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So yes, I’ve been away for a little while. Got back Monday night. Late time. I was in New York doing a little vacation. Nothing big, I was gone five days, but they were good days.

Stayed at the Huntting Inn. Gods, this place is the best place to stay if you find yourself on Long Island. The restaurant at the Huntting Inn, The Palm, is a local hot-spot for celebrities to grab a fabulous steak and have a couple of drinks. What sort of celebrities show up at The Palm? Well, the last time I was here we saw Jerry Seinfeld having dinner with Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker. This time we had an actual A-List actor, Kathleen Turner. Gabriel came running into the bar shouting, “We found Kathleen Turner, we found Kathleen Turner!” As if she had been lost. Regardless, Ms. Turner was very gracious and introduced herself to Gabriel, she then turned to the bartender and ordered a shot of Absolut, her cigarette-and-whiskey-baritone still strong after all these years.

I ended up spending some time with my brother, a chap that I haven’t seen in nineteen years. I finally met his wife Sarah, who has a position at Princeton right now. Ever hooked up with a family member that you haven’t seen in a decade? I highly recommend it. I suppose the whole affair could have been quite awkward but we’ve been talking on the phone for awhile so when we finally laid eyes on each other it seemed as if no time had passed at all. We had a lovely day that started with lunch at Rosa Mexicano followed by some quality time at the Guggenheim. Seven hours after nineteen years doesn’t seem like much but to me it was the perfect amount of time. I consider myself the lucky one of the encounter because now I have a sister-in-law whereas before I had only heard about my brother’s wife. Never underestimate the power of a casual lunch.

The reason why I was in New York was because Cassie’s grandparents had invited us to spend a few days with them on vacation. Murray and Elaine Gilbert are one of the greatest couples I’ve ever met in my life. They both have extraordinary senses of humor and it seems that they are only interested in making sure that those around them are having a good time. The Gilberts are a living legend, a tale of success that only Horatio Alger would be able to write about. They are a couple that started with nothing in the Bronx and, despite the lack of college education, ended up becoming financially independent with a mansion in Princeton, New Jersey. Murray is a source of inspiration to me and I hope that one day I’ll be able to accomplish even a tenth of what he’s done. Elaine is a special woman, she’s always interested in what you have to say and her sense of fashion will kick your ass any day of the week.

We also hung out with Chuck and Pamela, Cassie’s father and wonderful step-mother, and her brother Gabriel. The Lewis family is amazingly full of love and have treated me like a member of the family since the day that I met them. While I don’t think of Chuck as a replacement for my father I do think of him as a friend, a friend with whom I can confide in and seek advice in those dark, dark times when the very world I live in conspires against me and looks to shake the very life out of me. He has the uncanny ability to not only know every possible solution to a problem but which solution is the best course of action given any set of circumstances. Pamela has got to be the most friendliest and warmest woman I’ve ever met in my life. Her easy-going manner and total lack of judgement make for the most incredibly easy good time to have. When you’re around Pamela you know that everything is going to be all right. She has a smile that comes easily, an expression that lights up her entire face and puts a mischievous twinkle in her eye, sharing the joke with you and letting you know that life is precious and should be filled with laughter. Gabriel is a cool cat. He’s young but he can hold his own with a group of adults. I watch Gabriel and I feel a sort of calm, knowing that kids like him are going to be in charge of things soon. What goes on in his brain only he’ll know but the intelligence and wit and humor that he has at six is far more than I’ll ever have in my lifetime. Gabriel is a true renaissance man, he is a gifted artist and writer and he’s a heck of a comedian to boot. Watch this kid, his star is going to shine bright for many years.

Elsewhere, well, work is a big thing for me these days. We are so busy. I never would have thought that work would be a pleasurable thing for me but here I am just loving what I do. We’re a young company but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have anything to offer. I really feel like I’m part of something that’s going to be huge one day. We’re putting out great games not only for the PC but for the Mac as well. Diner Dash 2 is now available for the Mac and we’re all very excited to be able to offer this to our customers. We also have SpongeBob Diner Dash for the Mac and Egg vs. Chicken as well. A really fun game that we recently put out is Sweetopia, a highly-addictive game about candy that is starting to creep into my Plantasia time, I can’t wait for the Mac release.

Bed is looking quite nice to me…