On the Purple Line for the first time on our “new” commute to the city. The snow is coming down pretty hard at the moment, already 2 inches with quite a bit more on the way. It seems to be coushioning the shock of the sudden changes that ocurred in the past week. Hopefully the next week or two help us settle a bit. In the mean time, maybe this is the escape I need. Also a goo excuse to test the new Wordpress app for Android.

I signed up for GrandCentral about two years ago, long before the days of Google Voice. I haven’t had much use for it outside of being another number to give when I sign up for services (credit cards, what have you). Once Google bought it out and converted it to Google Voice a whole new world opened up for phone users. (If you aren’t familiar with Google Voice – Pogue sums it up best, as always!) Not only does Google Voice take messages for you, it transcribes them and sends them to you by e-mail or text message! You can also send text messages from Google Voice for free! Both of these things will become quite handy as I leave for Spain tonight.

My plan – forward all incoming calls directly to my Google Voice number.

There are a few reasons I’m doing this. First of all, I’d like to see who calls and get my messages while I’m away. Secondly, it helps me avoid the $1.99 fee for not accepting an incoming call. Yes, you read that right. If your phone is set up for international roaming, even if you don’t accept the call, you will be charged for one minute of use to send the call to your voice-mail back in the states. Keep in mind that the amount changes with the country you are in! In Ecuador it is $5.99!!

In order for this to work, I have to uncheck all phones that Google Voice forwards to (under Settings -> Phones). I then have to enable Do Not Disturb (under Settings -> General). Lastly I have to forward all incoming calls on my cell phone to my Google Voice number. Unfortunately setting vary widely per phone and provider as how that is set up. Usually its under Settings -> Call Settings -> Call Forwarding on your phone. You want to forward “all voice calls” (or “always forward”) to your Google Voice number. Don’t forget to unforward them when you get back! Now you will get all your messages via e-mail at your convenience! You can even see what calls you missed if no voice-mails were left by logging in to your Google Voice account. While you are logged in, go ahead and exchange some text messages with your friends – its free!

My sister Teresa has started a blog named Vincent’s Yellow. I’m extremely proud of the work she has done since I set up the wordpress blog for her a few months back – and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us during her travels! In her words…

Three years ago, like many others, I fell in love with Vincent van Gogh. I followed this love, never letting go, reading about him and visiting his paintings all I could, and I am still journeying – I hope you will join me, Reader. This path has led me to you and you to me, and both of us to beauty, to art, to life, to death and to something greater…

I have been traveling with you for quite some time sister… I will always be by your side.

Rally in the Rotunda, Springfield IL

Its a rare occasion that I set my alarm earlier than 7am. Usually its because I have a flight to catch. Today it is for a very different reason. I’m heading down to Springfield IL to rally against budget cuts that would have a disasterous effect on social services. Already over 12 people in my organization have received their two weeks notice and other agencies across the state are suffering even more. The ripple effect that this will have in I’LL will be felt by all. It is a sad state of affairs when politicians use social services to leverage their politics! We can not let this happen!! I am joining thousands of other people today to advocate for the needs of this state! We can’t let 200,000 jobs be lost in the social service sector! While I don’t expect all to come to the state capital, each and every one of you can DO SOMETHING that will make a difference. Pick up your phone, call your state representative, make your voice be heard! http://tinyurl.com/m3mush

Change is on its way, in many different ways! I haven’t posted as of late because I convinced myself that I would spend whatever time I had to post – upgrading and moving the blog! Neither has happened, as one can see. Though I am getting things done, some things have fallen through the cracks.

One thing that has become more of a priority since the weather here has improved is biking!

View Chicago Lakefront Trail AM in a larger map
Created with My Tracks on the Android.

I’ve also started another project – F1 Fixie. I’ll be keeping you posted on that as well!

I just got this text message on my T-Mobile phone:

CHASE@mail.smiradio.com

Chase anual maintenance. Please confirm your online information at 800 531 8192

First of all, they misspelled “annual” – secondly when you call the number it is a synthesized voice. Below is the transcript of the call (I used a fake credit card number).

Welcome to Chase security department. Please follow the next steps to verify your account information. Please enter slowly your 16 digits number of your ATM debit or credit card and press the pound key.
Please enter the pin code and press the pound key.
Thank you for your prompt information for this matter. Your account was successfully verified. Have a nice day.

I reported it to Chase fraud department via e-mail and even called them to report it – the lady that I spoke to in the security department checked my account and asked me for the e-mail address that it came from. She didn’t ask me for the 800 number! I gave it to her anyway – but it didn’t sound like she was going to follow up.

This is NOT good as I feel that people are more trusting of the messages they get on their cell phones than they are via e-mail. Especially with all the commercials that Chase has about keeping tabs of your account via text messages. I found another link in regards to the number 8005318192 that shows a text from a different bank. So please, be aware that this may seem to come from a different bank.

If you did happen to give ANY information, please visit the Chase Fraud Department to report it. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the 800 number to be taken down.

I took Katty on a surprise trip to Puerto Vallarta last weekend – it was incredible! Though coming back to Chicago’s cold weather has made it seem like it was long ago, seeing the pictures makes me feel the warmth all over again!

The original intention was to totally surprise her – I was going to contact her boss to see if she could take the day off, pack her bags etc… after some consultation, I was told it was a really bad idea! In fact, nobody thought it was a good idea! So I ended up telling her that I was going to a conference in San Diego and that I had a miles ticket for her to join me. Ultimately I decided to tell her a week ahead of time so that she could enjoy the week of anticipation and preparation! It was a good call…

Puerto Vallarta itself was fantastic! We both very much enjoyed the little town and everything it had to offer. The first night we spent a few hours on the “Malecon” (boardwalk) just exploring and taking in the sights and sounds. We ended up finding a place that had 50 peso 22oz margaritas, and stayed there for quite a while watching the sun set over the bay while mariachi bands and all other types of performers made there way by. We then headed to Joe Jack’s Fish Shack for dinner. We started off with the best Mojitos we have ever had – the strawberry Mojito is especially delish! Then moved onto the Tuna Poke and Portabella Quesadilla appetizers – INCREDIBLE. It was so delicious that we had extremely high expectations for the whole red snapper, the owners suggestion. The Snapper was good, but didn’t quite meet our expectations. Still way better than most seafood in Chicago! We ended up catching a local bus back to the resort – which is an experience in and of itself!

The following day we just chilled out at the beach and the pool (with island bar, of course!) – gotta love swimming up to the bar at 11am and ordering a tropical beverage in 80F temps! It was fantastic. I, of course, got roasted – this is while trying to take extreme care of my skin. I also finished up “The Kite Runner” while on the trip – incredible read, finished it in two days! At ~4pm we decided to head back to the room to get ready for hitting the town again.

Our final night in Puerto Vallarta we went directly to La Palapa for dinner. Going on TripAdvisor’s recommendations as we had the night before. We were not disappointed! Dinner was a bit pricier than other locations – but it was well worth it. The Lobster Taco appetizer was to die for!! Dinner was nothing short of amazing. Being directly on the Malecon overlooking the beach – and the wedding that happened right in front of us – was an incredible experience. We took our leisure and I think finally finished up, with Lava Chocolate Cake might I add, in about 3 hours. We strolled down the Malecon to see a majority of locals with a smattering of tourists enjoying the gorgeous night. Unforgettable.

Its about time I cleaned this place up. Although I’m still not sure about how often I’m going to post, there is nothing like a clean slate to get motivated. Funny how its easier for me to clean house on-line than it is in real life! Perhaps I can use this as motivation to do the same at the office and at home… I’ll let you know how it goes!

Yes, its been over a month. So much for posting more often in the New Year! (Happy New Year incidentally!) I returned from Ecuador on Jan 11th and I’ve been extraordinarily busy since I’ve been back. Spending so much time in front of the computer screen during the day, the last thing I want to look at while at home is the computer! The fact that many of my faithful readers are on Facebook now is also keeping me away from the blog. Is it worth keeping up the blog when most people are checking Facebook anyway? I guess it comes down to what you have time make time to update!

Otherwise things are going well. The adjustment from 65-70F weather to the sub-zero weather in Chicago is taking some time. Having three weeks off also made it difficult to get back into the groove at the 9-5, finding motivation has been especially difficult. I do have to say that after our new Commander in Chief’s inaugural address I did feel impetus for this “new era of responsibility”. As such, I’ve been trying to find new ways to keep myself on task and organized.

I stumbled upon Thinking Rock through a friends recommendation of another piece of software Things, which at the moment is Mac/iPhone only. Both are based on GTD “Getting Things Done” philosophy – something that I find works very well with my short attention span, and my propensity for having lots of ideas that fall through the cracks. There is a fair amount of a learning curve getting going on it – and you have to be religious about its use. But it keeps things in good order and really forces you to think in a productive way about everything on your mind! If anybody has experience with the Mac/iPhone “Things” app – let me know what you think. It would be really nice to have the data accessible while on the move. The only option I’ve found for Thinking Rock is not very intuitive, oh, and I no longer use a Windows Mobile device.

Yes – after 3 solid years of service from my trusty T-Mobile MDA, I’ve finally upgraded to the world of capacitive multi-touch screens and 320×480 pixel resolution!! An iPhone you say? Nope – an Android DP1. Merry x-mas to me!! Thank you Katty!! :)

Now if somebody could just port Thinkingrock to the Android OS… anybody? anybody??