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Despite renting, we're in charge of the lawn maintenance chez Sincoff, so we went to Lowe's today to get some supplies. The "carriage house" in the backyard came equipped with an electric lawnmower, so we needed to get an outdoor extension cord, hedge trimmers, etc.
Kayly will be sad to hear that I decided against ordering the Nut Wizard and opted for a Shop Vac to deal with our acorn problem. I did inquire at Lowe's whether or not they sold the Nut Wizard, however. They had never heard of it and looked at me as though they weren't sure if I was taking the piss or not. I figure the Shop Vac is multi-purpose whereas the Nut Wizard is not.
When Tobin saw the row of riding mowers he went BERSERK. He houdinied himself out of the cart and barely paused to let me put his shoes on before he ran straight for them. I'm not sure if it's just a boy thing or his gentile/country half burbling to the surface, but he went straight for the John Deere. I thought the Husqvarna was way sexier, but what do I know? Now I know where to take him on rainy days.
It's in his genes!!
I took the mower out to the front yard to give it a whirl. It worked just fine for the first 2/3 of the lawn, then promptly stopped working after Ethan took over from me. I'm not saying he did anything wrong--that's just when it happened to crap out. We checked the connection, unplugged it and cleared out the clumpy grass and tried again. The motor runs, but it doesn't cut. I didn't have enough guts to turn it over and see if the blades were spinning. Luckily, I found the user manual online, so I'll consult it to see if there's anything we can do other than just saying "fuggit" and buying a new one.
I did trim the hedges in the front yard and didn't do too bad a job, if I do say so myself. They look very neatly shaped. From a distance. I did not get around to cleaning the gutters, but will do that tomorrow. If I'm feeling really adventurous, I might even take the Shop Vac for a spin and suck some nuts!
Anyone who knows our shih tzu children knows that Lulu is the tough one, but occasionally Fred likes to prove that he's still a man. While taking the little terrors out to pee, we stumbled upon a literal "dumping" ground for the local deer in the corner of our backyard. Piles and piles of deer poop. Freddie immediately began rearing his head and scratching at the dirt.
"The Deerslayer"
He put on a similar display of aggression at the Jersey City Farmer's Market several years back when he encountered some long-necked gourds lined up on the ground. I can only assume he didn't like the way they were looking at him. And once, at a farm in New Hampshire, he even threw down upon coming face to face with a large horse.
My favorite memory of my fancy, prancy boy acting tough also occurred in Jersey City. We were mid-walk when it started to rain hard and fast. He was so incensed that he stopped dead in his tracks and began barking at the sky. Deer, horses, shifty-looking produce, and even G-d are no match for Freddie R. Sincoff. Except for blowing leaves. They scare the bejesus out of him.
After my previous post where I discussed the psychological effects of being let go from my previous company, this came as very welcome news.
I didn't hear about all the nasty/juicy stuff that went on there until after I left. And I won't speak to anything that remains office gossip and unsubstantiated rumor (and there's a lot of it!), but this is a matter of public record now, and it kinda made my day. Call me a schadenfreude junkie, but I love it when folks who think they doodoo don't stank get their comeuppance!! Here's the link to the original article posted below.
Updated: Sat., Sep. 4, 2010, 2:51 AM
Exec's 'free' acce$$
By DAREH GREGORIAN
Last Updated: 2:51 AM, September 4, 2010
Posted: 2:51 AM, September 4, 2010
The multimillionaire former CEO of a health-care consulting firm prescribed himself millions in personal expenses from the company -- making it pay for private jets, his boats, family vacations and even downloads from iTunes, court papers charge.
In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Access Communications LLC says Michael Mitrow Jr. raked in $24.7 million in 2007 alone, but that didn't stop him from charging the company he founded for expenses big and small, and "on an extraordinary scale."
"During just the period between May 2007 through June 2009 when Mitrow was forced to resign from Access, he incurred over $1.2 million in personal expenses on his [corporate] American Express card for which there was no legitimate business justification," the suit says.
That included "exorbitant dining expenses," such as a $5,918.38 family Christmas Eve dinner at Zach's Cabin in Beaver Creek, Colo. -- 60 percent tip included. There also were two separate $18,000 family vacations at Westin hotels, charges relating to Mitrow's boats, and $3,971 in furnishings for his condo in Vail.
Mitrow also had a taste for fine luggage -- he spent $4,419 of the company's cash on Luis Vuitton goods at Neiman Marcus, and thousands more on "Prada merchandise," the suit says.
The exec also used company cash for smaller items -- charging Access for Sirius Radio, goods at grocery and liquor stores, and even his video game and iTunes purchases, the suit says.
He also was quite generous with the company's money, and opened sub-credit card accounts for three workers on his boats.
All of the charges, including his repeated use of personal jets, were covered up as legit business expenses, the suit said.
Mitrow's lawyer, Peter Ginsberg, said they'd be challenging Access' claims in court.
Mitrow, he said, "followed the policies and procedures of the company, and his expenses were reviewed and approved by Access officials who remain at the company."
dareh.gregorian@nypost.com
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Copyright 2010 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
This move ate up the bulk of our savings. I'm sure we can recover with creative budgeting, but I'm really starting to think about going back to work. I was thinking about this just now, and was seized by a simultaneous epiphany/panic attack.
I realized that I'm actually terrified to go back to work after 2 years as a stay at home mom. I've been out of the loop a long time. I'm scared that I won't reassimilate well. I'm scared that the search will take a long time, and that I'll settle for less than I'm worth given the current economy. I loathe the interview process--the feeling of being evaluated and the potential for rejection. Also, I've been my own boss for over 2 years now, and am worried that I'll resent having to report to someone else.
Being let go from my previous position was a huge blow to my self-worth as well. I've never received anything other than a positive performance review, including my previous position. I received a positive review, merit-based raise, and merit-based bonus a mere 2 weeks prior to getting shitcanned w/ no real explanation why I was being terminated. I don't know that I have the emotional strength to deal with all of the above right now. I'm finally starting to feel normal again after 6 years of pregnancy losses and my dad's passing.
At some point, I need to move my bowels and vacate the commode, but the seat's all nice and warm now, and my legs have long since fallen asleep. I'm worried I'll faceplant on the cold, hard, unforgiving tile.
Life would certainly be easier with the additional income, and I have no worries about Tobin adjusting to daycare. That kid is as go-with-the-flow as any person I've ever met. My terror is the only thing stopping me right now. It's time to shoot out some resumes and start searching monster.com on a daily basis.
My one logistical problem is finding someone to watch Toby while I interview, but let's not put the cart before the horse. I'll worry about that when I actually have interviews on the books.
If any readers out there have any advice re: returning to the work force after a considerable hiatus, I would appreciate hearing it. Words of encouragement and job referrals are welcome, too.
We're in! So good to be in the new digs. So much space and storage, I feel like I need to acquire an assload of new stuff just to fill it all, but will resist.
The move was HORRENDOUS! I thought it would never end. Somehow our move from Jersey City to Madison seems so much smoother in hindsight, but we were upgrading from 1 to 2 bedrooms and didn't have a youngun and all his accouterments to pack up as well. I remember thinking the Madison apartment was cavernous when we moved in. By the time we left, it felt much smaller.
We cranked out an enormous amount of boxes last weekend, but still have quite a lot of unpacking and organizing to do until we can entertain lovely guests. Hopefully we'll finish the bulk of it this weekend.
Tobin is loving the house. So much room to run around and so many places to hide Mom and Dad's stuff from them. He loves playing in the backyard, and I love watching him. Our favorite game right now is skipping acorns down the cement steps by the shed. He waves to them and says "Byeeee!" as they bounce into the woods.
Speaking of woods and things that shit in them, there is apparently an overabundance of the No. 1 threat to America in this neighborhood. I have not seen any just yet, but will be on the lookout. I fully expect to crap my pants if and when I do see one. Must read up on what to do if confronted by a bear. I always forget. Do I stay still? Make myself "big?" Smack pots and pans together? I'm gonna go with shouting "HOLY FUCK IT'S A BEAR!!!!" and running into the house as fast as possible.
The neighborhood is absolutely lovely. We've met a handful of our neighbors so far and everyone is very warm and friendly. Meeting and chatting with them has helped the past week fly by with no TV or Internet. The Verizon man finally came today and Tobin was so happy to see him he followed him from room to room handing him random things and even hugged him at one point. I wanted to hug him, too, but contained myself.
Ethan just now called to inform me that Sunday is the Giants' season opener. Implied in that statement was my wifely obligation to entertain the youngster so Daddy can watch it uninterrupted. He graciously offered to watch Tobin for a few hours Saturday so I can have some "Mommy time" to myself, so I can't bitch. No idea what I'll do with it. Maybe just lock myself in the bedroom and watch TV. Or take the computer to Starbucks and work on that cookbook of my grandma's recipes I keep talking about. Or soak in the tub and read a book. So many possibilities.
Today is Ethan's 40th birthday! Happy Birthday, hot stuff! He is impossible to surprise, so I gave him his present yesterday just to get the jump on him. He requested an eReader, and I got him a Nook. He has already called me 3 times today with technical questions. Having flashbacks to the birthday I bought him his iPod. He gets all the bitchin' gadgets, I get all the hassle :).
