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The 5am routine is back! I am writing this from my home office. We slept at home last night. Ten weeks in hotels is over. Thank god.
It's hard to feel sorry for yourself when you are staying in nice hotels when others who were displaced from Sandy are in much worse situations. But being out of your home for a long period of time sucks no matter where you are staying.
Here's what I missed the most:
1) home cooked meals from the Gotham Gal. We got one last night. It was the best meal I've eaten in months and we have dined at some of the finest restaurants in the world in the past two months.
2) saying goodnight and good morning to my kids every day. having kids staying in hotel rooms on different floors is a family disconnect of major proportions. i hated it.
3) my closet. living out of a suitcase for 10 weeks is ridiculous.
4) the Gotham Gal's smile. the past ten weeks has been harder on her than anyone else.
5) my office. it's my sanctuary. it is the only place that is entirely mine. where i can go and think and write. i'm here now. it feels like an old friend who has been away for a while.
Anyway, I'm hoping that having the routine back will lead to a burst of creativity and output. I can say for sure that I struggled mightily to keep it going the past 10 weeks.
Comments (Archived):
It is great to hear some positive vibes going down. I was telling someone the other day how much I learn from your daily posts, then it got me thinking how amazing the whole concept is of you reaching out, teaching, engaging and connecting with your community on a daily basis. Quite random comment from me, but thanks! And I love your 5am as its my 12pm.
yeah, the 5pm posts probably didn’t work as well for you
I was not the early bird on those. Now its back to my time.
Yeah, his early morning works great for us in Europe!
We get the ‘before the bell’ heads-up 😉
Congratulations! So happy for you guys!Now I’m waiting to see Gotham Gal’s post 🙂
me too
It’s there: http://www.gothamgal.com/go…
Space is so important. Congrats!
Glad to have you back for the early morning posts. Usually my first read.
i was talking about you yesterday with the folks at Willet. they are fans of yours.
“Home” is certainly the most comforting place in the world. I wish more people were conscious of the fact that they need a home on the internet as well. Buy your own domain, host your own data 🙂
i’ve got a few, but this is certainly the main one.
When I was totally lost and had nothing to say, Farmville and Farm Town helped me have a “place.” I had no strength to write, let alone maintain a website, but I had a regimen, and friends showed up.Zynga is more powerful that it/they know. Telluride, Colorado, is known as a place where gold was being mined but no one knew what it was. It didn’t look right. Zynga may have gold in the “pan,” but not know what it is or what to do with it. For the sake of the well-being of the potential customers, I hope they figure it out.
I can’t even express what just 2 weeks of blogging consistently has done for my pysche. A place you can rely on to go air out your mind is amazing.
Yep. Been at it for two years now and been one of the most mentally transformative things I have ever done!
I second that! I can’t get over how fast people are willing to trade Winthrop over their content and message for a few extra eyeballs.
There’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…
I kept track and spent 65 nights on the road in 2012. (Fred just topped that with one “trip.”)I think my hotel key collection was proof that you are right: http://instagram.com/p/ThS0…
Pack rat
🙂
On the road I carry a French press coffee maker along with pre-ground coffee of my favorite brand and blend, water boiler (good for ramen as well as other late-night provisions), balsam-scented candles to overcome the numbing smell of industrial cleaner, and a few little goodies that spell “home” to me.Certain jobs require that we spend time on the road. I think sanity hangs on our ability to maintain a connectedness to “home” while on the road.When I drove north (far north), the ferry guys loved me because I had the tiniest RV they had ever seen. They’d tuck me into a corner on the ferry, while they were turning away everyone else.I could stay sane during the 3 continuous months on the road/sea because I had a vehicle that held my library, my favorite spices, and a small refrigerator with enough to make the next night’s edible (gourmet) meal.Being uprooted and at the mercy of even the best of friends or the best of hotels is destabilizing in ways that are hard to calculate. I know how I dealt with some of them. I salute the Wilsons for getting back home and still presenting a good facade of sanity!
‘no place like home’ is as true a statement as there is.
People are workaholics for many reasons. And one of the reasons is that working is less chaotic and more pleasurable than coming home. Home life, if the right person isn’t there, can be a pretty unpleasant experience.
Could be I guess but, lucky me, not my reality.
Not me either (my wife is great as are my step kids) but the office is my zone. (Wasn’t always that way at home though.)
i hear ya, especially re the sanctuary. I’m just back after 4 weeks away in asia, living from a very small backpack. Though i’m not saying our perpectives are quite the same.Fighting back the massive jetlag. And the wife cooked a GG recipe! One’s native food– even if that’s a non-healthy burger– is so important to one’s well-being.
and one’s own bed
Also really miss my guitars, traveling is when I most want to play my Martin acoustic. My avatar shows the Traveler Guitar I sometimes keep in the backpack.Here’s the wife playing Mozart as soon as we got in from Southeast Asia!
Man – what a good comment. We did a 6 month trip around the world with our kids – 1 carry and 1 backpack per person. No guitar. Hated it.Bought a baby Taylor 4 countries into the trip… best purchase ever.
glad someone could relate !yeah the Baby Taylor winds up making sense sometimes– the Traveler Guitar is cool but has too many compromises.
A tad off-topic, on subject of one’s own bed – for Christmas we received memory-foam pillows – what a revelation; had never experienced them before – both our night’s sleep has been improved dramatically. Highly recommended if never tried them.
I have been literally up nights the past couple of weeks due to a bad pillow (not sure why it suddenly stopeed “working”). I’ll check out the memory-foam. Thanks for the rec.
On a more mechanical level my neck had been sore as hell most mornings – totally gone now, within days. Also, as posted on GG’s blog, my creative/escapism dreaming is returning!
Upvote for the memory foam pillows!! Went a long way to curing my insomnia. What do you think about a memory foam mattress?
Not tried the mattresses, Obi – am sure they are great – way out of our budget, anyway – hopefully next year’s Christmas present if I drop enough hints 😉
The mattresses are fantastic Carl and you don’t have to go for the “brand” either. We have bought two from ebay in the past and they are excellent.
i normally take great pride in buying cheap, low quality crap. but when it comes to bedding, even i live large. the ROI is undeniable.
“i normally take great pride in buying cheap, low quality crap”As I would say you simply reversed the reward system. Works with caloric intake as well. Pleasure from not.
that is a good way of putting it
The less I consume, the more stuff seems unappealing and irrelevant. Decades of relative decadence for most has clouded our senses.Austerity is the new Prosperity.
Nothing says home like your own bed.
your house was flooded?
the basement of our building was under water for two days destroying all the mechanical and electrical systems that run our building
Welcome Home Fred
‘And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time.’Welcome back. 🙂
Welcome back Wilsons!Nothing beats eating something cooked in your own pots and pans, waking up in your own bed and covers, and, sorry, but getting your business done on your own pot 🙂
Happy for you!Coming back home to a friendly smile after a hard work day is the best moment of the day. I’m the cook at home, but if you add great food to that it must be nirvana!
Welcome home Fred. Know how long you guys have been in various states of home- disrepair over the last year. Enjoy!
Welcome home, Fred.
Welcome back to the happy grind. 🙂
Welcome home to you all. Glad you are back on UK time 😉
The only place you truly relax and feel yourself is at home.Glad you and your family are there.Just in time for playoff games this weekend.
“living out of a suitcase for 10 weeks is ridiculous”yes, and not something one would choose to do, but it leads to a greater appreciation of finer living.so you’ve never tried backpacking?
So glad to hear about that. A home is a sacred place.Are most businesses around you back as well?
Happy for you and your family. Having been displaced by Hugo, I appreciate the feeling of sanctuary you get from home. The things that anchor you are important.
May those who live here know only blessing and peace.
You should have titled this “Homage to ManCave”
Glad to have you back Fred. Having moved in the last year, I know the feeling of being displaced.
Welcome back! :-)The home-office is the new shed (maybe that’s a British thing, but hopefully you know what I mean).
6) Watching the Knicks away games on a big screen TV (and soon playoffs)
can’t do that yet. we have yet to get our internet and video infrastructure backwe all have mifis right now
the things we learn from Japan…I’m actually carrying 1 around myself right now in the US, as I have a couple bleeding-edge demos that don’t necessarily have dedicated SIMs. At least for winter (I know you get that reference).
Wow. that sucks.
What do you think of the rumours that the Kings will be sold to Seattle? http://www.geekwire.com/201…I still can’t imagine Seattle without an NBA team.
“[The Gotham Gal’s meal] was the best meal I’ve eaten in months and we have dined at some of the finest restaurants in the world in the past two months.”Really?! What on earth did she make?! And when is she going to start making it for people other than the Wilsons?!!On a side note, I fancy myself a culinary pro, just without the James Beard award to prove it. And as apart of my resolution to keep my creativity going on many levels, in addition to writing my blog, I’ve committed to creating a restaurant concept for Smorgasburg this year (the big food flea market in Williamsburg).The leading thoughts for what to create/serve are a line of fancy mac and cheeses, or a line non-traditional chilis. I’m accepting suggestions.
nothing fancy. that’s the point. a classic salad and pasta. with a nice glass of red wine. table food and table wine.
For whatever reason, for the last couple of months I’ve been thinking about the most memorable meals I’ve had in my life — and asking people about theirs. It’s almost never dinner at (insert fancy restaurant name).Fun Friday?
come to think of it, i don’t know why i expected more. that’s all you need. there are few things better than the feeling of home on a plate.and i think i just gave myself an idea of a name for my restaurant concept…
Home on a plate. That’s excellent.There is nothing I liked more when I was a kid than going out to eat.There is nothing I like more as an “adult” than figuring out a new recipe and cooking it at home.My project since the holidays has been trying to create the best vegetarian ramen broth possible. I am trying to perfect the umami taste sense for those who don’t eat meat/fish.
oooh… ramen broth is kinda hard without pork bones, but good luck to you!i’d stew up some heartier vegetables. sweet potatoes, turnips, etc. and while i wouldn’t put thyme or mustard seed in ramen, spices like those gave a really hearty feel to broths.and i’d try rubbing the veggies in (tons of) spices and braising them in the oven, instead of straight boiling on the stove, and then puréeing some of them into the resulting stock.i’m pretty much making at least a soup/stew a week right now, so just some random, hopefully helpful thoughts!
Def. helpful – I am obsessed with soups too. Nothing better for me that a pot of minestrone with a little pasta thrown in.On the ramen broth, where I am at is:1) shitake mushrooms, scallions, carrots, kombu, soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, and a little fermented black bean/chili paste.2) I simmer for a while and then strain it.3) Cook some udon or soba noodles.Then assembly:4) Then take a couple of ladles of the broth. Throw in some Bok Choy, shiitake, scallions, tofu, radishes, bean sprouts, some salt, some more chili paste. Cook for 3-4 minutes.5) Throw in the noodles. Cook for an additional minute or two.Comes out pretty good and saves me an hour or two in line at totto ramen in my neighborhood!
holy crap that sounds awesome! mushrooms and bean paste are a great call for an earthy, hearty anchor to replace the meat bones.miso would be great, too, and traditional — miso ramen typically doesn’t have meat broth.
Nice – thanks for that tip!I’m going to kickstart the creation of the ultimate vegetarian cookbook 🙂
go vegan or a sardine or two
Nothing beats freshly made home cooking no matter how simple it is.
sounds delicious to me
That would make an interesting reality tv show angle. It can be called “Nothing Fancy NYC”.You take some really high end restaurants in NYC.And then you take celebrities or notables that aren’t chefs and they are the ones preparing the meals.Then the diners who are paying these outrageous prices get the meal prepared by that person.In some cases they complain to the waiter so the celebrity comes out and that’s the surprise that makes good TV.”I’ll bring the chef out.” And the chef ends up being Bloomberg or Donald Trump or Deniro. Disguised at first. Then the true identity revealed.It’s like the folgers commercial meets candid camera.
Sounds similar to living in a house while it’s being renovated. Never again!
Always amazed and grateful that you post every day! A major reason I’ve been engaged with this blog but fallen off with others
“I can say for sure that I struggled mightily to keep it going the past 10 weeks.”What? It didn’t show — you’ve had some really rich posts during this time. Like other great artists who have produced some of their best works in the midst of suffering.But, even still, very glad for the Wilson clan that you are back in your own home. I think I can speak for much of AVC that when you are happy, we are happy. And even happier when GG is happy.Guess I will have to start getting up earlier if you are posting on your normal schedule again. Maybe will see you on turntable.fm as well?
Nice post. Reminded me of the Simon and Garfunkel tune (here it is from Monterey 1967).http://www.youtube.com/watc…
Make me cry. Glad the WIlsons are home.
This is how I feel when I come back home from any trip. Regardless of the hotels, nothing feels better than home!
welcome home!
That is great. Welcome back!
^ upvote for routine.And “home” is just about the greatest word in the english language. So much positivity and warmth in that word. Also reminds me of my favorite quote by George Moore – “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”
Well, and then there’s Gauguin, especially as interpreted by Somerset Maugham. I would never encourage anyone to endure the hardships of life on the road, but it seems to have been an essential component in the Boulliabaisse that has produced great art. Not all the stories can be believed.
I see the bartender is back as well. Kudos to keep posting even through really tough times. I am always amazed at how prolific you are, I’m glad you’re back at home.
made my day. cool
Speaking of home, when are you coming back to the great state of Arizona?
Welcome home, Fred and family.
“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” ― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
Always good tone home 🙂 could you tell us a little more about your routine? What helps you work best? Is it always 5am?Cheers from Greece
To be*
good to see you’re back home :)http://www.youtube.com/watc…
.Simple comforts are really not so simple. They are essential.The greatest luxury in life is staying home..
How do I travel nowadays?Skype.
.Haha, I received your message as I was arranging for a Skype call.The world has gotten very small..
I wouldn’t like to paint it, though… 😉
Congrats and welcome home
FWIW, your creativity or support kept us going
I’m very happy for you and your family…I can see where it starts as fun but eventually what the old adage is true…home sweet home..
Yah — work travel was exciting for about 5 min. Nice hotels help but there is nothing in the world like sleeping in my own bed and waking up to kisses from my kids.
Home is good.
You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.Life is seldom about absolutes. Most the time its about perspective.I heard this from my father as a newlywed.———————–A poor Jewish man went to his Rabbi to ask advice:’Rabbi, I live with my wife and 6 children in a small rundown house. We have no money and are constantly hungry. My wife is always nagging and the kids never stop screaming. The house is always a mess and I can’t get a moments peace. Please, please help me.’The Rabbi ponders for a moment and assures the man if he goes to the market, buys 6 chickens and 6 geese and brings them into his home for one week all his problems will melt away.The poor man is confused but follows the advice. He returns the next week:’Rabbi, you’ve made things even worse! The chickens and geese take up so much space and never stop fighting. There is more mess than ever and I have even less money. My wife nags and kids screm even more than before!’The Rabbi ponders again and tells the man to go to the market and buy a cow and a donkey and bring them into his home for one week. If he does he is assured all his problems will vanish. Begrudingly the poor man follows the advice.Three days later not being able to take it a second longer the poor man returns to the Rabbi.’Rabbi, you’re killing me! I did exactly what you said and things have never ever been worse! The cow takes up all our space and eats everything in the house. The donkey never shuts up for a second and kicks everything in it’s way. The chickens and geese are still fighting and the house is an absolute pigsty. My wife is still nagging and kids still screaming and with all the new mouths to feed I have even less money!’The Rabbi ponders and then tells the poor man to go home and kick out the cow, donkey, chickens and geese and report back the next morning.’Rabbi, I can’t thank you enough! You’ve performed a miracle for me. How did you do it! My house is so big! I have so much space and so much money! My wife is so happy! Everything is so clean and tidy and quiet….’
.Well played. Very funny. I enjoyed that..
>having kids staying in hotel rooms on different floors is a family disconnect of major proportionsYuck. I would have hated that too. Welcome home!
“It’s hard to feel sorry for yourself when you are staying in nice hotels when others who were displaced from Sandy are in much worse situations.”Understand that that is an obligatory statement that one makes to not seemed spoiled and to show empathy for the rest of the world.But the truth is you have worked hard and have taken advantage of the luck (obligatory statement as far as how luck plays into things) to be able to stay in nice hotels.While you were perhaps born smarter and into a better family (not rich but with the right stuff in other ways) you also worked whatever advantage that you had and took chances so you ended up in the place that you are. And you are still married to the same woman. So while it is politically correct to make that statement it’s important for people who aren’t there yet to realize also the degree that hard work and most importantly choices plays into things even if you are born with advantages. There are plenty of people who were raised with the same advantages that you had that are not in the best of circumstances right now. Just like there are people that are born to Trumps that aren’t as motivated as his children are. Just like there are people like Donald, whose father was wealthy and in real estate, that didn’t work hard, go to Wharton and make a name for themselves like Donald did.
As the Realtors say, “location, location, location.” Hard work and a great house don’t add up without “location. Fred and Joanne have created the “location” that they carry with them, and, yes, they’ve earned it. No envy and lots of respect.At the same time, a lot of people have 99.9% of what Fred and Joanne have in terms of native talent and even education, but are missing something that means the wannabees are a non-starter. It’s not just about who does the work. I don’t mean to dismiss anything from what Fred and Joanne have accomplished, and all that they do to give back.If you are just living on the wrong end of town and on the wrong football team when the Friday Night Lights fire up, the scouts just won’t see you.I respect your opinion, but I add to it that even hard work and genius won’t overcome some limitations.
Sorry if that’s too personal question, but why did you have “kids staying in hotel rooms on different floors” if you “hated it”? I can’t imagine I would do that.
if i were the kid, i would have frikin loved it!!!! its like a 10 week vacation!glad to hear your back.
Welcome home, Fred.
Welcome home Fred. I hate saying this, but maybe you should move because there will be another storm
I really disliked the moving around. I get the feeling moving deeper into zone 2 would be a lot better.
i am hardening our building insteadvenice and amsterdam have dealt with this for a long timewe can too
is the city game, especially since they are pushing waterfront development (or they were)? I know that there are communities in Staten Island that want a federal buyout (they don’t want to rebuild). People are moving out of some of the areas where I live.
Hi Fred, I know you’ve mentioned this before, but would love to hear your “routine” again. I think routines are important, especially for entrepreneurs where we need to create our own discipline and structure. I’m revising my routine this year to find a way to be consistent with a number of things while keeping the flexibility and focus I need to build our business – so is helpful and interesting to see how other people are doing this!
Glad to have the usual Fred back.
Congrats on being back home!
+1 and congrats on returning. Hope the rest of you NY’ers & NJ’ers here are getting back to normal and restoring quality of life… For us not in the Northeast, much of the coverage has ceased… I’m the sure the recovery is still in its infancy for those affected.
” it is the only place that is entirely mine. where i can go and think and write.”ever since I stumbled upon your blog, it caught me up every day. It is now a ritual to read your blog every day I time a chance.. Don’t ever think of quitting 🙂
I am addicted more than you are
🙂 all around
😀
Welcome back to your home Wilson Family. I’m glad your back to normal.
Welcome home.
Welcome back, Kotter! http://www.youtube.com/watc…
Thanks for yet another thoughtful post, Fred. I have not heard anyone talk about “home” so eloquently for a while. It’s something that is so easily taken for granted in the First World. Having a house, that is. Having a home, on the other hand, is a completely different thing, and most people kinda forget about it.You just moved back into your home, and I just moved into my startup office to save money on rent. This is my first time living out of an office. What this means is still sinking in, but so far, it’s been relaxing. I’ll let you know in 3 months how it goes.
HOME IS SOMETHING YOURS.DAY SOME STARTUP UNDERSTAND THAT IS DAY IT BEAT FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE.
That activated a circuit in my brain. Thanks 🙂
THAT WHAT ME HERE FOR.
Any initial thoughts here?
DIASPORA HAVE GOOD IDEAS, EXECUTED WRONG.
Diaspora had more issues than executing wrong.
IT TRUE. BUT IN GENERAL THEM HAVE RIGHT IDEA, JUST SCREW IT UP.
FAKE GRIMLOCK — YOU’RE MINE! REMEMBER? YOU SCALY BEAST!!!THE NIGHT BY THE FIRE YOU LIT, WITHOUT MATCHES? WHO NEEDS “MATCH.COM” WHEN THEY’VE GOT YOU! YOU’RE WATERPROOF, AND MATCHLESS!XXXOOO. (I forgot. We were going to keep this quiet.)
Who ever is asking about routines, it was in another post:http://www.avc.com/a_vc/201…
hooray!
When I was studying acting, Mike Nichols would come in and teach classes once in a while. He told us the story of his Jewish family escaping Poland (I believe) before WWII. One day, they packed a picnic basket and walked up into the mountains for a picnic. And they just kept going.His point was how hard it was for them to walk away from their home and belongings. Most of the Jews they knew were too attached to their homes and belongings to make the decision that could have saved their lives.Whenever I’m away from home and sleeping on couches, beanbags, and trains (a LOT right now), I’m reminded of Mike’s story.It is so good to be home 🙂
That’s a great story
Correction: his family fled Berlin, not Poland.
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https://soundcloud.com/pool…
Nice!
Glad you guys are back at your place. 🙂
Greeting from Gujarat India…just done with my edu …..entered into project financing …….and a self confessed addict of your blog…..p.s. the first time I read was during my working hours…..:)
….sorry for not being relevant to the post ….one for Home now …Home is to brick n mortar what Spielberg is to movies…
so glad you are home. it is insanely disruptive.my daughters and i were lucky enough to be in a beautiful loft apartment near our house for most of the last 5 months, but we are now BEYOND delighted to be getting close to being able to return as the last of the restoration work gets completed from a freak pipe burst flood in early august.how i look forward to our old and new routines in our old and new home!
You cited a couple of reasons that when my family and I travel, we look for the inexpensive suites or a cabin at a state park that’s big enough to accommodate us. There’s something to be said for being able to buy groceries, cook your own meals, and stay together in what set of joined rooms as a family.
I am glad that you and the fam have your home back. Precious.