off the island. I dont even like Survivor when it involves other people.
Dec. 1st, 2003 @ 11:46 am
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| » Work Related Stuff |
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For those who dont know I have been working at the same client for 2 years now in January. The client is the largest PBM (Pharmacy Benefits Management) company in the US. This is very rare. Usually we last about 6 months at a client. Also this client has been ideal for me due to the proximty to my house. I have been on clients as far as 2 hours away. But now my client is up against a problem. They really want me to stay but they have a rule that a consultant can not work here longer than two years. The rule stems from a lawsuit against Microsoft because some consultants felt that they were just employees without benefits. Anywaythere is no way around this rule. But in an unexpected development the Client has offered me a job. The pay would be great and the commute would be awesome but I am conflicted. The truth is normally I would not be allowed to do this. My company has a contract that says that clients can not cherry pick employees. But I spoke with my boss's boss and he told me to go for it. I have a great relationship with him and he felt that this would be best for me and my family. He also told me that anytime I want I could come back. The problem is, I LOVE the company I work for. I have built some great relationships there and I love the work I do. In the end if the client makes a formal offer I am going to aacept it, it just makes too much sense, but I am still confilicted. On the plus side I have been building some great relationships at my client and I am excited to be able to continue those. As my mother put it, "We should all be blessed with such problems".
Nov. 25th, 2003 @ 11:35 am
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| » A Whole Lotta Updates |
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Ok so I haven't posted since June and there probably aren't that many people reading but I thought I would give an update and try to start posting regularly. A lot of big things have happened in my life since I last posted. I am going to seperate these into seperate journal entries for easier reading. Most importantly on November 4th at 12:45pm my wife Bassi gave birth to our second child. His name is Binyamin Yisroel Eagle and he weighed 5lbs 15 ozs. His brother Yaakov LOVES having a younger brother. Mother and Baby are fine and thank God for that. Bassi had gone into preterm labor at 33 weeks but they gave her medication and she managed to hold Binny in until 37 weeks. Actually che as scheduled to be induced on the morning of November 4th but by the time the docotors got to her she had already gone into labor on her own. That is just like my wife, she never accepts help from anyone. Binny is now 5 months old and he is not yet sleeping through the night. The Shalom Zachor (a small party the first friday night after having a boy) was wonderfull, a LOT more people than we expected and I had a LOT more Single Malt Scotch than I expected ;). In the end the Bris went off without a hitch, but not without worrying about whether Binny would be up for it (he was more than a little Jaundice(sp?), but it subsided.
Nov. 5th, 2003 @ 12:00 pm
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| » Interesting Weekend |
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So this weekend, starting Thursday Night through Saturday night was Shavous. A relatively unknown Jewish holiday on which we eat mostly dairy. This is fine but my stomach can't handle dairy too well. Little did I know my stomach would be the least of my worries. Thursday Night my wife made macaroni and cheese, I happen to love her macaroni and cheese and I probably ate way too much of it. Anyway I went to bed feeling fine. I did not get sick in the middle of the night as I suspected I would.
Friday morning I went to synagogue. My synagogue is in the middle of a huge and very necessary expansion. This means that the synagogue, which comfortably seats about 50, was packed with about 150 people. It was hot sweaty and unbearable. I began feeling not so good. I was hot and sweaty and I couldn't shake a certain feeling that something was wrong. Then it happened:
I started to get [b]chest pains[/b]. Not the really bad kind. And from my limited medical knowledge I realized that the pain was not going into my shoulder. Fortunately I happened to be seated next to my friend Ryan, who is an EMT. Unfortunately he is a slightly overzealous EMT. I told him what was wrong and he whisked me outside. Two other EMTs and several doctors came over as well. I told them all that I was fine and it was really a minor pain. After dwindling the crowd down to two EMTs and a cardiologist they began asking questions. Apparently I answered the question all wrong because they told me I needed to go to the hospital. Well I begged them not to but they convinced me that I needed to get to the hospital and get and EKG.
So off to the hospital we went. I generally hate hospitals but I must give Holy Name hospital credit. They werent that bad. They took and EKG and a chest X-Ray. Both were normal, thank God. They sent me home. Thankfully the hospital is only three block from my house so I just walked home. But I still have this chest pain. So I think that I am going to schedule a stress test and see what is really going on.
On a brighter note on Saturday my brother and my sister-in-law walked over from the other side of town. We had a great time with them. They had a great time with Yaakov too.
Jun. 9th, 2003 @ 03:16 pm
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| » Catching Up |
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Wow, I just started this thing and I am already falling behind.
Well things are going pretty good. Good friends of ours just had a baby boy last week. Bassi and I are really excited for them but it means that we are going to the bris (circumcision) tomorrow. Unfortunately because it is on a Saturday we have to spend the whole weekend there (Orthodox Judaism is great but it can be hell on your weekends). Fortunately they live in Riverdale, where we used to live. We are staying by Gary and Lauren, close friends. And since Lauren is Pregnant, and Bassi (My wife, in case I didnt mention it) is also pregnant, they can sympathize with each other. Also my son, Yaakov, at 15 months is going to experience his first stint in a real bed because they dont have a crib and he WONT sleep in a pack-and-play. But again we are really excited to see our old friends again. Parenting is wonderful but it brings chaos to your social life. On other fronts things are pretty stable.
I am on a project which is good b/c the New York office has about 15 people not on projects. I dont have much to do on this project, which seemed good at first but it has grown tiresome. I am waiting for things to pick up, the hardest part of my week has become thinking of things to put in my status report :).
We have my wife's graduation party on Sunday, that should be fun, she is officially a Masters of Social Work, I am very proud of her. She did manage to do this while holding down a job and having a baby.
On the health scene things are getting worse. I found out that I am almost definatley suffering from Achilles Tendonitis, basically there are times that I can't walk on my right foot at all. This plus the Sciatica in my left leg have made doing anything a pleasure. I am seeing an Orthopedist on Wed but I am afraid that he is going to recommend surgery.
Anyway, I am going to try to be better about this whole journal thing, I promise.
May. 30th, 2003 @ 10:34 am
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| » Baruch Dayam Emet |
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My Great-Aunt Eve died today after suffering from Lung Cancer for several months. I have mixed emotions. I am sad because she was very important to me and she brought a great deal to my life. I am happy for her because she led a full life and was ready to go. She was more put together than most people I know. She called my mom a couple of days ago to tell her that she was ready and it would be soon. I guess sometimes it is just a person's time. I may go down to Florida for the funeral, it depends on what various other people are doing. If I go it will be to help my Mom out. She always loved Eve and this is very hard for her, plus she is basically in charge of Eve's estate now and the family is being less than friendly about it. I will miss you Eve and I will always have you in my heart.
May. 15th, 2003 @ 12:46 pm
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| » (No Subject) |
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Ok, this is fun, today at work we had a two hour blackout. Well I was able to shut down my pc while the UPS kicked in but it was still a pain. My laptop has serious battery issues so it only lasted a half an hour. I would have left but the blackout happened at 2:30 and I left early yesterday to pick up my son from the babysitter. Anyway the blackout was kinda nice, it got me outside anyway, I need to get more sun, and more excersize.
May. 14th, 2003 @ 10:19 pm
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| » First Post |
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Ok, so I have decided to start a journal. I don't really know why except that I have a lot of thoughts and this seemed like a good enough place to put them. I am going to try to post often but no promises. Well I suppose I need a catchup entry. I am married, with one child and one on the way (in November). I am a computer programmer and while you may not find that exciting it is what I love to do. I work for Headstrong, a great company that treats me well. My current client is a large pharmacy benefits management company. Another passion of mine is religion, hence the avatar. I am an Orthodox Jew and I am currently writing a handbook for employers and coworkers to better understand Orthodox Judaism. Anyway, more later.
May. 14th, 2003 @ 09:57 pm
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craigeagle's journal