greenwriting

2007-12-27T22:00:00.000-05:00

It's a school night and it's time for bed. I really don't know where my week off went. I had such high expectations. With a whole week off, you could write a book, record a CD, visit with family, have a movie marathon, play tournaments of Scrabble, compete in dozens of ping pong games, become a piano, voice, and guitar virtuoso, read three books, and spend hours getting to know all 35 family members that came over for Christmas dinner. That's what was planned anyway.

What actually happened was I got home, helped get ready for the party, finished shopping. When the party arrived, I helped everyone with their jacket and showed them where to park there cars off the street. I'd bring them back from parking in the golf cart. During the party we ate, after which, I took people back to their cars in the golf cart. Seriously, that's just not fair. Here's 35 people from your family - the only group in the world where you are always included - and you can barely get all their girlfriends/boyfriends/new babys name straight before they are heading home.

Then comes Christmas, church, presents, saying goodbye to Rachel and John. Papa came for a visit, but was gone before breakfast. I remember getting some time to finish reading the World According to Garp (remind me not to read anymore Irving). No piano, no guitar, no ping pong. We played one game of Super Scrabble (a game I got for Christmas with 200 letters instead of 100), but no time for a rematch. We might have seen three episodes of the West Wing. We went to the movies twice.

It was fun, warm, family time for a week. We gorged on Christmas dinner night after night. I want to crawl back up into that cocoon and stay there until spring. Home again, I'm pouting tonight much like the school children not yet ready to start a new semester. The only amazing thing is that coming home means getting to spend time in my kitchen. It is still a brand new thing to me, a toy that is special both because of it's usefulness and the because of my pride in the accomplishment.

2007-12-22T09:38:00.001-05:00

The kitchen is done!! Well, almost. New appliances are installed, thanks to nice Sears people and Chris' handy dishwasher installation. All that is left is baseboards and painting trim which I have been prograstinating subbornly now that I can actually use the kitchen. Granted, the door is still off of the pantry, but I'm a bachelor, I can live with that.

Today is the big day for the family Christmas party. We expect 35 people at my mom's house for dinner. I brought the ham, and I'm cooking pineapple casserole. we have much to do between now and dinnertime, but we have a good start on everything. The complicated thing is finding chairs, tables, and space for everyone to eat at the same time. It's incredible, really.

I have gotten lots of Christmas cards this year, which makes me happy. Christmas cards are maybe the only reason I can think of for the existance of the USPS. Christina sent a picture of her adorable baby boy. Franklin and Leah sent a photo of their twins. Papa and Oze sent a card. Someone else sent one which I put on the fridge, but I can't remember right this minute. Emily gave me a card and a new piano book for beginners. I love Christmas time and Christmas Cards and Christmas trees.

My grandmother used to wear a pin that said "remember the reason for the season." But I don't forget. It's Advent. Under all the shopping and traffic and noise and travel, it's advent. Literally, the coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important. Whether it's Santa you're awaiting, or dinner with the family, or just time off from work I find it interesting that everyone is caught up in awaiting Christmas (even if they forget why). For unto us a child is born. Like the birth of a child, it's hard not to get impatient as you wait, but it's fun every single time.

2007-12-11T23:24:00.000-05:00

I consciously try to avoid writing about writing because it seems so inane. But it's worth noting that today is the fifth year I have been composing semi-weekly and often daily essays published on my little plot of land in cyberspace. In five years I have posted one thousand three hundred and ten times. That's a little over five times a week for five years. So, I realize I have only had time for weekly updates lately, but it's my due.

This blog birthday coincides with my Mom's birthday (Happy Birthday Mom), but the coincidence is unrelated. Oddly, on this fifth anniversary someone contacted me to request purchasing this domain, and he seems nice, and I'm willing to part with it, so I'm sure we can make an arrangement. I only mention that because it may be soon that this space may disappear without any forwarding notification, after which I may take a break for a while, who knows.

I will almost certainly compile a self published printed manuscript collection of essays from the last five years. If you are interested in having a copy, just let me know. Once I know how many I plan to make, I'll let you know the cost, but it will be roughly $25 or $30 (just the cost of low volume printing). I've only just started reviewing all the content and it is massive. All I know is that it must be abridged simply because standard book bindings require 800 pages or less and I'm in excess of that - and I have ideas for bonus material (I hope to include some journal entries... from an actual journal... from 1996).

Hopefully I have time to post the exciting conclusion of the kitchen saga, but if not have a Merry Christmas.

2007-12-11T23:20:00.001-05:00

Tonight I did something that was basically invisible. I repainted a white ceiling white. I covered the kitchen in plastic sheeting. The kitchen looks like ET's house. After that the process went pretty fast, and, surprisingly, it was easy to see where I had painted and what was left. Only at the end was I wondering if I got certain spots in the middle. I'm still uncertain, but I suppose that's to be expected.

I also got a month subscription to Consumer Reports, and I feel so much better about making some choices about appliances now. If I find some from HH Gregg then I will try to get them delivered Friday. Then it's painting the walls and installing the baseboards and I'm at the end of phase one!

2007-12-06T22:59:00.000-05:00

Finally there is primer on the walls. This is a huge psychological victory for me. It means that I have a floor and walls and ceiling in the kitchen again. And it means that I can see the end of phase one. Steps left in phase one include making a trip to the dump, adding texture to the ceiling, painting the ceiling, replacing the baseboards and trim, and replacing the appliances. So, more to be done? For sure. But there is a forseeable normal future. I always assumed I did not use my kitchen at all. Turns out I use it more than I thought - I can't live without it!

Phase Two will include the counters and backsplash, but that can be done later - after Christmas. Phase two also means painting the outside wall of the kitchen, which unfortunately means... the living room. (scary music plays). I am not sure how much of phase two I will be doing. All of the suddent professionals seem pretty good right now.

2007-12-03T23:40:00.000-05:00

When did the kitchen demo start? Years ago? Days ago? I lose track. Everything is going well, it's just taking... time. Also, I keep realizing that this means I need to do that. I was planning on the floors, the wall, the painting. I came to realize that the appliances needed to be updated. I decided after much debate that the counter should match... The counter and backsplash are on hold till I get my kitchen back. Can't get finished this year with that. But I can paint and get the appliances in. Getting carried away. Since it soaks up so much time, I don't have very much to talk about besides whatever I'm doing next nowadays.

We had our big Christmas concert at church. It was fine. I didn't realize it till it was over, but it was long. There wasn't a major work, just lots of nice Christmas music. I enjoyed singing it, but I don't think we did a stellar job. We recorded a CD which is nice enough to listen to once. The first time I sang along with it. The second time I realized that there's a lot of mush - you really need to focus on diction to record in a cathedral type space. It does miracles for blend, but it does a number on diction. Oh well, you know the words to "Joy to the World" anyway. On the title track, Christmastide, "Truth and Love" sounds like "Oooh and Aaah!"... "And hope abide" ("an ohhhhh abye"). Lol. Oh well.

I finished the book I was reading - "The Life of Pi". It's a castaway story in three parts. The first part is all backstory, which I found well written but not compelling. The second part describes the journey, which I found bordered on interesting and insane (fine line). Then there is the Epilogue. That's where this book gets you. That's a weird place for it, but the hook is at the end. I want to go back again and start over now. It is sticking with me. I love that I immediately borrowed a book to read after buying all those interesting ones at the book nook!! I'm really ridiculous. Who knows what will grab me next.

Nothing new added to my photo wall lately. Only renovation pictures. I miss Alan and Beth - they made everything into an event. Some people are impossible to replace. On the flip side, people are finding me on facebook lately, oddly. Some of my old Computer Science friends added me this week. CS friends were not easy to come by, so I really like knowing they are out there in the world making something of themselves.

2007-11-23T22:54:00.000-05:00

American Thanksgiving is crazy, because it's a time for so many things to stop here in the United States while virtually nothing stops anywhere else in the world. Even so, it's nice to pause - to carve out a day to sit together with your family. It is not a religious holiday, yet we celebrate with the usual sacraments - enjoying home cooking around a dining room table. Special foods and special silverware, special glasses too. And cloth napkins.

For me it was a time to take a break from renovating my kitchen, from my weekly routine, and of course from work. I spent the last two days with my family - the only place on earth where inclusion is a birthright - to rest. Even when we are supposed to rest one day each week, we don't truly do so. I love my Sundays, but I don't often rest. The pace of everything keeps me in the grind.

I spent all day yesterday indoors and I didn't talk on the my phone once. Mom made supper, we ate it and cleaned up. Rachel, Dad, and I played Scrabble. Dad won, but it was close. We watched countless episodes of the West Wing. For dinner, we just had an extra helping of lunch. Then, rest. I forgot to bring the book I'm reading, so it was even a break from that. Yesterday was a peaceful island - on all sides I could see the hectic pace I brought into the holiday and on and on in all directions I could see choppy waters. But for a while, reprieve.

Tomorrow I go back home. More work to be done in the kitchen, cleaning, working. The weekly grind. Oh, I have my little riparian respites, but nothing quite the same as the food, family, and fellowship we celebrate at thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving everbody.

2007-11-18T19:20:00.000-05:00

My church just put on a really great show, "You Can't Take It With You." It's about a girl who wants to marry this rich guy, but just doesn't think his parents will understand his poor, crazy, family. Emily had the starring role and stole the show. Quite often in the show, I forgot she was acting at all she was so convincing. It was a great and funny show.

I got to the play a few minutes late cause I was cutting tile. Thank goodness we are done with that bit. Each bit of progress we make in the kitchen seems like it may in fact take eternity. When scraping wallpaper, it felt never ending. Then the demo work took way longer than we expected. The sheet rock was such a pain and took almost a whole day. Thank goodness for Chris and his genius wiring skills. At least we finished the sheet rock and got to move onto the tile yesterday. Kent was a crazy tile measuring wizard, but cutting the tile was a chore I thought would never end.

So now we've removed the closet, repaired the wall and ceiling, rewired the light switch and phone, removed all the trim, laid out and cut all the tile, and actually gotten mortar behind about half the tile. We still have finish and grout the tile, decide on the countertops, finish with patching the walls, proceed with the backspash, replace appliances, cut and paint new trim, paint the walls, and paint the ceiling. I'm seeing now that my goal of being done by Thanksgiving is going to miss by weeks. I'll be lucky to be done by Christmas.

2007-11-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

Sometimes the difficulty in a project is determining the priority in which things should get done. I'm having that difficulty with my kitchen. There are lots of things that follow naturally once you've made a mess. You "might as well" do everything. The trouble is, it kindof only makes sense to do them in a particular order.

Today I got tile samples from Home Depot and I attempted to remove some linoleum tiles. They came right up! So I removed eight of them. Then I thought... maybe I'd rather have them in place this week for moving the fridge. Too late! Oh, well. We'll have to work around it. I hate linoleum.

This project is fascinating. I'm taking Friday off to work on it more.

2007-11-11T23:10:00.001-05:00

I spent all weekend in the kitchen. Didn't do any cooking, however. I've got my eyes set on some sprucing up. Floor. Walls. Ceiling. The basics. Kent and I got all the wallpaper off and my hands are so sore from gripping and pulling. Ugh. And I have tiny cuts. I'm a big wimp about manual labor. Kent has been a huge help.

Next weekend, Chris is going to help us with the floor. I'm going to put down tile cause I hate linoleum. The ceiling needs to be painted (the former owner burned something in the kitchen and there is some minor smoke damage). After the dust settles, we will be painting the walls something neutral. I can't wait.

Somehow each room in the house doesn't seem like "mine" till I do something to it. The bedroom is my favorite so far with the nice light blue paint. The office still seemed like Sarah's room till I painted in here. The bathroom was drab till I changed the curtain rod and painted. Suddently this weekend, the kitchen is taking shape. Seems a little more like home.

2007-11-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

OK. I give up. I've turned on my heat. I can bundle up pretty good, but the arctic temperatures have frozen me too long.

Maddux signed a one year extention with the Pads today. He also won his seventeenth gold glove - that's more than any other player since the award was created in 1957.

Tonight at church I snuck into the piano closet behind the alter before choir and played my song from Oliver on the big piano. Pianos are fun.

It seems like there are more things than usual going on at work lately... we have a lot of big customers we're trying to help, everyone is wondering about the big reorganization that is in the works, and in the middle of it all my boss's boss is moving to town. These could all be good things of course, but I can see a pile of work clear through the new year.

2007-11-05T19:13:00.001-05:00

The Holiday Festival was a success! I got two casseroles and, oh, a dozen books or so. I was so excited that I woke up in time for pancakes. Then I got my casseroles (last year they started selling out and I wanted all my choices). Not fifteen minutes after the festival started, I was pouring over the books. My haul included:

Paperback
A Separate Peace - Knowles
The Catcher in the Rye - Salinger
Four Past Midnight - King
Night Shift - King
Skeleton Crew - King
Dreams From My Father - Obama
Nothing Like It In the World : The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869 - Ambrose

Hardback
The Silmarillion - Tolkien
Miracle Season! the Inside Story of the 1991 Atlanta Braves' Race for Baseball Glory - Rosenberg
Living History - Clinton
The Purpose Driven Life - Warren
The Unabridged Jack London - London
The Runaway Jury -Grisham
Cold Mountain - Frazier

Not bad from memory. It was a fun time!

2007-10-31T21:59:00.000-04:00

Oh! I forgot to mention. I won the prize for best pumpkin at work. Granted, I was the only one that brought one in, but everyone thought it was awesome. I carved an original design created by one of my friends from work. The prize was a Honey Baked Ham and a tiny plastic trophy that says "Superb Pumpkin". I guess I'm "cooking" Christmas dinner this year.

2007-10-31T21:48:00.000-04:00

Breeze, man. I have to admit, I was not a fan of the Breeze card. Tokens are a pain, but I figured anyone who rode Marta a lot would just get a monthly card and everyone else could enjoy the clank of the coin. Mainly, I was just really opposed to buying another plastic stupid thing to fill up my wallet along with Blockbuster and everything else.

But this week I broke down and got one cause I decided to ride Marta downtown. I don't like driving or parking downtown, so Marta helps with that. It is way slower, but on the other hand there is no traffic and I can do email. Then there's the unexpected bonus of seeing people you know.

So far I have ridden downtown for this conference two days in a row - four trips. Each time I rode with someone I knew! I was shocked. The first time I ran into Mr. Public Transit himself, Ben. How is it possible he got on the same train and saw me one car over! It's impossible, truly. We laughed a lot and looked confused. I said goodbye as I was off to work and he was off to school. This morning when I hopped on, Steve's Dad got on the same train car as me. How random is that! He was off to some kind of lawyer thing, and we both got off at Peachtree Center, my old stomping grounds. Riding home, I have left the conference at the same time as one of our co-ops and he randomly lives north of campus. So I have had company on my trip home too.

I'm sure that kind of luck could not hold, but I like taking the train and I love being downtown for work even if it's just a couple of days. I am a city kid and the tall buildings, myriad restraunts, and millions of people never cease to amaze me. Makes me kindof sad we work way out in the boonies.

2007-10-28T20:20:00.000-04:00

I just got invited to Hunter's birthday party coming up. He's turning 27. I remember the first time I went to his birthday party when he was 14. Sometimes that seems like eternity to me, and sometimes it's shocking that it has really only been eleven years or so since I was in high school. The world somehow seems completely different.

Kent and I spent hours this weekend carving pumpkins. Saturday was so fun - we stopped at Cracker Barrel on our way to Cagle's Dairy. We got tickets for the huge 10 acre corn maze and spend an hour lost in a corn field. They had pumpkins there and we picked out a couple of winners to carve. I'm going to take them in to work tomorrow for our company Halloween contest. If I win, I get a Honey Baked Ham so here's hoping I win! I love days spent doing crazy things like that.

Looks like the Rocks have let the Series get completely away from them. It's hard to believe that the perennial losers are going to win their second title in four years. I've discovered I'm a passionate National League fan, and I would rather anyone from the NL win than anyone from the AL.

This morning the choir didn't sing cause it was children's sabbath. I enjoyed sitting out in the congregation, but I found choir members to sit with so we could sing some harmony. Choir people are just weird that way. The children did an outstanding job. I was really quite surprised how much I enjoyed their parts of the service. My church is awesome. I love being a member there so much. I am looking forward to our Holiday Festival next weekend too. Should be fun! Casserole Day is nigh! (Kent calls it casserole day cause they sell yummy frozen casseroles at the Holiday festival).

I have not really gotten anything done this Sunday which is a bad thing cause it's the only time I get anything done. Maybe I'll try to get something straightened up in the next hour or two. I did get further on "Where is Love", the piano piece I'm working on. I had a breakthrough this weekend and I can now play the second page just about. The first page is not perfect, but it's getting there. My main mental block is I'm concentrating so hard on the bass clef that my right hand often mirrors what the left hand is doing which is usually wrong! But it's coming along!

2007-10-24T23:40:00.000-04:00

Looks like the Rocks are goin down in game one and I have one person to blame: Bud Selig. Seriously - the first game was determined by how sharp the starting pitcher were. After winning 21 of 22, I'd say the Rockies pitcher were more than sharp - they were razor blades. Then... scheduling. Has any team in the history of baseball ever had an 8 day lay off prior to the Series? Undoubtedly no. This is a grand experiment designed with marketing in mind -- it was important, apparently, to start the Series on a Wednesday to sell commercials. Four days max! The Rockies should have been rewarded for the sweep. Instead the Sox have everyone rested and the Rockies had all their momentum surgically removed.

Secondly, Fenway is a tenth player. Why does the AL get to start at home year after year? Oh yeah, cause stupid Bud Selig decided to make it "fair" by pinning the hopes and dreams of the young Rockies team on two at bats by Matt Holliday in an exhibition game led by manager Tony Larussa? A strategy so ingenious in execution that the AL has had home field in every World Series ever determined by this mockery of so called fair play? If we are going to pick arbitrary at bats in exhibition games, next year can we decide home field by pitchers batting averages in Spring Training? Oh I know, how about whichever team sells the most t-shirts or whatever it is that gets the owners all happy with Bud Selig.

My pasttime has been hijjacked by a lunatic. How can I vote this guy out? I need to write my congressman. I insist that the federally regulated MLB monopoly be open to free market competition unless Bud Selig resigns. It's time for a march on Washington or an NL fan walk out.

2007-10-23T20:56:00.000-04:00

It's official - James Carter, father of Farish Carter is NOT the same as James Carter, brother of Kindred Carter. Egad! I made a geneological error when I was twelve that appears to put my family connection to Jimmy Carter, however distant, entirely in question. Thems the breaks.

I can't imagine how the Rockies feel after eight days off. Eight days without NL baseball makes me question whether it is World Series time, or just a meaningless exhibition. Afterall, the home field is capriciously decided by the All Star exhibition game. So I guess my question is - can the Rocks sweep?

I'm usually a very patient person, but I have trained myself to avoid commercials. The idea that it is acceptable to sit idle during 3.5 minutes of nonsense to view 43 minutes of interest is archaic. If you watch enough DVR, regular television becomes absolutely insane. Why not tape this and come back in fifteen minutes and watch it with no commercials?

Likewise, NPR has finally completed their pledge drive. I'm the kind of person who prefers to listen to rational interesting people during my commute. It makes the drive a bit more tolerable. The kicker is, during the pledge drive, it's still the best thing on. For one day, you smirk, but you can bear it. For one week, it's totally managable. After two weeks, honestly I thought they may never play an hour of news again. I feared for my own sanity. Alas, it's over, and I'm happier than Sarah eating a bowl of undiluted Honey Nut Cheerios (a contraband luxury from her childhood).

2007-10-21T21:22:00.000-04:00

Finally, Kent's birthday event arrived. I had planned a surprise night to Medieval Times for his birthday months ago, but people were not going to be able to make that. So instead we had a cookout, but I gave him a gift certificate for Medieval Times so we could go later. Finally later came.

The Atlanta one is way up 85 at the Discover Mills mall. I worried about it being in a mall making it less fantastic. Oh, I was wrong about that. The castle protruding from the mall was even better than the castle that stands alone in Orlando. In fact, it adds some strange fascination to have essentially a stable connected to an otherwise entirely urban setting.

We got there plenty early because we learned it was general admission. That said, they do not open the seating till almost time for the show. So we had plenty of time to do some medieval shopping. Wearing our blue crowns, Kent found lots of souveniers. I find the major problem with the show to be the fact that your waiter can only refill your drinks at certain points, so we got strawberry slushies which were delicious and served their purpose well.

The show was fantastic. I have seen it three times now in two cities and every time the script is basically the same. Still, the horsmanship and staged fighting never ceases to amaze me. There were things I hadn't seen before. I don't remember seeing a sword fight on horse back but that was pretty awesome. The horses of course have slightly different skills than they have in Florida, but largely the same style. The blue knight was especially skilled and ultimately won the competition. But all the knights were good.

We got the "royalty" package, which I have always wanted, which includes a program, a DVD, seating low down, and a ribbon to cheer on your knight. I think it also has more food, or maybe that's just Atlanta, but we got a half chicken which is a lot. It was really all quite good. Our waiter was awesome too - better than I remember our service in Orlando, but then I've never been to Orlando without a group of 80 middle schoolers, and that might affect the service.

All in all, it was so much fun! I recommend it to anyone who hasn't gone before. It's hard to describe, actually, how much fun it is. And the Atlanta one is better than the Orlando one (albeit slightly, and probably because it's newish) in almost every way.

2007-10-17T22:42:00.000-04:00

When autumn comes, it doesnt ask. / It just walks in, where it left you last.
And you never know, when it starts / Until there's fog inside the glass around your summer heart

I have been wearing my light coat, partly because I do not want to be caught without it on a 45 degree morning and partly because the autumn finally found me and the jacket is my subtle reminder that cold days lie ahead. My brain is cotton balls and my summer lightheartedness is grumpily looking for the bright side. Finding it is hit or miss.

We sang "In the Bleak Midwinter" (the one by Darke) tonight and "Ave Maria" (the one by Biebl) tonight. Those songs put me in a mood. A mellow, sunset mood. Or perhaps I was in the mood for a week of perpetual sunsets already and the music just propells me forward. I wish we could sing them with more elegance, more musical integrity. I wish for near perfection. The youth are singing with us on the Biebl. That's a nice idea.

One of my favorite things in all artforms lately is to look for the forward motion - the creeping tension - you know how beautiful music makes you listen silently and on the edge of your chair to hear every mummer, every heartbeat, every shade of nuance. The sheen of the patina. The ring of the devine. Kaitlin is one of the best singers I've ever sung with. I wish the choir didn't sing "In the Bleak Midwinter" and instead she just sang it straight through as a solo. She sings it like a carol, an opera, a lullaby all at once. It's gives me the shivers.

2007-10-09T23:01:00.001-04:00

I'm giving away my dark room stuff. I've stored it or carried it with me for years, and I actually had a working darkroom at one time at my parents house, however briefly. I've forgotten how it all works - I would be at a loss about the chemicals and everything, but at the time it was all a no brainer. That goes to show how fast you lose something if you are not using it. High school was a little more than ten years ago, and I had all this stuff set up probably five years ago. And now I see it would be difficult and unlikely that I would set it up for use again.

But I'm happy to be giving it to young people that will learn what I learned. I'm giving it back to my high school. I emailed the teacher whom I have never met and asked about the program and if she has any use for this stuff. She has five classes a day in black and white film photography and one digital class. I was so happy to hear that! I would be so happy to have a couple hours each day to be back in that class (it was usually over lunch, so we just stayed in there for more than the allotted time). But on my own I have no desire to be weird darkroom guy. It would literally take up all my free time just mixing chemicals and hanging out in the dark. No, darkroom photography only works in a community. The maintenance of the lab is only bearable as a shared chore. Now my darkroom will have a chance at a real life.

Because I needed to email her a list of the stuff anyway, here is what I will be donating: Omega Pro-Lab B66 Enlarger with... Omega 50mm lens, Omega 75mm lens, 35mm negative carrier, 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 negative carrier, 8x10 print easel, 11x14 print easel, contact proof printer, Timer, Ilford multigrade filter set (12), 2 red darkroom lights, 3 11x14 trays, 3 8x10 trays, 4 tongs, squeegee, Measuring container and funnel, 5 brown plastic bottles for chemicals, Thermometer, 2 steel cases (one single, one double), 3 50mm steel reels, 120/620 steel reel

Darkroom stuff is magical. I forgot how magical it was. I got sentimental about it while I was writing it all down. Here is my ode to my enlarger:

But please, Omega enlarger, know that I will always be proud to have known you - proud that you were mine, proud in everything. And you must promise me this, Omega enlarger - In everything you do, always be yourself, Omega enlarger. And you always will be true.

2007-10-07T21:15:00.000-04:00

Tell us some good news? What did you do this weekend that you can tell the kids about? Well, I went to the Greek Festival yesterday and I ate some baklava. That's good news! That's great news.

Today I played an Orff instrument in chuch to help keep some third graders on beat and playing at the right time. It was fun. Ms. Cindy the conductor is always putting me on the spot with miraculously good games that she plays with the kids like "tell us some good news." The other day I walked in their room a few minutes late for rehearsal and they all said in unison "Oh! It's yoooooou." which she taught them in order to kid me about being late. Today when she was handing out snacks she asked them the rule about snacks. They responded, again in usison "you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit." Ms. Cindy is a genious.

It really was a great weekend. Besides the Greek festival and the Orff instruments, I got my car serviced and washed, I got a nice Sunday afternoon nap, got in lots of practice on the piano, two loads of laundry, and spent some time throwing things away. I think I could throw away five garbage bags of trash every week for the next ten years. This week I cleaned out the linen closet where I found three empty boxes and five of those giant plastic things that blankets come in. You know I love a good container, but seriously I have way too many bags that I suppose I might use one day.

2007-10-02T22:22:00.001-04:00

I just spent an hour playing "Waltz" from my first piano book, and the first page of "Where is Love" from my Easy "Oliver!" book. It was so difficult, imperfect, and rewarding that I wish I had more hours to play today.

So far the most irritating thing is finding new notes. Skips and steps are easy, but jumps are more or less impossible and take minutes to figure out. It is very unocomfortable to have so few reference points on the piano. I know my middle C, and then I know some other good ones. Soon I will know them all... mwa ha ha.

Today at work I had to spend a couple hours with people in meetings who didn't want to be there. It was uncomfortable and required honest constructive confrontation which is not easy for me. That said, hopefully I planted a couple seeds that will pay off later.

2007-09-30T23:01:00.000-04:00

My legs are still a bit sore from the run and I refuse to let them make me lazy. I have been doing steady workouts on the bike every day since. My goal is to get them back in shape bit by bit.

Tonight I played a Waltz in my piano book that was impossible last week. I am improving. I'm very excited about my easy Oliver book too.

Sunday is clean up day, and I have been in throwing away mode. Sometimes you just get tired of all kinds of stuff. I'm particularly tired of useless stuff. Tired of wearing worn out clothes, I'm pitching the rags. I'm tired of having so much mail, I'm shredding it. The fridge got a thorough once over this weekend too and it is so nice to have room in there and no expired milk. The bathroom cabinet trash is getting tossed. The pantry is getting paired down. Oh, and the cups - I have a cabinet full of 64oz stadium cups which I use for nothing. I haven't thrown those away... yet... There are so many places for collections of junk to live.

It was a great, great Sunday, yet sadly, baseball is over. Well, a one game regular season playoff tomorrow that we're not involved in - then another post-season without the Braves. I enjoyed our club this year and last year despite the losses. We put together a nice few series at the end to finish plenty over .500 which was my hope. The Mets demise was so dramatic that you would almost feel sorry for them... almost. As it is, I'm comforted that they are packing for home at the same time as the Braves. Perhaps next year we will pick up some starting pitching.

In fantasy baseball news, looks like the Fray (my team) is gonna finish second to last. The Flycatchers (Dad's team) looks to finish second after holding first for most of the season. It was a competitive and fun year. Everyone was in it all season except the Prawns (bummer Ben!) who finished a distant seventh.

2007-09-29T23:18:00.000-04:00

Whoever invented a weekend and made it two days long was a genius. Fridays I am busy and tired, and need a bit of a break. Friday night I usually go out for dinner and/or catch a movie, but I am too tired for anything elaborate. Saturday I sleep in, drag myself out of bed around 9 or ten. Very quickly, I crash on the couch. I peruse the DVR for an unlimited amount of television watching. This can last till mid-afternoon at which point I begin to wonder casually about "weekend plans." Note, nothing has been accomplished along the lines of exercise, housework, volunteering, or anything of use actually. So, while Sunday was designed to be the day of rest it turns out to be the only day of the week my mind can process any house chores. In a way that really is restful because it keeps the literal and figurative cobwebs from my home and mind.

Today was a great day. My house is starting to become quite the musical place. Based on our really pitiful, but improving piano skills, Kent and I went to the music store today to get some more fun and easy piano music. You can tell it's easy cause they mark it in 72 point font, bold and caps, "EASY PIANO". Also, the notes are big, key signatures have only one or two sharps or flats max, and eighth notes are uncommon. I got a book with most of the songs from Oliver that seems approachable. I'm happy.

While there, I also got a shoulder rest for my violin (not quite sure where mine got off to) and Kent got some saxophone music, so it seems we were inspired to brush up on our old high school instruments. I'm not crazy about violin, but at least I could tune it and hold it now if I should have the inclination. Today Kent practiced sax while Tech was beating up on Clemson, and I rode a bit on the stationary bike. Trying to get back to some form of regular exercise. Nothing so far is sticking and running is driving me crazy.

Tomorrow, I look forward to Dunkin Donuts coffee and hopefully enough time to see to some of those chores that are on my long long list of things that didn't get done today. Hooray for two day weekends.

2007-09-27T22:35:00.000-04:00

I am so proud. Though I posted my worst 5k time of my entire life, I am actually happy that I finished. My legs are really out of shape and thus were complaining heavily. My left leg was a bit sore from the trial run on Tuesday. I figured I'd go out and do whatever I could for as far as I could (as slow as I could!). It was not a fun run at all, my leg was complaining from the outset. There were lots of long slow hills, which was killer.

Probably the thing that kept me going was the race route - it was basically an out and back from Turner Field. So, it seemed like a jog around the block. Really, I was surprised by the 3 mile mark, though I was so ready to be done. My time was 41 something which I found shocking. I'm sure there were walkers that beat me - but I didn't stop (time lapse photography could prove this). I was glad that my friends waited up for me by the purple powerade. Then I grabbed my shirt and a banana. Bananas are miracle food.

2007-09-26T23:49:00.000-04:00

It's been a long time since I was this pressed for time. I figure I have somewhere between three and four hours a night to eat, practice piano, work out, read, write, and watch tv. Typically, I am tired at the end of the day and I spend at *least* 43 minutes watching TV (that's one show on DVR without comercials). *Usually* some episode of the Daily Show also sucks me in. Add any other events - such as choir, or groceries, or laundy... and I am zonked. Nothing seems to get done around here. Cause there is this big chunk of time called "sleep" which is 8 hours. I can borrow at most one hour from that chunk of time. Work stuff (getting up, commuting, etc) takes up a big chunk of about 12 hours. Sometimes I can squeeze an extra hour into a day if I cut out around 5, but that is rare.

Yesterday I bought new shoes. My quads are so finicky that they were complaining about my old shoes which are so not worn out. And granted, part of it is that I run so infrequently that they have no chance to do add strength for support before I pound the pavement. The new shoes so far are weird. I got fancy and went to a running store and they sold me on a lighter shoe with more running mojo. The meshness of it is light and breaths well, but I think there is not enough structure in this shoe compared to shoes I usually get. That would really be a shame. It helps that they look awesome so i could wear them for walking even if I end up getting different ones for running. I ran two miles yesterday in them and oddly my right leg was happy, and my left leg was not happy. Maybe I'll return the left shoe for a rebate.

Tonight was choir, but I needed to get home and bike. I ended up biking during the Daily Show around 11. That's too late, but I had to do it. I have to keep my legs loose, because tomorrow I am running a 5k downtown with some work people. Well, I am supposed to run it. I'm going to do whatever I do tomorrow. My goal is to run *at least* two miles. I do not know if I can last through three though. We'll see how it goes.

My 43 minutes tonight was spent watching Kid Nation. It's a show about kids living on their own in an "old west" ghost town. It has such potential to be a legitimate reality show - surely something interesting would happen if you left the kids alone with the camera people. Alas, they turned it into a kid survivor - they are divided into four team and they do stupid challenges every few days with some stupid adult host that looks like a Jeff Probst retard knock off. It's an ok show, but it so much lower than my expectations. No Lord of the Flies here. It's all fake smoke and mirrors.

2007-09-23T23:17:00.000-04:00

Sometimes there just aren't enough words. Or time! to write the words.

Friday - Dillard. Choir retreat. Rehearsal. Cheese Dip. Margaritas. Porch sitting.

Saturday - Dillard House Breakfast, rehearsal, Oinkers lunch, rehearsal, Dillard dinner and *desserts*, rehearsal, karaoke, Martinis. More porch sitting.

Sunday - Breakfast mmm. Devotional. Rehearsal. Driving home to meet Kent to go to the Airport. Flight to Orlano. Taxi to hotel. Check in five minutes late. Meet up with the guys. Business dinner.

Monday - Orlando Conference, good speakers, good food, break out sessions are hit and miss, syncing up in the breaks. Dinner at Hard Rock, Universal Citywalk with a vendor, tour of the largest Hard Rock in the world.

Tuesday - More conference, speakers, food, sessions. Great session and speaker to conclude. Black tie awards dinner. I didn't win anything except the satisfaction of knowing my tux still fits.

Wednesday - Rented a PT Cruiser convertable, drove to University of Miami, stops for Cracker Barrel and Outlet Mall shopping, Vietnamese dinner with Beth and collegues, happy early birthday Beth! Couch sleeping, miraculous non-allergic reaction to cats.

Thursday - Top down, chilling on Miami Beach, most beautiful beach in the world. Sand you can sleep on, people from all over, light breeze, no sea weed, warm water, blue skies forever. Back to U, Marching band is awesome, late lunch at the "Rat", gliding booth, jumping fish. On to Marlins game in Dolphin Stadium. Marlins win in ten innings - worst baseball stadium ever (cause it's a football stadium). MLB Stadium 16 (14 home teams).

Friday - Goodbye UM, hello Alligator Alley (most boring stretch of I-75), St. Pete via 275 (beautiful strech of road over Tampa Bay). Hotel within walking distance of the Trop is a perfect Inn with "the ambiance of a bed and breakfast with the modern conveniences". 3:1 Sox fans, silly Big Papi shift, Sox win big 8-1. MLB Stadium 17 (15 home teams - half way!!)

Saturday - Deland is in the boonies, lunch with Alan, Soloist competition, tour of school, music tranlations and arrangements, visit the pink house. Fran is sick, met Buddy the dog. Dash back to Orlando for early flight home. Hand off said musical translations and arrangemetns at baggage claim, dinner with Kent at Ippolitos.

Sunday - Laundry whilst Kent restores his crashed harddrive. Piano practice. New favorite frozen dinner. Chilling out watching television.

It's too soon! Alas, my farewell summer tour has come to an end. Last week of baseball. Tomorrow, back to the real world.

2007-09-13T20:00:00.000-04:00

I have been narcaleptic this week. Tuesday I fell asleep around 8, woke up around midnight, fixed a quesadilla, then went back to sleep.

Today I'm awake, but barely. I should be preparing for the big choir weekend, but I'm not.

Kent is in the other room practicing piano. I love having a piano, and I enjoy people playing it almost as much as I enjoy playing it.

2007-09-12T22:38:00.000-04:00

My big excitement of the week playing the piano when I get home. Hopefully that becomes a recurring theme. I enjoy plunking out my little diddies and really working hard to get them perfectly right. I feel like a five year old, failing dozens of times to play "shoo fly don't bother me", but I do enjoy it when it is correct. It's not beautiful sounding *at all* but sometimes I get all the notes right. Hooray! Perhaps one day, years from now, I will play something really cool on the piano and all the shoo fly songs will be worth it.

Lots of fun things going on - Sanjay, a former work collegue gave me a baseball signed by Jeff Francoer and Brian McCann. I love those guys. What a great baseball to add to my collection!

Ryan, another former coworker wrote a perl script for me. He likes writing scripts and I don't. He turned a thousand pages of work into presto-chango done. I asked him to parse my blog to create a chronological order - he did it in about eighteen lines of code. That, to me, is a miracle.

Today I found out that the choir trip next year is either France or Spain. France has my vote by a long shot, but then I don't know when the Ghana trip is, and when will I go to Beijing!! I have no idea what will happen, but I'm desperate to have a trip to start wishing for. I have tried to get Kent to go on one, and he said "why not Alaska." Of course, I want to go to Alaska too. Too many places, too little time.

2007-09-09T18:29:00.000-04:00

Vicious cycle - the "Sleepless in Seattle Syndrome". Considered a modern day romantic classic, Sleepless is a movie that illustrates clearly one of the odd habits of our society, myself included. Quite often, we get mixed up and believe the beginning to be the end. This movie is the story of two people who defeat overcome odds to... meet. Though we don't know how the story progresses after the credits role, one can only assume "happily ever after".

I have begun a project that has this same sense of finality, though my work on it has scarcely begun. I have a piano. The work required for the first step was a larger project in itself than I anticipated, but in the end I am really happy with the result. Now begins the long journey of moving from chop sticks to Beethoven; the outcome is still uncertain.

Kent and I made room in the dining room last week by removing the Foosball table. I enjoyed it being there, but we don't play much, and we can play upstairs in the guest bedroom if we are inspired. The dining room did not revert to the purpose it's name implies, however. Once I make room in the kitchen for a reasonable seating arrangement, it is likely to lose even it's name and become the music room. For now, there is quite a beautiful instrument as it's primary focus and function.

I do not envy the men who delivered it. They were terrific at their job, though it seemed impossible to me. I watched in fascination as they played a difficult game of Tetris with no room for failure. They flipped, carried, and scooted that 500lb piano every which way to get it up the stairs. It was a miracle. In just about every conversation I've had since then, I've mentioned my astonishment at the feat. It was truly amazing.

Yesterday began my training. I enjoyed learning the key of C. That's the easy one. I played Lightly Row - a familiar stepping stone in my former musical education on the violin. Today I am struggling with the key of F. One flat. Way harder. My fingers have a couple of coordination feats to overcome - numbering for one, asymmetry for another. The numbering issue comes from my violin training - my index finger has always been number 1; middle finger 2; ring finger 3. Pianists have a completely different (though logical) system. The thumbs are 1. The symmetry problem is equally maddening - it is easy for me to play symmetrical fingers together (eg: thumbs or pinkies). However, when playing the same scale with both hands, the pinkie of the left hand matches up with the thumb of your right hand. This is a major brain teaser. I have a pretzel in my head.

Though we don't know how the story progresses after the credits role, one can only assume "happily ever after".

2007-09-06T21:57:00.001-04:00

From "The Mad Farmer Liberation Front"
by Wendell Berry

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.

2007-09-05T21:51:00.000-04:00

What is Apple? When I hear anyone say "Apple" I think of the old Apple 2e computers that they donated to my elementary schoole on which I played hours of Oregon Trail. So they are a computer company, right? They carved out a nice little niche market that Microsoft ceded to them for the high end architechts, newspaper people and design artists. Then came the iPod.

Personally, I thought the iPod was dumb. It was clunky, you couldn't do anything with the battery... Sure, it had more storage than most of the mp3 players on the market but it didn't blow me away. I got a little iRiver years ago and it was perfect to run with. I didn't see where this was going. In a subtle way though Apple started controlling a larger entity - mobile digital media. iTunes seemed like a harmless throw in with the iPod but it did what Napster couldn't do - it made the digital media sales channel work. But what does an mp3 player have to do with a Mac? Unless it's arguably a mobile computer. Then came the iPhone.

Seriously, Apple, you've lost it. Nice computers, then mp3 players, now cell phones? You are all over the place. But the iPhone song entranced me. The commercials didn't say "PC's are stupid" like their Mac computers - that is a terrible campaign because everyone knows that PCs are the standard. But the iPhone comercial didn't make any low blows at a competitor. It told a new story - this is how mobile devices should be. Forget what you know about cell phones or PDA's. Watch how easy this is. This has, in my mind, finally done what Apple people have always claimed to be on the path towards. This changes everything.

In a stroke of genious, two months after the iPhone hysteria has subsided, they immediately launch a new product. Do you know how hard it is to launch two new products two months apart? I can tell you it's impossible. And the iPod touch is not "just" an iPod with the iPhone form factor. It's an mp3 player with Wi-Fi access. What the heck? I can browse the internet with the multitouch screen... on my iPod. Honestly, half the time I would rather do that than sit in front of the TV with a laptop or sit in my office on the desktop.

I am not an Apple fan. In the past, as I mentioned, not impressed. The last six months makes me realize, these people are thinking ahead - way ahead. They are making up new rules about the mobility industry. They are doing what needs to be done - they are making mobile devices work. It's so elegant, so simple, it breaks my brain. I don't know what they have in store next... but I'm hoping that it is not years away, and I'm thinking it's gonna be good.

2007-09-04T21:06:00.000-04:00

It was a weekend of piano hunting. After sifting through all the junk out there, I think I came up with something that I will enjoy for years to come - a new upright Kawai. It arrives on Friday and I'm just happy I will not be toting it up the stairs - free delivery is part of the Labor Day special. It really actually was a fun project, and the project homework has not yet begun. Now I can do something musical rather than watching old movies on TV. I'm actually considering cancelling my cable so I will actually practice.

Monday was a great break away from the grind, though I got up early and... ran. It was Labor Day after all, and I managed to jog/walk/drag myself the 3.1 miles and collect my 18th AE race completion. Hooray! I did not run into too many people from the old days, but I did see a kid wearing a CHS tshirt that I recognized. I remembered him, oddly, I suppose from when he was 6 and I lived there. I asked him about the teachers who might still be there. Do you know Mr. E? He asked. Do you mean Brian E.??? I replied. I know him... cause he graduated with me. Unbelievable.

2007-09-03T22:48:00.000-04:00

Memorial Day and Labor Day are the bookends of my memories. Labor Day is the last day the pool is open, signaling the end of summer and nearing the end of baseball. Labor Day has the advantage of having two of the most celebrated holidays in America close on its heels - Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then there's the long hard road back to Spring Training, and eventually Memorial Day reopening the sunny skies.

As such, I made the most of this fleeting holiday. Friday night I did something I've been waiting to do for over ten years. James and Chrissy gave Kent and I tickets to Chastain for our respective birthdays. There we saw an incredible show by... Hootie and the Blowfish. Yes, they are still a band. Yes, they are still recording... (latest release was a couple years ago). Darius still has such a memorable voice and is a surprisingly good showman (Nothing like Adam, but I won't hold anyone to that standard). Luckily I knew albums 1 and 2, but I certainly didn't know albums 3 and onward (really, no one does). Chastain was filled to the brim with snooty yuppy types. I kid you not, the guy next to us offered to share his shrimp cocktail, and later, while the concert was in full swing he shouted over the tunes "would you like some grapes?" No, thanks dude.

Darius and the band had this strange sense of self awareness. They pulled off an great show while all the while balancing the reality that the crowd did not recognize the latest album (twice, they mentioned the songs off that album and where we could buy aforementioned album). The thing is the first album rocks so much that you really can do a two hour show by simply arranging these hits to around whatever set list you want to build. Playing the new album is an instant mellow. Playing the first album works the crowd into a fury. They actually saved two of their best known pieces (Let Her Cry and Hold My Hand) for the encore, which had the crowd (me included) in hysterics and they had to come out for a second encore and play a cover just to calm us down. That's an interesting dynamic, and I envied their power over all of us. The first guitar player wore no shoes and played in shorts and a tshirt as he has done for twenty years. That's a pretty sweet gig. I loved the show and I'm so happy that finally, after all these years, I got to see Hootie at Chastain. I wanted to so badly in 1995 but it sold out in a microsecond (and, at the time, concerts were akin to going to the moon or planning a trip to Germany which is to say completely impossible without your parents fueling the jet).

Hootie was a perfect kickoff to a really really fantastic weekend.

2007-09-02T21:58:00.000-04:00

More piano stores... more weird salesmen! I'm telling you, piano dealers are shadier than car salesmen. At least cars I feel reasonably sure about the company that makes the car or pull a carfax, and I can do some research on the manufacturer's price. Here's how piano's work - they are all made in Asia (with some high end exceptions) by companies that change names, go bankrupt, and merge every few years. There are some theories on who has better manufacturing - Japan, Korea, and China in that order. From what I've gathered the Japanese made pianos are pretty solid, the Korean pianos are hit or miss, and the China pianos... mostly miss.

There's a guy on the showroom floor who knows the price of the pianos - if you are lucky, this is the guy you are talking to. If not, you have to wait for that guy. The piano has a retail price which is never used for anything but is always the first number you are quoted. Then it has a sale price, which is also not used, but is much closer to the actual price of the piano. Once you find the guy who knows the actual price of the piano, you talk to him about the actual piano you want to buy. You can get a range on the pianos, but you can't get the actual price of any piano till you commit to one and then go to the office. In the office, the guy looks at the actual price of the piano (which is neither the retail nor the sale price), then he punches numbers into a calculator that mean nothing. Then he calls out a random four digit number (it never comes out even - that makes it seem like a legitimate price). You then take your time and decide. Tomorrow, he'll call you and offer to tune your new piano up to five times, possibly throw in piano lessons, and possibly deliver it for free.

All of the salesmen in Atlanta know each other, and they know each other's inventory and tactics. If you ask any of them about any other piano on the market, it is made with cheap parts and the company is going bankrupt tomorrow. The piano they sell is really the only piano on the market. The technology their company uses is superior and proprietary - the other guys only wish they did it that way. I've heard why the spruce trees in Georgia are better, and also why they are terrible. Siberian yellow spruce is best, except when it's terrible, then you definitely want Polish white spruce. Soft action is much better, but the other guys say it's terrible and tight action is what you want. The same piano could be mellow or mushy, brilliant clarity or too bright. Can't you hear it?

I knew this would be an interesting project, but it has been a madhouse. Everyday I have dreamt a different piano dream. The only thing I've had consistant wisdom on is bigger is better. And, in the end, my own wisdom going into the project has prevailed - you want to get the best sounding instrument in your price range that you lay hands on around the time you are shopping. And you probably want to steer clear of the Chinese pianos and anything that seems like too much of a good deal.

Tonight I go to bed with a piano on hold for me. The nice man made a "SOLD" sign for me based on my interest in it alone. I have till Wednesday to decide on our agreed upon price. When I asked him if I could sleep on it, he said it was too tall and narrow, and I would probably fall off. He's by far my favorite salesman. I am satisfied that this piano is a great sound, and probably the best sound in my price range. It is not the most beautiful design - it's a studio design. But I've found most of the decorative cases result in more money spent on pretty wood and thus less interesting sound. I will sleep on it (and not fall off) and see how I feel in the morning.

2007-08-31T15:10:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I met a strange fellow while I was shopping for a piano. I don't play piano, but have been wanting to start lessons. I have a musical background, so I have some preferences, but yesterday I was on more of a fact finding mission. For fully five minutes, I wantered around this huge piano store by myself. Finally, Tony came out of his office. This guy is unstoppable, and he spent a huge amount of time with me - which, given my level of interest is totally crazy.

I made Tony play all kinds of pianos, and he played all kinds on his own without being prompted. It's clear he has a passion for piano making and selling, and it's clear that he knows a lot about it. And you can't keep him from showing you everything he knows.

I laughed to myself initially because he has hair implants. This is one of those things that seems like a good idea, but really is never a good idea. Confidence can't be surgically implanted. Surgeons are also not all that great at creating beauty... They are more like mechanics. You don't want one poking around if he doesn't have to.

But as I got to know the guy, it started to make sense. He's a showman. In his office, he has a plaque on the wall from his company for every year from 1985 till 2006. The 2007 ones haven't come in yet he tells me. But why, why would you fill your wall with this gaudy item that no one knows what it means. For all I know, they send one to every store owner.

He showed me the digital pianos, the used pianos, the new uprights, the grand pianos (even though I didn't ask for that). He showed me the main floor, the storage warehouse, his office, his computer, the software on his computer (because I said I do software support). Tony cracked me up.

He very nearly sold me a piano yesterday and today I have been in anguish over whether to take the plunge. He threw the book at me. He is having a twice a year sale. He has a special coupon. He can give me 12 weeks of free lessons. What else, he asked, could he do to help me decide on which piano I wanted? Never fear, Tony, you've done everything possible.

2007-08-27T21:38:00.000-04:00

Patched! I am a plumbing miracle worker. Miracle worker. Miracle. Worker.

My kitchen sink has been leaking for about a month on the left side. It was the food processor. I thought it was broken, the leak was incredible. It appears as if the thing had become unhinged. So I stopped using the left side and I considered calling a plumber. But instead I did nothing. Before I called a plumber, I wanted to check to see if I could figure out what was wrong. I didn't think I could fix whatever it was, but I just wanted to know. I procrastinated.

Finally about a week ago, I ran water hard through the pipe. Sploosh! The problem presented itself. There was a hole. A small rust hole half the size of your pinky fingernail. I became certain there must be some way to patch this hole.

I have heard of a wonderful and strange substance called plumbers epoxy. This elvish creation goes on easily and then bonds like steel. Obviously, that must simply be a fairy tale. Cause that would be too easy. But I went to Home Depot anyway. And I found the stuff. It says on it "bonds strong as steel" even though it's a little tub of what appears to be silly putty. Oh, we'll I suppose you have to add eye of newt to it, right? Or it requires some kind of ritual sacrifice? No, the instructions say: 1 mash it up with your fingers 2 apply it to anything 3 wash your hands thoroughly 4 feel free to then pound nails into this substance because it will hold.

I asked around - surely you need some tool to do this. Surely, you cannot touch this with your hand or you will lose your fingernails and all your hair will fall out. Like superglue, this substance cannot be used without losing a little skin. The people I asked said, no, just put it on with your fingers. It just works.

I'll try anything once. So I open it up. I mash it up. I smoosh it on. Seems like it needs a little more. I mash and smoosh. That seems good. I wash, wondering when my fingers will fall off. I wait. One hour later I tap on it - completely dry and solid. It feels more solid than the rest of the container. I put a pan under it. I start the test - running water. No leak! I run more water - still no leak! The real test... I turn on the disposal. It disposes!

I am a master of home renovation. There is nothing I cannot do. It's a miracle of miracles.

2007-08-26T12:43:00.000-04:00

I get headaches. Perhaps normal people also get headaches. I've heard normal people say they have a headache. Then I usually offer them medicine - since I have Aleve on me at all times. A normal person frequently responds "No, thanks. It will pass. I'll be fine." The only explaination for this is that a normal person's headache must not be what I experience. I can't remember ever having a headache that would pass, or one where I could shrug it off by saying "I'll be fine." Quite the opposite, my headaches would last for days without medication and they get progressively worse.

Granted, when I have a headache, I act in denial for a while. I am not a rabid pill swallower and would rather not take medicine if I didn't need to. But at some point after rubbing my head or closing my eyes, or trying to relax my shoulders I realize that, yes, I have a headache, and yes I should take medicine for it. Aleve does not cure the headache, but it does help my body fight for some normalcy, some ability to continue.

The symptoms I have affect my whole body. As such, headache is not such a great name for how I feel. Migrain is a better characterization, but because symptoms for migrains vary widely, it is not very descriptive. My headaches usually start with a throbbing or light pain in my head and neck associated with muscle tension in my neck and shoulders. As the pain worsens, there is pain or throbbing in my hands, arms, and legs. A bad headache will make me nausiated and occasionally (though not commonly) involved some light sensitivity or difficulty focusing.

Triggers for my headaches can include allergies, onset of a cold, motion sickness, or disruption in my sleep pattern. I awoke this morning with a pretty bad headache and the cause seemed to be due to sleeping on the wrong pillow combined with congestion due to a mild cold. I took Aleve as soon as I woke up today so I would not miss church. I still have some pain, though it is not a sharp pain thanks to the medicine. I still have a throbbing sensation and today I happen to be bothered by light so I keep closing my eyes.

I find it strange that the headache results in muscle pain, but I frequently stretch when I have a headache - stretching large muscle groups feel best so I stretch my quads. However, stretching anything feels better so I stand on my toes, stretch my fingers, stretch my mouth and face. Luckily I have lots of idosyncracy credits with my friends. Also rubbing basically anywhere helps a bit - shoulders head and face, obviously, but I also rub my hands, arms, and legs. Heck, even rubbing my ears helps a little which I can't explain at all.

Over the last few years I have had tolerable headaches that are generally easily medicated. When I was a child, a combination of allergies, tension, and motion sickness would quite frequently result in completely intollerable headaches. One that stands out in my mind resulted in vomiting and extreme pain. My dad worked really hard that day to get my shoulder muscles to relax - I remember keeping my eyes shut tight and crying while he rubbed my back like a maniac. Getting muscles to relax is not like rubbing someone's back as you would a child going to sleep. It's more like fighting for control over a muscle spasm. Thus I don't understand wimpy massages with your fingertips. I need a meat tenderizer. The tense muscle causes a lot of pain, though it is generally considered a side affect of the headache and not the other way around.

One time in college I spent the night at my parent's house and the change in sleep pattern triggered an acute headache. I woke up in so much pain, and I remember that headache causing extra pain around my eyes and face. My mom was awakened by her motherly ESP that night and she rubbed my hands and neck in an attempt to help me get to sleep again. That was a doozy.

I'm not sure what causes headaches, and apparently neither is anyone else. I have read things that indicate a vascular problem - which makes sense to me and explains how my whole body is involved in this process. However, it seems like the more commonly accepted theory is that the issue is neurological - which I could undertand as the muscle tension and pain could easily be a side affect.

Anit was visiting today and she said that basically there are no headache "cures" since we don't have a clear root cause, but the different medicine types just attempt to isolate and help with associated symptoms. For me, Tylenol does nothing for me and Aleve seems to work best. I worry to some extent that I regularly take Aleve - two at a time on average one every week or two. It's my understanding that this type of drug can contribute to ulcers and other problems over time.

Today's headache was managable, but I have felt bad all day and I am exhausted now. The only upside of headaches is often times the next day, after a good rest, it's a great feeling to be normal again.

2007-08-25T23:57:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Kent!

2007-08-23T22:59:00.000-04:00

I just watched the Daily Show from Wednesday where the guest was Barack Obama. Let's forget for a minute that it was the Daily Show - that guy is amazing.

I think that point gets washed out too much, so I'll say it again. Barack Obama is an amazing person.

I have never been as excited about anyone in government as I am about this candidate. And I hate to say that because campaigns are so dicey and it will just break my heart if he doesn't win.

I was a fan of John Kerry - he was knowledgable and experienced. He had a solid plan for everything under the sun. I was confident in his ability to do what needed to be done.

But Barack is a game changer. What he says isn't just a good plan, it seems right. And there are real issues that need to be addressed by a person with good judgment.

Go Barack Go.

2007-08-22T23:13:00.001-04:00

Our security guard asked me to sign his hat today. This is the security guard from Africa who is trying to save up to put his sons through school. Right now his sons are serving in some kind of national required service. He hopes to get them to Canada, then enrolled in an international college scholarship of some kind. He's been here seven years saving for his family to come with him.

So he asks me to sign his hat - it's a white company logo hat and a lot of people in the office have signed it. I asked him if he was leaving. He said "No - I get to go home to visit with my sons in December. I want them to know what heroes are like. You guys are my heroes. You make phones that connect people. A lot of people worry about sports figures getting in trouble with the law - they say the role models for their children became a bad example. But I ask them - who did you chose as a role model for your children? A guy who can throw a ball or hit a ball. Those are terrible role models - You guys are my role models."

I signed his hat, but I almost cried.

2007-08-21T21:59:00.000-04:00

It's workshops for three days this week at work. We workshop process several times a year at my job, and I see great benefits to this. It's actually great to have management that devotes time to gathering everyone's feedback, provides some guidance for what we're going to do next, and then asks fair questions about whether this is going to meet the challenges we are facing. Also, it's great to have dinner with people you work with from the other side of the world once every year or two. Meeting a person you only talk to on the phone is a bit like going to see the movie after you've read the book - you already have preconceived ideas about what they will look like and act like. Often times, you have an image in your head, sometimes confused with another colleague or movie star. In my head, I never imagine they have red hair, or a pony tail, or a soul patch. And yet, people do.

Tonight we went to Buca di Beppo. I had low expectations, because people near my work go out to eat all the time and I have not heard rave reviews. I know my boss's boss likes Italien though, so I offered it to him when he asked for suggestions. We had a really great time. Buca is a family style restaurant meaning the serving size is for two, three, or four. We took full advantage of the family style by reserving a table for 12. You would not believe their table for 12. They have a round room in the back they call the "pope" room. There are over 200 pictures of various popes on the wall, and a pope chair on one side. In the center of the large round table there is a pope head encased in glass. The pope head rests on a giant lazy susan the size of most normal tables. Thus the server only walks as far as one side of the circular table and spins all the food and drinks to their respective owners. It was such great fun - and good for building teamwork since we needed to coordinate the spin action. The food was great too - I feasted on bruschetta and chicken parm.

This weekend I sat down and made a list of all the home improvements I want to do over the next three years. It added up to thirty items costing thousands of dollars. The main thing I want to do this year is remove the closet from my kitchen. According to my spreadsheet, I will attempt this massive project by November 31. We'll see if that happens. I pledged to remove the behemoth if our bonus's came in this half, and they did. I'll have to call my friend David that I played softball with and get a quote.

Maybe that will help me get something done around the house, but more likely I'll continue to drool over a digital SLR. I was checking out Canon's new announced cameras which, predictively have dropped the prices of last year's models. Suddenly the Rebel XTi looks both really solid and really reasonably priced. Especially compared to the newly announced EOS 1Ds Mark III. The Mark III is twice as good at everything (sensor size, max resolution, MPs), but costs ten times as much. I'm thinking the XTi would get me pretty far.

2007-08-19T13:38:00.000-04:00

"Be anything but a coward, a pretender, and emotional crook, a whore: I'd rather have cancer than a dishonest heart."
-Truman Capote, "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

When I read a novel, I keep a pencil nearby to underline things. I never end up doing so, but I dogeared this page (sorry Truman) so I could find this quote again. This was my favorite line from "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

"And you must promise me this, Billy / In everything you do
Always be yourself, Billy / And you always will be true"
-Lee Hall, "Billy Elliot the Musical"

On a related note, I've been listening to Billy Elliot an insane amount. Though I don't feel it's an incredible musical, it's solid enough, and the story is compelling and familiar... so I just keep listening. I found these similar sentiments really resonates with me in a lot of ways. We just don't have enough opportunities to be emotionally honest in life. In the daily grind of life, American society is relatively reserved despite our crass, noisy, and outgoing world persona.

Today our preacher pulled of quite the slight of hand. The liturgy was a complicated passage in which Jesus states that he's not here to bring peace - rather households will be divided father against son. I don't really know what the passage indicates besides that the subject of Jesus's teachings are controversial, but Wiley didn't mention that. He preached on how we should be "in it for the long haul." I didn't get the connection.

Yesterday I hauled some loot from IKEA - I got a tea cup for $.59. I couldn't decide what color, so I got two. Big spender! I bought a giant IKEA bag - also $.59. I got a rug for the kitchen and ten AA batteries ($2.99 each). Grand total: $8 and change.

Today was our annual company picnic. I love getting to meet everyone's family. The picnic is a really important bonding opportunity for everyone. There were lots of silly games - my team lost in tug of war. I opted out of hoppy ball race, sponge relay, hula hoop contest, and karaoke. Though I found out my new hire is a tenor and he can sing through the stratosphere!

2007-08-17T22:20:00.000-04:00

I had two really great and random things happen today.

While I was heating up my sandwich for lunch, I asked my coworker Michael how things were going. He said fine. I said "what's new?" because we don't talk much, and he's always doing something interesting. He replied, "what's new, well, I don't have cancer anymore."

"That's awesome," I said stupidly. "Actually, I haven't had it in three years, but I just went in for a check up and it makes you nervous every time." "I can imagine... wait, no I can't imagine. Did you have leukemia?" "No, I had Hodgkins lymphoma. It's a wussy one." "So you kicked it's ass." "That's right."

"Did you have chemo and all that?," I continued to ask stupidly. "Yep. Lost all the hair, it was awesome. Here's a picture when I had no hair." "You had to get your license when you had no hair." "Yep." "Sux." "It's my own fault, I lost it."

"So that's the other interesting story about me. I am in a band, and I used to have cancer." I love people who talk about life altering and heroic challenges in a level headed way. And I love that he likened beating cancer to being interesting the same way being in a band is interesting.

The second random and awesome thing that happened today was an encounter with a total stranger. Kent and I were going to see Super Bad... which made me laugh but was so crude that I can't recommend it to anyone... that means don't go see it Anit... Anyway, we were on our way to see it and driving through the parking lot there were two kids (probably ten years old) about to cross. They saw Kent coming.

The kid on the right came to such an abrupt halt that it had a bit of a military "coming to attention" style. Inspired by his lock step, he saluted as we drove by. He literally saluted Kent and I. I waved and Kent claimed to be a General. The kid had a giggle fit as his friend, apparently also realizing that Kent was a General, joined the salute in like form.

What a great day. If only the Braves had scored a run tonight, it would have been a truly fantastic day.

2007-08-16T22:14:00.001-04:00

I have one of the songs from the musical Billy Elliot in my head. Wait, that's getting ahead of it.

Monday night I got to the surprise ending of "Breakfast at Tiffany's." It turns out that it's a shortstory - I thought the rest of the book was going to be other chapters, but they are just other short stories. So completely without readying myself, it was over. Which, I guess is how the main character felt when Holly Golightly disappears from his life forever. That's not a spoiler - that happens on the first page. I haven't totally pulled together my assesment yet, but I definitely enjoyed it. The characters were vivid and I could easily relate to the narrator, who tells the story of an amazing yet totally unexplainable person. I feel as if I know people like Holly Golightly, but they are generally so ethereal that who can say they know them really. The movie in my mind is nothing like the still shots I see on imdb starring Audrey Hepburn. I think they should have a remake staring Amanda Peet. And the leading man of course would be Capote himself - Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Tuesday Kent got home from England (hooray!). I picked him up from the airport Tuesday night. He went to England and Scotland and Wales (and, as it turns out, I have no idea about the geography of these locations - surprise!) So most of the places he went to were kind of out of the way spots. He's such an Anglophile. He did spend a few days in London and he went to see the musical versions of two popular movies - Billy Elliot and Lord of the Rings. From Billy, he brought me the soundtrack. I have listened to it ever sense and it's not great, but it has some great moments. It follows the movie closely, and the best song is "the Letter" which is currently in my head!

Today however I have been desperately seeking sleep. I am no longer an individual that can "bounce" off of four hours of sleep which is nearly exactly what I tried to do last night in some kind of send off for my ex-roomate. The game plan was he'd meet up with me after choir and we'd go to the pool for night swimming. This was an often a weekly occurence last summer, but this summer I have scarcely been to the pool at all. We got back to the condo around 1:30. He crashed on the couch (he likes the couch, I have no idea why he didn't sleep in his bed) because he had a 4:30 shift at Starbucks. I couldn't sleep hardly at all, thus the 7 am alarm came way too early, and though I robotically made it through the day, I was not exactly sunshine today and shortly after finishing work, I was the one who fell asleep on the couch. I awoke long enough to eat what might pass as dinner, but it's time again to go back to bed so I shall.

2007-08-13T22:38:00.000-04:00

Hooray! I am a brilliant mechanical electrical computer wizard. OK, not really at all, but I'm happy that I did not break my computer.

I collected an old clunker from work last week because, well, because clunkers are now better than my old standby Win98 machine. I decided to retire that machine and do some updating. The clunker standard - PIII, Win2k, 512MB, 20GB. My old machine - PIII, Win98, 256MB, 10GB. My old machine has more slots for RAM, and it has a working CD Rom, but I was sure I could maximize the best of both worlds. This is a project I'm only willing to take on when I have nothing to lose.

The project came to a halt this weekend when I couldn't get the stupid tower apart. Both machines are in identical casings. It's easy enough to get one side off, but to get the CD ROM out, you have to take off BOTH sides AND the front. The second side I discovered comes off with more brute force than you would normally apply to electronics. The front, however, is easy as long as you know the three places to hit the tabs to release. I was sure I was home free at this point.

Next step: swapping the parts. I initially went for the Win98 case, because, well I couldn't get one side of the other one off. I switched out the hard drive and added the RAM from the other machine and viola! Everything worked fine. Win2k identified the new parts and I was off and running. Too easy, right? Well, it hadn't recognized the RAM, so I thought maybe the RAM was incompatible. So I put just the new RAM in and tried to boot - three beeps is all I got. That's not good.

Being the good support person, I tested every reasonable combination of RAM. Three beeps. I decided I must have broken something. No worries, I have a second computer to play with and I got the other side off finally. So I swap out the CD ROM, move the hard drive back, put in some RAM. Three beeps. Now I have two machines that will only beep! Don't laugh at me, I've never done this before.

My next support strategy is to guess the root cause and work backwards. Knowing that both machines had the same symptom led me to believe the issue was either the CD ROM, the hard drive, or the memory. I disconnected the CD. No dice. I disconnected and reconnected the hard drive. It looked and sounded like it was working, but no information appeared on the screen. Therefore - the memory. Well, I have loaded memory before, and it seems like it never goes in right. That must be the issue. I am too dumb to know, after all, what correctly loaded memory looks like. It feels solid. It's in the slot. Dang it! It was not snapped in. Pushing stupidly hard snapped one in. Then the other. Then... the beautiful humming of a fully assembled junk machine.

I am both proud and embarrassed about this little project. But I suspect I will find some use for a back up machine at home. Hooray!

2007-08-12T19:58:00.000-04:00

Five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure a year in the life? How about love? I always feel a bit disconnected after a celebration. Birthdays are a good excuse to get together with everyone you know and love. Work friends, church friends, GT friends, neighborhood friends, and of course family. I worked it all into the weekend. It's a bit overwhelming really to be lucky enough to have all that love and fellowship all at one time. And now it's back to "normal".

After three confections with candles, today I played host to Zack and Mara. It was great to have Avondale people over and we ate like kings. Zack and I grilled burgers, and I cooked corn, and mom's mac and cheese. We ate birthday cake and didn't have room for watermelon. Zack and Mara seemed to really like my place which made me happy. Mara was especially happy with the peaceful national park surroundings. Sometimes I forget and take that for granted.

They also really enjoyed the HD television - another real treat that I take for granted. We flipped around and watched some Discovery HD, a bit of the last '07 post season Saints game I have saved in HD, VH1 Storytellers in HD in the background while we ate, and then best of all we turned on the PGA championship. Tiger... Words cannot describe his unique brand of excellence. He won his thirteenth major. By comparison, his greatest contemporaries - Mickelson, Singh, and Els have three. Only twenty five golfers in history have won four. Wow.

2007-08-11T23:30:00.000-04:00

Well, my birthday is over but I'm not sure I could have crammed more in. I started yesterday around 8 and met up with friends at the Brickstore pub. The ambiance there is ideal, though it was noisier than I remember and I'm tired from shouting. I had the fish and chips and the Weissbier which is second to none. The combo of church friends and work friends was a good time, though my musicians were inadvertently overwhelmed by GT alumni. Chris tagged along later which added to the college camaraderie. They were good to hang out till midnight, at which point we checked our watches, confirmed I was 29 and bid each other good night. I headed over to Emily and Tara's - Emily had baked brownies for dessert. We put a candle in mine and it seemed like a fortuitous start to the big day as I headed back to the north side.

I pried myself out of bed this morning around ten to get ready for brunch. I met James and Chrissy and Chris at Brio. I had the french toast and it was fantastic. Brio is always a fine place for brunch and we enjoyed the upscale atmosphere. I told stories of my man eating shredder and Chrissy told of her new wiz bang washing machine. It was great to meet up with them today as they were busy celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary last night. Easy for them to remember my birthday that way, right? The Brio people brought me ice cream with a candle in it, but thankfully did not sing.

After brunch, I headed down to PTC for food with the family. Dad grilled out steaks and Mom made mac and cheese. It was all very delicious and I ate about a pound of macaroni. For dessert we had a wonderful raspberry lemon cake with two and nine tenths candles representing the decades of celebration. It turned out to be a spidey birthday as I got a spidey children's place setting, a spidey bookmark, and a spiderman mr. potato head. I also got a book - "Nobody's Fool" which I have been wanting to read after "Empire Falls."

Sarah called, and Steve called. They both seem to be doing well, and I'm trying to convince them both to join me on some large international trip next year - the destination I'm framing the discussion around is "Beijing Spring 08" but I have some flexibility in that. I think Steve is leaning towards some kind of complicated plan to join me. We'll see if it works out. I've offered this up to half a dozen people, actually, and Steve is the only one so far coordinating his projects to see if it will work. It's time for me to get lost somewhere for a bit. I have itchy feet so I need to start planning now.

The evening concluded with the family rooting on the Braves in a summer classic. A couple of things happened that I've never seen before. The Phils put the shift on but instead of moving everyone to the right, they third basemen crossed over to cover the middle infield - which, when you think about it, wouldn't this make him the shortstop? We debated, but a strikeout resulted in no fielding putout which would force the issue. The second oddity was a call by the umpire that runners on first and second were awarded an extra base for the Phillies when a pitch bounced in front of McCann and got stuck in his catcher's gear. This was scored a wild pitch, but I think technically it was some kind of interference call on McCann. He looked completely befuddled and I'm not sure I've worked that out for myself yet. In any case the Braves one - what a better way to end the evening.

I called Steve back on the way home and we chatted all the way till midnight... the day officially come to a close. Who could ask for anything more?

2007-08-10T18:36:00.001-04:00

Y'all, it is massively hot. I LOVE IT. Seriously, every time I step outside I lament my lifelong goal of working with my brain alone, and I wish I could spend a few days lifeguarding. I would hate to be a ditch digger on a day like today, but lifeguarding would be just spectacular. It's been over 100 degrees all week, which I categorize as "optimal." I do not sweat a lot, so it takes some scorching heat to get me going. In this heat, I am on the point of perspiration walking around, and if I do something - like I just carried in some equipment - I really enjoy a good sweat.

Today is the last day I will ever be twenty eight years old. I'm somewhat sad about that, but not morose or anything. I was reminiscing with Zack today about nine years ago to the day when he and Nick and I went to the movies. I was really quite frustrated with my absolute inability to remain a teenager, and after the movie they waited with me in the car till midnight. We were parked on Fairfield for ten or fifteen minutes laughing with a bit of graveside humor for my somber teenage "over the hill" black balloon pity party.

But I've been prepping for 29 and it has a nice ring to it. Thirty will be tougher. I'll start prepping for that soon. I have been happy all day enjoying my last glimpse of twenty eight, soaking it all in. This made work seem antsy but I managed to get a lot of organizational work done. Sometimes antsy days are good for that if you just put your mind to it.

At work I got a mix of responses to my birthday eve. Often people think I am in my thirties because I actually look old (it's my scowl and rapidly receding hair), so I often get surprised looks for celebrating 29. More than one person asked me how many years I've turned 29 in a row. Just this once, I laughed. Some people genuinely congratulated me on the work that I'm doing at the age I'm doing it. I am, and for years have been, the youngest of the dozen or so people in my office with direct reports. On the flip side, it's not like I'm settled down. I was talking with a work colleague today about how he has three kids and he's not yet thirty two. That's admirable, but I don't know if I would trade with him.

So I had a great day at work, and perhaps it's that giddy enthusiasm that caused me to do something silly. They were getting rid of old equipment, so I brought home a new Win2k machine - that is not the silly part especially if I can get all the stuff off my Win98 machine and replace it in the pile o' scrap next week. But I also claimed the office shredder. It is relatively new but the company standard is to use a shredding service so they were axing it. Now, I have a bad habit of bringing office furniture into my home, and this may be one of the dumber claims I've made, but so far I am loving it.

This machine is easily 75 lbs and is one and a half times the size of your standard kitchen trashcan in all dimensions. It is a compressed wood cabinet which makes it extremely heavy, and is mounted with a shredder that has a life of it's own. This thing eats unopened mail like a normal shredder eats a single page - in fact, a single page angers it and it makes a funny zipping sound like "give me a break I want real food!" It really is ridiculous to have this item, and I apologize to anyone who is secretly chastising me right now.

Nevertheless, this should help take care of two of my major delusions - one being my fear and loathing of the USPS. Anything that comes into my PO box should now fear for its life. I'm not opening it - Capital One you have met your match. I have the "no hassle" application shredder from the gods. The second delusion is my irrational fear of identity theft. I put lots of things into the shredder pile - receipts, ticket stubs, airplane information, telephone bills, cable bills. Basically anything with my name on it I want destroyed if possible. Anything labeled to: "resident" I provide to the less brutal friend of the shredder, the kitchen trash can. I have already destroyed almost one tall trash bag worth of telephone bills and decided to take a break. This could be weeks of entertainment - my shredding pile is stupidly large.

The weekend is filled with possibilities. Tonight I'm off to the pub with church and work friends. I love the brickstore pub, and am starving for some fish and chips! I hope it stays ridiculously hot late into the night. If you want to come over later, we can shred some more mail.

2007-08-09T22:43:00.001-04:00

I had a dream that I was on vacation in Alaska. I didn't have a place to stay, so I knocked on a stranger's door. They weren't home, but the door was open and I crashed on the couch.

The next day, they came home and invited me out with them. We headed out on the town. The first restraunt we went to we ran into some of my high school friends - Boris, Duoc, and John were having a bit of a get together. Hooey hooey hooey I said - that was what they said a lot in high school - some kind of attempt at being crude. I haven't seen the hooeys all together in one place in eleven years. We hugged and we celebrated.

The moral of the story is I need a vacation. Where should I go?

2007-08-08T21:18:00.000-04:00

"Watching Baseball Smarter." Before there was reality television, there was baseball. I was listening to NPR on the way home today and they were discussing baseball with a professional fan. This guy has written a book with the aforementioned title, and he charges a consulting charge to go to baseball games with you and show you the ropes. I listened for an hour or so and there was nothing he said I didn't know. And, as usual in baseball, I found it all to be perfectly common sense. After every nuance of the game, I always realize things are that way "because that makes sense".

Everything from when a catcher throws his mask to why the ump dusts off the plate are included in this silly book. A catcher holds onto his mask till the last second then he throws it hard so that he has his hands free but doesn't step on it. That makese sense. If the catcher gets picked off by a foul tip, you may see the ump dust off the plate to buy him some time. That makes sense. When the first baseman runs off the field, a coach throws him a ball so that he has a ball in his glove to throw around the horn before the next inning. That makes sense.

But the real nitty gritty details I don't see as much anymore. When I was a kid, I'd sit in front of TBS for hours and hours and days and years - I could recite the disclaimer. The reason I mentioned reality TV is because this is more real, less scripted, and continuous coverage of your heroes on the field. I love knowing that Andruw plays too shallow because he can catch anything behind him. Watching Sheffield play, he never came set before catching the ball. Back in the Leo days, I new the pitch selection of all the Braves and I yelled out loud when they threw a backdoor breaking ball when someone was looking fastball. I like knowing that Smoltz throwing his slider means he's feeling good, if he flexes his hand he's feeling bad, and if he high fives with his glove hand he's feeling really bad.

And baseball, if you really watch it, has a decent number of surprising things that happen. It's like hobbits - you can learn everything there is to know about it in a single night, but in a hundred years it can still surprise you. The other day Chipper played shortstop for the first time in seven years even though he came up as a shortstop. One time I saw an outfielder run in an unassisted double play. Several times a year someone threatens to replace Albert Hall as the last Braves player to hit for the cycle. I've seen a hitter pitch, and pitchers pinch hit. I love it when pitchers homer, or when anyone hits an inside the parker. I've seen Sid Bream steal a base. I love it when the second catcher pinch hits and everyone wonders "who is the emergency catcher?" I love knowing who the emergency catcher is, and who runs the grounds crew and who the trainer and coaches are. God I love baseball.

Someone at work today said they didn't understand how I could be such a big baseball fan. It's so slow, he said, and they get paid to much. But it's a great game, I told him. It's a thinking man's game, it's not for everyone.

2007-08-07T21:34:00.000-04:00

This morning I got up early. I had arranged to meet my old boss for breakfast. He lives north of Atlanta and works downtown. I live close to town and work up north. We met up at Waffle house on the way.

Kyle has been with his new company I guess six months. It's a small company, just like when he first hired me. It was good to catch up and find out how his new gig is going. I filled him in on all the activity at work. It's going pretty well. If you hadn't noticed, we just had a huge first half. That's all hocus pocus though. The main thing is that you like what you're doing and you enjoy the people you work with. I enjoy what I'm doing most of the time, and I enjoy the people immensely. Today we had a status meeting and I just laughed and laughed. That's a nice thing. Of course, we would be better off with Kyle there and Jay and I often remark about the gap.

Tonight I watched a bit of the Braves game - enough to see them slug six runs early. Then I put on "The Greatest Game Ever Played." There is nothing on TV really, so I've been recording things off some of the odd movie channels I get. That movie is a pretty good sports movie - or at least a good sports story. After the movie, I read bits of the real story, and found it even more satisfying.

Any day that starts with the Waffle is bound to be satisfying. The only risky thing was having the second cup of coffee which gave me the jitters all morning long. It's the ninth now, so I better go cheer on the Braves. I wonder if Shea Jones is there.

2007-08-06T22:42:00.000-04:00

Harry Potter... One week later.

I really enjoyed reading the seventh and final Harry Potter. Each book in the series, in fact, has been quite enjoyable to read. I completed each of them quickly, and I have looked forward to the final books with anticipation of how it would all turn out.

The brilliant idea in Harry Potter is that it is extremely accessible. It tells a story that seems familiar to us already, we just need the author to supply the ground rules. We already know about wizards, geeks, Gandolf the Grey, and using "the force" for good and evil. We even know lots of enjoyable stories about "the chosen one". What Rowling capitalizes on is combining this sci-fi genre with a repeatable and enjoyable context - high school.

Lots of people have finished the series now, and as I have noted to my friends - no one is in anguish over it, but no one is astounded by it. There is no zing. It's somewhat shocking to have a book that sold four snictillion copies and no one is walking away shouting. Shouting for better or for worse. Read the book, and you'll close the last page thinking "ok, fine." And that's it - it really is a fine ending to all the questions one has about Harry Potter. But, even for me, the critic with low expectations, I was left a bit deflated.

Rowling's key flaws still bothered me. I would say the primary issue that she has faced in the latter half of the series is that no one has told her "no". That is, every direction she imagined she would like to write about was covered for hundreds of pages. Most normal writers, even good writers, have an editor that sheds pages when a book winds around in the wilderness. I would be curious to know how many pages she submitted to her editor. I bet they cut zilch.

Another glaring weakness of the series is the irrational and sometimes shallow emotional depth of the characters. While Harry often expresses anger and emotion, it never seems to make sense to me. There are times when someone will make some off the cuff comment to him, and he flies into a rage. Meanwhile there are massive traumatic things that happen to him without a passing shrug. I just don't understand that. It takes me completely out of the cartoon wonderland when I am forced to throw the book down and wonder to myself "Why is he so angry? That doesn't make sense!" or worse "Why has no one responded to that? That was huge." It's a careless trait that would make the unlikely to pick up any other Rowling novel.

What I say next will sound like a contradiction to my first point but it is not - in fact it supports both of the previous ideas. There are some wonderful characters in this book that are dreadfully underdeveloped. Yes, you can develop characters while cutting pages. You just can. My favorite underdeveloped character is Draco Malfoy. I think there is an entire series waiting to be written from his point of view. Here's a kid that is in a supposedly powerful house, and is a supposedly strong wizard. And yet, Rowling uses the kid as a punching bag. There is barely any back story about him after the first two books. Now, I know there are hundreds of characters in this series, and you can't write about them all. That said, I feel there are several key characters that become a pithy facade. In our church plays, Robert always requires us to think about the story behind the character - even if that story is not on the page. That little trick would allow the actor, or the writer in this context, the ability to do a lot with a little. There are lots of missed opportunities. The sad thing is that it translates to the movies, where Draco Malfoy (to beat a dead horse) makes squirmy faces and runs away.

How does an author do more with less? The key to good writing is picking the words in each sentence carefully. When I read Stephen King I often stop in wonder when I read a sentence that is so true and so clever that I laugh out loud or shake my head knowingly. The opposite is true of Potter. In reading the novel, I often stop on some turn of phrase and think "that doesn't even make sense - why would she draw such an inane analogy?" Word choice seems like a nit picky thing to mention, but aside from believable characters that grow and develop, words are the single most important to thing to me in a novel. The style determines whether I enjoy a book and whether read another book by the same author. Words matter! You might say "this is a children's book, she can't select from all the words available" and you'd be right. But that's a cop out. All literature has the opportunity for interesting language.

And I guess my underlying beef, the reason I carry a banner for those who have read, but are largely unenthused, about Harry Potter is because I have often heard it compared to Tolkien (and, believe it or not, I've heard it called better). I suppose that's fine. It can be your favorite book. But please, please recognize the difference between classic literature and Harry Potter. I am as happy as anyone that so many people read and enjoy Potter. My great hope is that it challenges them to pick up more interesting material. There are so many things out there that challenge me personally, spiritually, even theologically. I have been on a kick lately reading J.D. Salinger, Truman Capote, Frank McCourt. These authors capture me in a way that Harry Potter never could. My great fear is that the general population might not know the difference. And that would be very tragic for everyone.

2007-08-05T22:35:00.000-04:00

Going out of town in weekend traffic can sometimes be unbearable - this weekend, it was a breeze. I met up with Zack and Mara Friday night. Somewhat thankfully, they were running late resulting in us missing the normally horrible northbound traffic on 85. We dropped off a car and piled all our stuff into the Altima. It has been a long time since I have road tripped to Clemson, but it really is an easy drive.

They weren't kidding - Andrew's house is enormous. It's a seventies ranch which has been added onto about three times. It now totally wraps around the original back porch, fully earning the nickname "the compound." Andrew gave us the grand tour, the most surprising part being the fact that the basement is a huge play area - it is the same footprint as the original house, so there is plenty of room for the ping pong table and lots of room for a party atmosphere. Outside of Clemson in the middle of no where, this house has plenty of space for overnight guests, plus plenty of large spaces to congregate. We split our time roughly equally between the HD DVD equipped living room, the umbrella shaded pool deck, and the basement though we also ate in the kitchen and the courtyard (the orginal back porch).

Hunter gave Andrew an incredible poster sized illustrated poem for his birthday. I wish I had some of the standzas to quote from. There were dozens of references to fond memories growing up. And as more and more people showed up Friday and Saturday, the more it became like old times. The Avondale crew has created a strange sort of family. Despite all going our seperate ways and few of us living (many of us without family living) in Avondale, we all feel very rooted in this strange history. It's nice to see that bond, at least intially, standing the test of time.

We did what the Avondale boys do. There was a whole lot of food, drinking, swimming, and simple games which entertained us for hours. There was a decent amount of sitting around, soaking up the sun, or watching TV. In my experience, things in Avondale have their own pace and this weekend was no exception. Another key ingredient is the age old habit for us to do everything together. There was rarely a splintering of the group the whole weekend, even when we had as many as sixteen there at the same time Saturday.

It was good to see Andrew, Lori, Hunter, Zack, Mara, Jay, Nathan, Molly, Lindsay, Wes, Nick, and Brian. I also met Jay's girlfriend Jes and Brian's fiance Chrisinda as well as several of Andrew's work friends. Everyone is doing well. Everyone has complicated sounding jobs. Andrew is an engineer, Lori does insurance, and Hunter sells point of sale software. Zack is in real estate and works for Promove, Mara is a graphic designer. Jay has a real estate investment company and also works for Promove, Nathan works in shipping, Molly is in school for theater production. Lindsay finishes at UGA law in the spring and marries Wes in January. I forget what Wes does but Nick manages corporate sales for a manufacturing company. I'm not sure what Brian is up to, but he too is getting married soon.

An interesting thing about old friends is they all look different, but you can still see exactly where they came from. You have a residual image of them that they do not outgrow. But of course, everyone is different. It's interesting to see where we've come. Some have achieved way above expectations, and some are still finding their way. Zack and I have hung out several times and he's so much like his old self it's refreshing. Though there are many ways he's changed - and those ways are also refreshing. He is open minded about so many things and really has a good perspective. He and Mara are such a happy lucky pairing. It's really amazing.

The party went on and on as we were all at the compound for the weekend. Andrew's wife, though five months pregnant, was amazing about keeping us fed not to mention keeping the unruly behavior of the Avondale boys (relatively) in line. Zack manned the grill for Saturday and Sunday lunch and Lori cooked breakfast and dinner. In a way it was like renting a house in the mountains and really getting everyone away for the weekend. Seeing everyone together like that - it was really good for me. Avondale has always been deeply rooted in my sense of self.

The last thing we did before we headed back to Atlanta was watch the Braves game together. W.P. Kinsella captured the moment perfectly when he wrote "It will be just like when they were children and cheered their heroes, and they'll watch the game, and it will be as if they were dipped in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they'll have to brush them away from their faces..."

2007-08-01T22:24:00.001-04:00

Last night three great players tried, and failed, to reach milestone accomplishments in their careers. Alex Rodriguez is one homer shy of being the youngest major leager to hit 500 homeruns. Tommy Glavine attempted to join the elete 300 win club (current membership: 22). And of course Barry Bonds attempted to rise above the cat calls in the city of Angels to smack as many home runs as anyone has ever smacked.

It's worth taking a minute to mention that I really wanted all three of these things to happen. ARod is a great guy. Tommy is an Atlanta favorite, really bright and a cunning pitcher. And Barry. I roll my eyes at Barry, not because I don't like him. I really do like him, as always - he's a great player. For much of his career in Pittsburgh I felt he was the most often overlooked superstar out there. Then... the clear. I'm 99 percent sure he used everything he could get his hands on to turn fly balls into homers. Because why not? But here's the thing - that doesn't really matter to me.

Baseball is a game. It's a great game. Over the 120 years they have played it, people have tried to get an edge. Whether it's putting pine tar of their bat or their hat, using cocaine, corking their bat, scuffing the ball. You name it, they do it. Those things seem like part of the game to me. They are kind of funny to me actually. And some people take them so seriously. How should it go in the record books? I don't care. Who sits around reading record books (ok I actually do that) and worrying about how the numbers are denoted (ok I don't care how they are denoted).

No two players have lived the same lives. Babe Ruth will never be erased from history. He's just that good. Aaron is legendary. And Barry, well he's a great player who had a funny habit of using cattle growth hormones. It's as simple as that. Hilarious, actually, but notable.

Keep in mind the most doesn't mean the greatest. The former is incontrovertible, the latter is up to your own style. I like Barry, but he's never been my favorite. My favorites almost never have "the most", though I'm fond of describing them with phrases that end in "of all time" or "in the history of mankind". It doesn't take anything away from our favorites because Barry added some pep to his pop and got away with it. I laugh and shrug.

Quick! Name the top six homerun hitters of all time.

If you were able to do so without peaking, we can be friends. Heck, if you found the answer by cheating, we can still be friends. Cause that's just funny.

2007-07-29T11:22:00.000-04:00

Online communities create interesting circles of friends. Not friends really. They don't come over to your house or celebrate occasions with you. But there is a familiarity you form with people that allow you a window into their world - sort of a rock star familiarity if you will.

And I love windows into the world. The world is a big place, and I can only manage to visit small parts of it over time. I was looking over my list of contacts, of which I have 60, in the online community I find most entertaining. Those contacts include folks from the US (AK,CA,FL,GA,HA,IL,MA,ME,NH,NY,OH,PA,TN,WA)as well as Australia, Austria, Canada, England, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, The Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Suriname, Turkey, Wales. I didn't even know there was a country named Suriname.

I can't wait to plan another trip to some place nice. I've never been to Alaska, Maine, New Hampshire, or Washington after all. Nor have I been to Austria, Macedonia, the Marshall Islands, Russia, Singapore, Suriname, Turkey, or Wales. I should add someone from Beijing. That's high on my list.

2007-07-28T23:20:00.001-04:00

Today I woke up, read Potter, then ate Special K with strawberries while watching "Forget Paris." Then I showered, got dressed, ate another bowl of Special K, kept reading.

Kent came over and we headed north to the Tanger outlets. I got a pack of baseball cards which was amazing. I got Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, and a special insert card of Vlad Guererro which includes a thumbnail sized piece of his uniform. Kent got 6 shirts for $70 (4 polos and 2 button down from Banana Republic Outlet). Then I got a mirror from Kirklands for my fourier. On our exodus I got a strawberry limeade and tots from Sonic. Yay Sonic!

We headed south to see Potter V on IMAX. It was bigger on IMAX, and the sound was good, but there was a part at the end (when they fight he who should not be named) that was in 3D. That gave me a headache, though it was a cool idea. Needless to say, 3D hasn't made any miraculous strides in the last 30 years that prevents it from looking blurry which makes my brain go crazy. But it was good. I'd pass on the 3D next time though. Kent thought it was really cool.

We stopped at Gwinnett Place mall on the way home because I wanted to go to Frye's. I've never been to Frye's - it's like a sprawling Best Buy for geeks. I kind of wanted a micro SD card for my device so I can use it for MP3's. They are only $25 for 2GB, however I was hoping I coudl also use it for pictures. Alas my Olympus is "XD" not "SD" so I passed on this new technology. Micro SD does sound cool though.

We spotted a cool putt putt place on the way there and extened our layover in Gwinitia long enough to eat at Ryan's and then hit the Pirate's Cove. At Ryan's I got steak and mashed potatoes and mac and cheese and green beens. Mmm. For dessert, I had nachos. Hahaha. I love Ryans. Kent had cookies, a donut, a piece of cake, and ice cream for dessert. He has the worlds biggest sweet tooth.

At the Pirate's Cove I said "Ahoy!" to the person selling tickets and she said "Good Evening." I laughed so hard. I'm an enthusiastic putt putter, and by that I mean I hit the ball to hard because that's more fun for me, so I usually aim for 1 over par (ahem) per hole. I didn't make it. I ended the course twenty something over par despite getting two holes in one on holes 17 and 18. This place was only $7 and you got to play their half course for free. Actually it's an 8 hole course. They are still building the second half, so they only had holes 1-5, and 7-9. We laughed so hard when we couldn't find the sixth hole.

My goal on Saturdays is to do something I don't normally do. I don't normally go to Tanger, or Mall of Georgia, or Gwinett Place Mall. I don't usually eat Special K or tots or nachos for dessert. And I definitely don't usually play 26 holes of mini-golf. I think I overachieved today on that goal.

2007-07-25T20:52:00.001-04:00

It's day four of Harry Potter. My pace has slowed as my friends busily finish their copies. On Monday I went over to Kent's for dinner and Chrissy was there. She was borrowing his washer because hers is in repair. We each had Potter in our laps and we were doing some concurrent readind. It was very bizzare. Anyway, 300 pages in and I'm not enthralled. And I hear people finishing without cries of anguish or jubilation. Often times, the culimination of hype disapoints. I heard the iPhone sold only 150k units the first weekend, well off from their hopes. Stocks plummet. It's still a cool phone mind you.

We were talking about technology today at work and the things that have gone out because of it. I rattled off a list of archaic icons. I don't listen to, watch, or record anything to tape. It has been six years since I had a land line. I don't use stamps, or checks. I rarely even carry cash (yes, money is obsolete). We laughed as we tried to recall how much it costs to use a pay phone, though none of us know any numbers to call. I throw away phone books. It's a strange world and getting stranger.

2007-07-22T22:40:00.000-04:00

Nothing is ever easy. It took me three trips to Walmart and two trips to Wolf to put together a small photo album for Beth. It turns out neither location takes USB2 drives, thus all the confusion. Beth and I have lunch plans Tuesday so that I can give it to her. Should be fun. Thursday she heads south.

Other than the photo hassle, it was a great day. I've been reading Potter every chance I get, though I'm only a couple hundred pages into it. I'm sure loads of people have finished it by now. So far, I am enjoying it, but not surprisingly, she has not answered any of the burning questions despite typing away for hundreds of pages. I'm beginning to worry that no cleverness is in store. I'm hoping for at least rehashed cleverness, something lifted from Tolkien or Lewis or Asimov or something. I've lowered my expectations (because my hopes were high, having forgotten my dislike for the books, an illusion enhanced by my enjoyment of the movies). All that said, I'm reading it as quickly as I can and I hope and expect to be done this week.

I did not read as planned this afternoon because Robert invited me at the last minute to a musical at the Stage Door Players. I've never been there before, so I was shocked to find such a really adequate black box playhouse just two hundred yards from the church. It is located in an annex of the Dunwoody library. I love blackbox theater and am considering getting a season pass for next year. The community ensemble exceeded my expectations in every way. The show was "Pump boys and the Dinettes", a southern musical review with the setting of a gas station diner off highway 57. Four men and two women played guitars (electric and acoustic), a bass, a piano, harmonica, accordian, and anything purcussive they could find. The music, choreography, and energy were outstanding. Some of the songs were remarkably entertaining - my favorites were the pieces that featured tight barbershop harmony.

You can't beat discovering a new Atlanta artistic venue for the icing on the weekend cake.

2007-07-21T23:13:00.000-04:00

Beth. If there is a reason that I visited my church often, it is because of Brad and Natalie. If there is a reason I stayed, it's probably largely attributed to Beth. Through the young adult sunday school, I ened up having lunch on Sunday afternoons with various groups of people. It was in one of these groups I met Beth. Beth introduced me to Alan, and encouraged me to join the choir. Years passed and Beth, Alan, Robert and I spent many a Wednesday night hanging out after choir, overanalyzing rehearsals, cracking each other up.

Last year, Alan moved to Florida for a new gig, and Beth took over the choir for half a year - no small feat mind you. And now it's Beth's turn to continue taking it to the next level. She's off to Miami next week to pursue a doctorate in choral conducting. Hard to imagine how we will fill the gap without her. The party Friday for her farewell was so great - great to have Alan there on the piano, Beth singing the sad songs, Beth and Robert together entertaining us with the most dramatic duets of all time. It's impossible to capture in words or film how great it all was. Just stay, her friend Danny said on his way home Friday. Just stay.

2007-07-19T21:48:00.001-04:00

My roomate has moved out. He's a pick up and go-er. It was a good time to have someone around. It's interesting to have space once again. This weekend, the foosball table goes back upstairs and the dining room becomes a dining room once again. The office will stay crowded though. I like it cozy in here with the single bed and big round chair comforting the computer desk stacked with strange items. Clutter.

I have acquired a reluctance to work out. There was a time when I was reluctant NOT to work out. But that time has come and past. And things that should not have been forgotten were lost. I'm miserably out of shape and I even changed into my work out clothes tonight. Spun the wheel on the bike a few times. Gave up. The thing is I am too tired at night. And too tired in the morning. And, well, at work all day. But there is no outsourcing excercise. Only I can do it. And, well, I haven't been.

I walked up to take the garbage out and there was a strange man in the parking lot. "Excuse me, sir." I am not used to being stopped as I walk around the neighborhood, but I stopped. "I just wanted to let you know that the sprinklers are not working for this building, so they have hired security for this area tonight." They hired security to watch the sprinklers? I asked the nice man. "I don't know. To watch the building I guess. I'm just letting people know why they see me out here!" OK, I reasoned and went on my way.

2007-07-18T21:47:00.000-04:00

I had a dream last night. Nick and I were in the Avondale clubhouse. Setting was present day. We talked and laughed and it was hot and muggy. The weather was overcast. No one was around.

We decided that next year everyone would store up there vacation and take three weeks off. We would all come down to the pool and do nothing all day. Rather, we would do what we used to do - swim, hang out, play tennis, eat pizza, play cards. Three weeks straight is what we agreed to. No one would go out of town, we would just find our old deck chairs and chill out. We laughed.

Nick and I were always planning adventures.

2007-07-15T19:44:00.000-04:00

In 1978 I was born into a church family in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1982 I was transplanted to Decatur where I grew up as a child in a Baptist church. In 1988, I joined a Baptist church in Stone Mountain, where I was baptized. After graduating from college, everything was different in the Baptist churches. The fundamentalists had voted out all the moderate voices, taken over the seminaries and churches, and started driving out all discenting oppinions. I found a church home in Newnan that had left the Southern Baptist conference, but it was far from where I was living.

Luckily, in 2003 I found a Methodist church with a traditional church service, a focus on music, a positive, progressive preacher, and a really welcoming church family. I was still reluctant to move my membership, mainly because I felt the church hierachy was contrary to my firm conviction that we should have the "priesthood of the believer". That is, the individual has the responsibility to read and understand scripture. And the church members have the responsibility to call their ministers. I also am not kean on baptizing babies, though I can see fair arguments for either option.

Ultimately, I am at home here in a Methodist church, and do not feel at home in any Baptist churches. Perhaps the hierarchy provides that saftey for the church member - and safety for the clergy. Even in dicey situations where the ministers are moved due to some kind of conflict, at least they have some place to go. Therefore, I finally decided to join the Methodist church that I attend. After almost four years of attending weekly, as Zack said, "at least you don't rush into your decisions".

2007-07-14T16:57:00.000-04:00

Friday off was exceedingly good for me. Thursday night, my friends and I pretended it was "Friday" and we went to Harry Potter. The director was good - my second favorite. The kids were spectacular as usual, with Daniel Radcliffe stepping out of the shadow of Emma Watson. It's clear they are looking for a life after Potter. The pace of the film was somewhat relaxed, though I found the overall story to be well told and enjoyable. Believe it or not, I'm looking forward to the last book being available Friday. I have gift card waiting.

Friday we launched for the River Shack around 2pm and barely made it out of Atlanta before the weekend lake rush hit. I drove up with Robert, Don, and Emily in tow. The "shack" is actually an amazing mountain house with a great view and river access. Spending some time in a retreat with church friends was exactly what I needed. We all brought food and grilled out. I guess that's all I did Friday night, but it was so nice to be out of town, in this amazing place, totally relaxed with a big group of friends. The only downside to Friday was Zack has cats, so I had to take Benedril and I was totally zonked out by 10.

Saturday I opted out of the canoe and kayak trip. That gave me a couple of hours at the River Shack with only Pitta and Chuck. We each found our own quiet spot and enjoyed the serenity of the cabin. I set up the hammock on the River porch and read my book - Frannie and Zooey. The book was remarkable, and as I lay in the swing on the screened in porch, I was incredibly thankful to have such a great book in combination with such a genuinely peaceful place to read it. The weather was overcase, but the temperature was perfect with a cool breeze through the screen and no mosquito to be found.

We were all reluctant to pack up and head back Friday afternoon. I can't thank Robert and Zack enough - Robert for continuing to pull us all together through the Drama ministry, and Zack for leading the Young Adult ministry in such a hands on way. Sometimes when everything seems crazy, and I am going out of my mind with technology, it's nice to take a couple of days to remember what actually matters in life.

2007-07-11T22:30:00.000-04:00

The all star game was terrific this year. The home run derby was also spectacular. In the home run derby, Vlad got three quick outs. Then Big Papi comes out and takes his bat and throws it away. He retreave a large wooden box with a plaque on it. Inside is a bat made out of some mysterious wood. Vlad returns to the box, and though he doesn't homer right away, he quickly begins hitting monster blasts. 500 footers. He went on to win the competition.

I love that. I love the rain. I love summer rain. Today it was overcast and I needed some air, so I got my umbrella and marched around the building. Marching around the building is what I do to clear my head. There was so much water! I could only do one lap before I was getting too wet. Sometimes my "work" clothes feel so huge, like I'm literally walking in someone else's shoes. There was a time when my summer jobs did not require any shoes at all. There were many days I have left the house in flip flops and a swim suit on my bike to be gone all day till dark.

I asked for Friday off. I don't like to ask off this close to the time I need but the Drama group is going up to the River Shack and I know if I don't take off that I'll hit major traffic and I'll be stuck driving alone and missing dinner. Plus I just need some time. Marching around the building once today wasn't enough to clear my head. I wish I had a big trip planned, but no trip is on my horizon at the moment. Friday will have to do.

2007-07-08T14:59:00.001-04:00

7:46 - Dishes done, clothes drying, living room clean, quitting time!

7:03 - Done vaccuuming.

6:44 - Forgot where the vaccuum is. Hunting it down. Found it.

6:34 - Faking a second wind. Laundry load number 3.

6:08 - Still sitting here lamenting that I decided to clean. What?! Don't judge me!

5:51 - Wearing new socks. New socks are awesome. Totally tired of cleaning. Pretending that the office does not exist because I could spend days in here and not make a dent.

5:07 - Second load of laundry in the wash - bed linens. Cleaning is interminable.

4:32 - Almost checked out when I remembered I need hangers so I can save the planet by air drying things. Two pair of underwear, two pair of socks, and four ice tea glasses somehow leaped into my cart also.

3:50 - Emergency trip to Target to get more laundy detergent and Shout because my Greg Norman shirt has a really big stain. Decided on Tide "Free" since Sears isn't nearby.

2:54 - I hate cleaning. Starting laundry. I'm out of detergent... I've used up the last scoop of the 25 gallons of detergent that I bought in 2002. I'm not kidding. 5 years of detergent for $16.95 at Sears.

2007-07-07T11:20:00.000-04:00

The perfect Friday night - grilling out some burgers on my patio. Watching a classic movie (A Few Good Men). Playing a cut throat game of Scrabble which extends through the Friday night Braves game in HD. Braves rally to win, two games back. Kent tries hard in Scrabble and his late in the game "J" and "V" beat me by four points. If only I hadn't drawn "INNINNL" in the middle of the game.

2007-07-04T22:58:00.000-04:00

Traditions are weird. When you are a kid, it seems really important to do things the same way every year. It is a comfort to know what is coming. It was nice to know that Christmas would always be at Grandma's house, and that July 4th would always mean fireworks at "the lake."

This year we opted out of fireworks, but it was a great day anyway. This year, we went to Kennesaw Mountain instead. It felt strange (like an itch that is not really there) not to go to a fireworks display, but I don't like the shows in Atlanta. They are crowded, you have to crane your neck up, they are loud and long and then there's the traffic. And I've never been to Kennesaw Mountain - there is a nice trail up to the top, about a mile or so. I really enjoyed hiking it - it's better than Stone Mountain in a lot of ways. There are not as many people, it's a short hike, and it's mostly shaded. 3,800 soldiers died in the battle for Kennesaw mountain. In the end, well, Atlanta burned.

Also, as was our duty as good Americans, we went to the movies. Transformers was a terrific summer movie (100 times better than Armageddon). Shia Lebeouf was very funny as usual, and the effects were truly amazing. I was not a huge transformers fan as a kid, but this is sure to launch Hasbro into a whole new generation of toys. We also went to see "1408", a Stephen King short story that was modified for film. It has been a while since I have been to a horror movie this scary. It was all mind games too - nothing too gory. Plus, great performances by Samuel Jackson and the always entertaining John Cusack. I should not have been surprised, but the story was tied nicely together beyond your average "evil hotel room" plot.

2007-07-01T22:13:00.000-04:00

The skies were blue and hazy, rarely a storm, barely a chill. The afternoons were lazy, everyone warm, everything still. And there was distant music, simple and somehow sublime...

Today was the big patriotic hooplah at my church. It was sort of mediocre. There were things that were beautiful though eg: "We will walk through the valley of peace". Beth conducted the choir one last time... We dedicated the concert to a choir member who has been in charge of the music library for 35 years. Sadly, she was too sick to come to see. The "Ragtime" medley was entertaining and well costumed. The wind ensemble was fantastic, though way too large. The accoustics - well, they are fabulous. Standing at the front of that church and singing with our choir family is always worth it.

"You know how lucky we are, don't you?", Robert asked yesterday as we gathered our little circle around pizza, song, laughter. Robert didn't just mean being with these people or this time or at this place. He meant those things, but it seems to me it was more, and we all knew it. All of us - we're all lucky to be loved by family and friends, living in the United States, doing jobs we enjoy.

Sleep tonight, and may your dreams be realized. If the thundercould passes rain so let it rain down on him.

2007-06-30T12:03:00.000-04:00

I waited untill Saturday to say it, but it was a great week at work this week. My boss's boss's boss had good things to say about the team, we got tons of "proactive" stuff done, I made progress on hiring someone new, I got a raise, and I got to communicate raises to my direct report. That's really a pretty great week. It was tiring though. I was booked solid, my boss was on vacation (though he emailed me every day), I had three long meetings with people from out of town, and spent one evening with work people at a restaurant (which is a fun thing, but can also make it seem like you are doing nothing but things with work people).

Sunday is our final choir concert of the year. I'm expecting it to be entertaining, but sort of mediocre. Today is the dress rehearsal, so my weekend is likely to go zipping by. That's the way it goes. At least next week has a donut in it on Wednesday.

2007-06-28T23:01:00.000-04:00

Studio 60 just went off the air and I'm sort of upset about that. There's something classic about a fleeting 13 episode television show. They can be extraordinary. But for those elete cancelled shows, there is always a common theme - you are always left wanting more.

Have you seen a commercial for the iPhone? Silly, I know. But I stop and watch each one. The name is misleading. It pretends to be a phone. But isn't that a bit humble? It doesn't want to be your phone. It wants to be a game changer. I can't remember the world before the internet. It's like I went to high school in the stone age. Somehow, I lived my college life without a cell phone. What is the iPhone? Movies, pictures, emails, phone calls. It's content content content.

There's something slippery happening in technology right now. There's lots of "stuff" out there that we don't have a name for yet. Microsoft has the multitouch table. Google has online applications. Apple has the iPhone which seems a bit like the "iEverything". There is a technology competition that is unfolding day by day and in a way it is thrilling. In a way, I sit here wondering "what will tomorrow bring" and "how can I get in the middle of it while it's happening."

2007-06-26T22:59:00.001-04:00

Sunday night I ran 3 miles, primarily to see if it was humanly possible to run in this heat. It was 8pm and probably 85 degrees outside. I ran the first loop (roughly 1.5 miles) as slow as possible. Anytime I gained what could be considered "speed" I hit the breaks. I was going pretty slow. The second lap, I wanted to open it up a bit, but found the heat just overwhelming. I never stopped, but it was sort of amazingly hot. Around 2.5 miles I was pretty done, but the last half mile or so, I really enjoyed seeing my target and running hard for it. I didn't have much in the tank, but I ran it in. Upon just checking the route, it's really a bit long - each lap is about 1.65 miles, so I'm proud of finishing 3.32 miles (according to google pedometer).

This week has been really busy at work. My boss's boss's boss was in town today - she flew in last night and had dinner with several of us which was fun. Today, she gave a good overview of the strategy sharing. It is so high level sometimes, that it's hard to find application. However, I knew my team would have good questions when it was completed. They did not let me down, and neither did she. When she left I felt everyone really had confidence in her vision for where we are going and ability to execute on it. Meanwhile, it's a week and a half till a major release and I'm scrambling to get everything lined up. On top of that, trying to hire for my open head count. Tomorrow we have a long meeting with Advanced Services. I have to pop out to meet with the Latin American team. And as soon as my boss gets back we have to finalize our paperwork for the first half and complete our plan for the second half. Busy we are!

2007-06-24T19:15:00.000-04:00

It's been such a great weekend, though I can't say I accomplished much.

Today was an awfully good church service where our pastor preached on mental illness drawing from the story of "Legion". I love it when pastor's say what is right regardless of whether the congregation is neccesarily behind them politically. I was proud of our pastor, doubly proud when he took the opportunity to sing the entire hymn at the end. I love singing hymns.

Emily and I planned to return for the 5pm Youth concert, so we met Kent at Jason's followed by spending to excess at Borders. I got sucked into one of those "buy 3 get the 4th free" deals which is really just comperable with Amazon. Nevertheless, I love stocking up on summer reading, so i got "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (Capote), "Franny and Zooey" (Salinger), "The World According to Garp" (Irving), and "The Tender Bar" (Moehringer). Of course I've read the first three authors, and the last just caught my eye. That's how that "4th free" will get you every time.

We had time to kill so Emily and Kent and I went over to his place and watched "For Your Consideration" - another of the Christopher Guest movies making fun of movies that get Oscar hype. It was hilarious, and Emily seemed to like it though she hasn't seen any of the others. I liked it a lot, but Kent still thinks "Waiting for Guffman" and "Best in Show" are the best ones. I really liked "A Mighty Wind" but probably Guffman is my favorite too.

We then returned to church to hear the Youth. I find youth choirs so inspirational. I really enjoyed being in choir at church when I was in high school, and it reminds me of the doubtless faith I had at that time. Youth can be so sincere about the bible, that it is always very moving to me to have them lead in worship or song. Of course, it helps that our youth choir is great. They just got back from tour. There were about 35 on tour, about a third guys. Having a strong group, and a good group of guys allows you to sing in parts which is nice. And our youth minister is realyl good at keeping their energy up, which delivers their message so much more effectively. I had a great time, but I am a buzzing due to the ice cream social afterwords. Too much sugar!

2007-06-23T23:07:00.000-04:00

It's strange to be saying goodbye to Beth. Thus begins the goodbye parties and such. She's on her way to Miami to get a DMA in July. Last night was the party at the Bill and Barbara's house. Sonny wrote a song. Robert and Marilyn dedicated a number from "Chours Line". Robert and Beth sang "All I ask of you" with their usual flair. Since Beth is the one that invited me to choir, it will seem strange with her gone.

Tonight I saw "Young Frankenstein" for the first, and hopefully last, time. I had been told it was a "classic" and I could see how there were some classic jokes and themes, but as a whole it seemed like about eleven one liners strung out over two hours. That said, I almost never enjoy Mel Brooks. I think the main problem is that Madeline Khan's role is so small. She's awesome.

The Braves have hit a real slump here. The Mets have been kind enough to keep us in it, and we returned the favor by scoring one run in four games. Meanwhile, the Phillies have claimed second and the Braves are scrapping to keep it all together. Everywhere you look, you see where the ownership has let us down - the bullpen has been working, but depth at starting and off the bench is creating a streaky season, gaps everywhere. It's so stupid for the team to be run by a media conglomerate. I hope they are able to pull through.

The best part of today was this afternoon when Kent and I explored the nature trails around the Chatahoochee. It was great fun. After, we cooled off at the pool. Ah, summer. I love life at the pool!

2007-06-21T22:37:00.000-04:00

I didn't get to swim today. That's ok, I had a nice dinner. Pierogies, though popular in Pennsylvanian cuisine, are not often to be found in Atlanta, GA! They are a delicious potato variant.

I've now filled my magnet wall. It has eleven pictures. The next picture will result in a picture coming down. There are two pictures from church, two from home, two from baseball, four from flickr and one from kansas city (where everything's up to date).

My inspiration this week was a man at work who works security. He was making pasta at 10am. Early lunch? Or non-traditional breakfast? "I don't know anymore" he said. He works the late shift. He has ceased making sense of which meal is which. I learned that he celebrated his 56th birthday this week and that he's from Nigeria. He has been in the States eight years, has two boys, and works double shifts so that they might have the opportunity... one day... after they've served their compulsory military service... to come here.

He told me - "I am a Christian, but I've never met any Christian that want's to go to heaven today. They want to go later, when they die. But I've seen many people risk their lives more than once to get to the United States. It must mean there is opportunity here." So if they need an extra shift to get picked up, they know who to call.

One of our corporate goals is to be "more human". I'm not sure what that means, but I'm pretty sure that time spent on the internet is not human at all. If that hypothesis is true, then I'm only human about an hour or two per day. It was nice to have brunch with a Nigerian one day, and become a little more human. I was even happy to be a little late to my next meeting.

2007-06-20T10:48:00.000-04:00

This song is sticking with me today, and the words are thought provoking. Taken from a William Blake poem (1804), it was set to music by C. Hubert H. Parry (1916).

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold;
Bring me my Arrows of Desire;
Bring me my Spear; O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of Fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England’s green and pleasant Land.

2007-06-19T21:10:00.000-04:00

I don't know what I thought. I guess I thought that swimming was like riding a bike. You know - you get back on. You go fast. I wanna go FAST. Sunday I knocked out four laps (what we'll call 200yds). Today I hit the pool, sure that I was not feeling well Sunday, ready to return to my "normal" 3000yd swimming prowess. Today I knocked out... 250yds. That's right. Five laps. Used to be's don't count anymore - they just lay on the floor till we sweep them away.

After excersise, I gave myself permission to get back online. I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to the internet. Let's just say, I read and write more email (and open more web browswers) than your average Joe. So today I had to earn my time online. Swimming is "real". The internet is a make believe friend.

While on restriction from the internet, I listened to the Georgia Singers. They are exquisite. They got tired by the end, but their musical training never took a break. I almost said musical intuition, but that would be a misnomer. While they sang, my mind went back. After listening to the concert, I dug out some old papers from my closet. I didn't find what I was looking for. I did find this:

9/7/1994

Things loved don't have to be the best or the loudest or the hilarious exciting thrilling highpoint repeated over and over to be just as loved. Sometimes when you look for the highpoints, you forget what you loved most was the ordinary. In fact, if you live and love the ordinary, the highpoints you remember become more valid. In other words, things taken in small portions can be just as exciting, and loved as intensely (if not more) as those splurged upon.

Enjoy what you are doing. Don't forget to mourn the sad, but don't make the happy sad by mourning prematurely. Don't let things get the best of you. Keep control of the situation. But have fun!

If I were 16, I would be able to swim a mile. That said, I should enjoy what I am doing. After all - it's so easy to forget that what I loved most was the ordinary!

2007-06-18T12:22:00.000-04:00

Oh! Canada. Eating is my bad habit when traveling for work. I was in Ottawa last week, and I must have eaten 5000 calories per day. I flew home Friday morning still full from ribs and apple cobbler the night before - a veritable food hangover. The most shocking thing about the trip to Ottawa was that it was considered international - the streets are the same, the restaurants are the same, the currency is the same. Actually, I didn't change any currency, but they take American Express. = )

Father's day was terrific this year. John and Rachel came down to PTC and we grilled out steaks. It was fun to have the whole family together, and we turned the den back into the beach house by taking up the carpet. It's amazing what a difference that makes. Patches is getting better and better to play with. I don't like puppies - they jump, bite, lick, and are generally not fun to be around. Patches is still very hyper, but is much more people friendly now.

I Tube, You Tube, we all Tube for YouTube. While home, we had fun watching videos of Paul Potts. Have you seen him yet? He is the winner of "Brittain's got talent." He is a cell phone salesman who is a phenomenal opera singer. We enjoyed watching his video clips and also various parodies.

Don't cry for me, Argentina. Angel Cabrera is only the second Argentinian to win a Major golf tournament, and the first to with the US Open. Tiger was on the prowl the whole time - I was watching on the edge of my seat! Angel stayed one shot ahead. Tiger pulled out some masterful pars, but never sunk one of those miraculous puts to win. The greens were a little slower than he expected every time...

Swimming. Is. Hard. Last night was so beautiful (yes, I like it extremely hot and humid), that I decided to go for a swim. I had the pool to myself, so I thought I would do a few laps. We have a crooked pool, so it isn't easy. It's probably 20 yards corner to corner, which is the only way to swim a lap. I figured I'd swim down and back ten times and get a decent workout. Oh, my. After four laps down and back, all of my muscles and organs failed. I crawled out of the pool and dragged myself home. If I am going to swim, I will have to work my way back. I did enjoy the laps I completed though.

Amal and the Night Visitors. Unexpectedly, last night, I received a call around 9:30 - "Can I stay at your place tonight?" Alan was in town, and through a series of unfortunate events, he did not have a place to stay and also no way to get a hotel. My place is a wreck since I've been so busy, but luckily we do have the extra bed in the office, and it was really no problem to have him stay. It was actually great fun to catch up. It has been a long time since I have had the chance to hang out with Ben and Alan.

2007-06-12T22:29:00.001-04:00

Part of my interest in flickr is fanning the flame in my imagination for what I can pursue as a photographer. As you know, I don't take all that many pictures. It is not all that easy to point a camera at people all the time, or to carry one. It takes inspiration, preparedness, commitment.

Today I viewed all my "favorites" as a slideshow. I found some interesting themes in my favorite pictures:

extremely bright colors
real blacks, real whites
colors that divide a photo in angles or quadrants
cropped people
people flying through the air
hazy paths leading somewhere (often framed by something)
pointing, shouting, gesturing, or expressions
people in the foreground of massive landscapes
all kinds of texture
crisp clean lines
lense flare
selective focus
eyes

Just pointing all this out makes me want to shoot digital, film, everything till I start getting some hazy cropped people flying through the air in texture, lines, focus, flare, and on massive landscapes of my own (gesturing with great expressions).

2007-06-10T22:18:00.000-04:00

Before you could blink the show is over. We probably hit our stride last night, at least in the rhythm of everything. Today I felt the energy level was a bit lower, and therefore there were more line drops, etc. But everyone did a great job. JB is not an easy show to pull off. Disapointingly, we must have said "deep" or "dark" to many times in the ads, because we had low attendance on Saturday and Sunday. Even our pastor skipped it, which is surprising. But it was meaningful for those that got to see it, and especially for those of us who got to be a part of it. It really is wonderful to have a chance to do something totally outside of my engineering role. For the shows, I did not even have a cell phone with me - I can't remember the last time I did that!

Meanwhile, the weekend has slipped away once more. I need a break from the rehearsals, but I have another busy week this week. I'm forcing myself not to think about it so that I will be able to sleep in a little while. My mind is fatigued. Next weekend, hopefully, I will get a chance to chill and enjoy this beautiful weather we're having. I really really love the summer in case you hadn't noticed. I did not get my run in today due to the show, and I'll probably regret that later. I do love to get a run in on Sunday.

2007-06-09T23:17:00.000-04:00

Today I ate at the Waffle, got my hair cut, went swimming, appeared in a play, and sang a Counting Crows song in karaoke. It was a good day.

The show is going quite well. My small part has most of the kinks worked out. The lead actors are falling into a rythym. You should come to see it tomorrow at the matinee. It is a dark, thinking play written in verse. If you've never thought about the story of Job, this will give you a new angle on it.

The pool was wonderful. Jumping into the pool for the first time each year is a little like being born. I see why they use water in baptism imagery. At first you're hesitant. It's too cold, you convince yourself. I do not like to dive in right away, I can't talk myself into the knowledge that I will acclimate in seconds. The day was in the 90s and the water was so refreshing. I swam some mini-laps side to side which did not tire me, rather the flip turns made me dizzy. I wonder if I could swim our pool long ways in the morning. Perhaps one morning I'll try.

2007-06-07T22:25:00.000-04:00

I scheduled myself wall to wall for a couple of weeks. I'm so sleepy and should be in bed. But tomorrow is Friday and I am happy. Today was the "preview" day for the play I'm helping with at church. I am doing the sound and lights, not a usual role for me. I also have three lines that I call from beyond. The show is "J.B." a modern version of the story of Job. It is deep and dark and creepy and fascinating. It's a great angle on Job.

Today as I was working with my team, I was projecting my desktop on the wall to go over some documents. To send them the notes for the meeting, I went to my calendar. They laughed. I had 16 meetings on my calendar today. Most were actually useful meetings. But I am tired from the lack of white space.

To fill some white space in my mind, I bought a magnet board from Target last weekend. It allows me to love my photo printer even more. See something inspiring? Print it. Stick it. Instant art. Probably every day for the last week, I've added one of my pictures, or a random picture from a flickr friend. I heart flickr. Make me want to shoot film and get a film scanner real bad.

2007-06-03T16:50:00.000-04:00

My week always comes together on my Sunday run. My brain becomes awake and it dreams big big on my walk home. Usually, I do not have the sense to comment on my million dollar ideas. But I had two ideas this week that I just couldn't keep to myself. So I see here on my porch drinking water and sweating all over my laptop. Haha.

Two of my direct reports are leaving my team for other teams. It's sad to see them go, and scary to forsee the next six months without them, but it's good for them and since people are at the top of my list, I wish them well. One of them finally "fessed up" that he really wanted to move on. Carter, he said, I knew the day would come when I would need to do something different. I just didn't know how to tell you. But I have to move on. Though he's my direct report, he's much wiser than me - It's my philosophy, he said, that I just have to keep pushing forward. I can't look back. I really like what I'm doing now, but I'm just like that - I have to keep moving forward.

His philosophy resonated with me in shocking contrast to my own philosophy. Basically, in a few sentences he summed up what is so difficult - you have to do what you can do while you're doing it. Because the truth is, you can't do everything forever, even if you love it. In the back of my mind, I have always imagined that grown ups keep on doing what they love doing.

For instance, it seems like, if you love a sport, you'll play it, you'll get season tickets, you'll follow it every year. I love playing lots of sports. I loved playing football more than most sports I've ever played. We even got everyone together after college and played a few games at the Park. But it hurt more when we fell, and we weren't home as often, and that year was the last year I played football.

I'm not saying that I can't play football (or whatever) and it might be new and meaningful to me. But I can't can't play childhood football. And I can't play football AND do everything I used to do. Looking back on all the people I have known and loved in my life, I can't talk to them all as often as I want to. I have to keep pushing forward. I have to love what is in front of me.

In my mind, I have a mental image of the kid in "Empire of the Sun" dragging the parachute behind him. He doesn't know how to let it go, though there are fridgidaires falling from the sky. I do the same thing. I have all my clothes, all my toys, all my friends, right here with me, though there are fridgidaires falling from the sky. Sometimes I am asleep. But I guess most people are asleep. Those that aren't must live in a state of constant amazement.

The other thing I was inspired by this week was a story I heard on NPR on Between the Lines. I despise the host, but always get sucked in. This week she was talking to Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, authero of Kabbalah: A Love Story. It didn't sound like a good book, but the nugget of wisdom I took away was when he said: Most people like novels that are about them. Therefore, we tend to chose a religion that is the story of our heritage. The old testament, he argued, is not a religious text persay, it is just the story of the Jews. The same could be said I suppose of the new testament. It was not written as sacred text. It was written to document the story of the early Chritians. This relatively simple statement found application in lots of aspects in my life.

Think of all the things that people put at the center of their lives - mostly, the thing at the center of our life, our religion if you will, is the thing that tells the story of us. That raised lots of questions in my mind about what I put at the center of my life. The author further supposed that people generally find meaning in the direction they want to go. I could see this as a fantastic litmus test. Am I taking these steps because this is what I want most? Or am I consiously considering what is right? I want God to order my steps, which is not as easy a deciding what I want based on what I have done, or where I came from.

2007-06-03T13:48:00.000-04:00

"My favorite things to do were math and music, and with the math I really like the way the numbers fit together," Evan said. "And with the music I like to let out ideas by composing notes"

"...and the spelling is just a bunch of memorization."

If you didn't see the spelling bee last week, you missed out. It is a really interesting competition. But as the champion speller pointed out... spelling is a boring subject because it is not logical. It is just a bunch of memorization. I loved all the awkward interviews with this kid with the apparent photographic memory. When asked after winning if he liked spelling better now, he replied "Are you saying I'm supposed to like it more?" I laughed so hard. Equally showing up his interviewer the next morning on Good Morning America, the reporter asked him to spell a word while juggling. "May I have the definition please?" Stupidly, she didn't have the definition, but awkwardly used it in an ad hoc sentence. "I don't use sentences" he told her, which makes sense when you think about it. He spelled it right anyway. He reached for an additional ball to juggle. The reporter gave him another word. "Does it mean to talk in your sleep?" Yes. I love it when they know the crazy definition. He spelled this one while juggling four balls and laughing, presumedly at the rest of us who can't memorize everything they hear while juggling.

HALT. Hungry Angry Lonely Tired. You should only eat when you're hungry. I often eat when I'm tired. I'm sleepy today, as usual on the weekends. You would think you could eat something to make you less tired - and boy I try. Coffee, donuts, fruit. None of these is the same as sleep. In fact, they all just sort of make it harder to sleep in the end. Strange how some things have the opposite affect you would imagine.

I also procrastinate a lot when tired. I am currently avoiding doing laundry and cleaning, though I'm weeks behind. I can't sleep because of the aforementioned sugar and caffeine. I feel exactly like a kid again. It's Saturday morning. I'm staying in my room, avoiding the world, ignoring my parents' list of chores. I feel like the yard needs raking, but to do so would cause me pain and agony. Let's not think about that today. Let's think about that tomorrow.

2007-05-30T22:55:00.000-04:00

Last night I set up the computers so they both work. I have two monitors like a total geek. This way I can make some use out of my old Windows 98 machine, even if it's occasional use. I had to reinstall my router, but I got it working with both computers and my wireless network, so I was proud. With my new computer, I'm rediscovering mp3s (yes my old computer was too slow and old to play them) and I am realizing why I have 3GB of Counting Crows mp3s. A mix of Counting Crows is better than a mix of almost any other combination of bands. I wish I wish I wish I had the latest Atlanta concert. It rocked my face off.

I finished reading "Cash" by Johnny Cash last night. In reading it, I learned that June Carter Cash is Jimmy Carter's cousin, which means she is also my cousin. By translation, it also confirms that one of my dad's students, niece or cousin or somehow related to June Carter, is my cousin too. Carters are one big family! The book was good - it was told in a stream of consciousness style. I feel relatively certain it was written by someone who interviewed Johnny Cash over months or years. J.R. is a fascinating person, and it's so interesting to me to read the perspective of recovering addicts. I just totally get where they are coming from - the highs, the lows, the reliance on God. Recovering addicts are fabulous wonderful heroic people.

2007-05-29T15:15:00.000-04:00

Kansas City has crazy mosquitos! I have not gotten bites in years, but at the Kansas City Memorial Day concert, I got about 15 bites! I'm so itchy today. That is so weird.

Today I got to work only to find that my happy shirt that I put on this morning has a giant hole in the sleeve. I have no idea when that happened. Totally no idea at all. It's a big hole. I'll have to throw the shirt away or use it as a work shirt. That is so weird.

In sad news today, one of my coworker's house burned down this weekend. It was quite shocking really. He was able to get his cars out and his laptop, but sadly not his dog. Oddly, he commented on Friday - "hey guys, I'm installing a new hot water heater this weekend, so if I don't come in on Tuesday, it's probably because my house burned down." They don't know what started the fire (it was not the new water heater), but that's so weird.

2007-05-28T22:41:00.000-04:00

I'm so happy to home to my own bed. It has been a great holiday - a real get away. I have been in Missouri for the past four days. While there I added two additional stadiums to my growing list.

The adventure started in St. Louis where Kent and I hung out with his high school friend Julie and her fiance Bill. They are both awesome. Julie is working on her MD+PhD. Yes, a double doctor. It's so crazy! The program does 2 years of med school, 2 years of research for your PhD, then rotations to finish medical school. Julie is in her third year, and is doing research at StL University. We got to go by her lab and it was so cool! She is doing testing of blood pressure medication on lab rats. We got to see the rats, and watch her run a test. She's doing stress tests which involve makign the rat's heart race. In the test we saw, she poured cold water on his feet and his little heart did spike up in heart rate and blood pressure. The rats look crazy with measurement instruments inserted into their brain. It was like a movie.

From there we got to see the Cardinals take on the Pirates at the new Busch stadium. This is the second incarnation of Busch stadium I have been to. Since the last time I visited, they have torn down the old one and built this one so it was my 14th major league stadium I've seen though still the twelth team I've visited (I've also seen the Braves through two completely seperate stadiums). The game was good. At first I rooted for the Pirates, cause one of my fantasy pitchers was on the mound, but after he was taken out I did root for the home team and they were victorious. I was not a huge huge fan of the new stadium though, mainly because the angle of the seats was not optimal, and they chose to build four levels - apparently to accomodate a double deck of corporate boxes. Boo corporate boxes! Overall, though, a step up from the old stadium and boy did the seat prices show it - ouch! The ticket price does not appear to hurt the attendance, though, as there were 45,000 people at a Thursday day game.

We opted out of traversing the elevator at the Arch, but we did see the St Louis cathedral which was an amazing church with the largest mosaic in the US. We saw the church on the way out of town as Kent's mom was busy making home made fried chicken and mashed potatoes back in Jefferson City. The drive is about two hours and we made it in time for dinner Thursday. I have only been to Kent's house once, so it was fun to see all the old high school things. This trip, I got to do some digging into the photo albums and family videos which proved to be hilarious. Kent did an excellent job as the Tin Man in eigth grade!!

Friday and Saturday were spent lounging around Jeff City. We hung out "downtown" and ate breakfast at Cafe via Roma, a cool coffee house on the main square. We really wanted Arris's pizza, but we found out it was closed on Saturday (oddly). We did get to have Daisy Delight ice cream and Sno Biz shaved ice. At Sno Biz, they literally have a giant block of ice that they shread really fine. It is so much better than an icee. Friday night we had Italian, but Kent was not feeling well. He was feverish all day Saturday so we stayed in and watched DVD's on the awesome plasma TV's his folks have (one for upstairs, one for downstairs). Both were amazing picture quality, and both made me want to throw away all my DVDs. ED is just not HD. Kent was feeling well enough finally to play Settlers and we played a really close game in which his Mom defeated us by narrowly avoiding losing the longest road.

Kent was feeling much better by Sunday which was a bit of a miraculous recovery. If he had what I had, I was down for several days and totally not up for anything. But he seemed better and ready for our early roadtrip to Kansas City. From Jeff City, the trip is about two and a half hours to KC, and we went straight to the ballpark. We buffered our trip, so we were there before they openned the gates. The Royals have been bad for a while, so the game had a bit of a college atmosphere. The fans, which we expected to be sparce, trickled in and filled the stadium (such as it is). The stadium is interesting because there is no seating at all in the outfield (only fountains) which adds to it's "small town" feel. We had great seats - way cheaper than the Cardinals - in the dugout level on the third base side. It was raining, but it passed prior to game time and they got underway. There was a tiny rain delay in the 6th, but otherwise relatively nice enough to get the full nine innings in. The Royals, "led" by Odalis Perez, got destroyed by the Mariners. Ichiro is short and totally weird. One of the stranges batting stance and batting rituals I've ever seen. We took lots of pictures of it because it was so weird. Stadium number 15, check.

After the game we totally had not planned at all what to do in Kansas City. I did not even have an idea in my head what the main things are there. We vaguely wanted to get BBQ, but since we got Johnny's BBQ in Jeff City once Arris's fell through, we didn't feel like it there. On the flip side, we could not find anything open on Sunday night in KC. Our luck changed when we saw streams and streams of people heading to Union Square with tailgating chairs. I stopped a group and asked what was up. As luck would have it - the Kansas City orchestra was having a free outdoor concert for Memorial Day three blocks from our hotel! We picked up some sandwiches and headed that direction, not knowing what to expect exactly.

Union Square in Kansas City is a terrific park outside of Union Station - a museum converted from the old train stop. Union station stands opposite the WWI memorial - a huge beautiful monument. Between is a lot of grass and a giant fountain (of course... KC is the city of fountains). We arrived before the start of the show, but after more than thirty thousand folks had found their seats. We had no chairs or blankets but found seating on a rock wall along side a path through the park. The show was really terrific. The orchestra was great - the played patriotic songs, they had a sing along, they played "Kansas City" from the show "Oklahoma" and other Rogers and Hammerstein favorites. In the second half, they had a tribute to the armed forces, and ended with the 1812 overture (complete with the loudest canons I've ever heard) and Stars and Stripes forever followed by fireworks over the WWI memorial. It was great fun - a terrific spontaneous and memorable evening in Kansas City.

Overall, a great trip. Really, really nice to go on an adventure. Hopefully I can add some more ballparks this summer.

2007-05-23T10:30:00.000-04:00

I went to the Braves game yesterday and it was awesome. I can't remember the last time I saw a pitcher homer.

There were 8 of us that carpooled. The carpool decided to take MARTA just for the fun of it. It turned out that it was fun. But I was boggled by the economy of it. It now costs $2.25 for a one way trip on MARTA. That's $4.50 apiece. Parking is free (thankfully). But even with the carpool and the "green thinking" transit, we took a car, two trains and a bus, at the cost of $36. We could just about have taken a limo for that cost.

I love that it doesn't make any sense to use public transit even in the rare times it's possible (like Braves games and trips to the airport). Someone who studies sustainability needs to explain to me how MARTA makes sense.

2007-05-19T22:18:00.000-04:00

I see a black door and I want to paint it red. In our continuing outdoors update, they painted our doors this week. Next week, perhaps our awning will have a roof! Excitement.

There's a street on my way home that is apparently getting four laned. I'm happy about this because it could reduce my commute by five minutes if the traffic moved better there. Sometimes more! However, it's strange that they are tearing down the two dozen or so houses in that strip. They were all purchase by the government, and every day there are one or two less houses standing. Bizzarre. They are fine little houses too - most of them are 50's bungalow ranch houses. I love that style. But onward and upward I guess.

I'm still under the weather which is a bit distressing. I expected that my little virus would improve after a day or two. At this point I'm thinking it was a touch of the flu and may take a week to recover. According to that schedule tomorrow I should start feeling better. Now if only my body will listen to scheduling! Haha. Oh, well. We'll see. If I'm not feeling better Monday, perhaps I'll go to the doctor. He'll then tell me to drink liquids and rest.

2007-05-16T20:59:00.000-04:00

I had a great day today. Mainly, because I wasn't in bed feeling pitiful. Nothing like being sick for a few days to put everything in perspective. Of course it was busy since I had been gone for a couple days, but overall managable. I was all prepared to come home after half a day if my temperature went up, but no fever for me. Hooray! I was excited.

I was talking to a friend in the break room who mentioned how busy we are - He has a theory that bussyness is the new status symbol. It's not how much money you make or the car you drive, but how busy you are. Being busy must mean you're important. We tested our theory on people who came into the break room. Were they busy? So busy you wouldn't believe it. Each person that came in was busier than the last. And everyone was busier than we were. So busy! Those people must have been really important (actually, they were pretty important).

I did however skip choir. I was pretty tired by the end of the day, but so proud that I made it the whole day. I'm going to bed early and hopefully tomorrow I'll feel even better than today. Hooray for being well.

2007-05-15T12:06:00.000-04:00

Being a grown up, especially a single adult, really stinks when you are sick. If you want something to drink, get it yourself. Need some medicine? Get in the car and go to the drug store feeling all achey and gross. Need some comforting? Read a book.

I can't remember the last time I was sick two days in a row. I was still feeling bad this morning, plus I haven't really eaten anything in a couple of days, so I have been in a snooze-a-thon. I slept 12 hours last night after having napped most of the day. Being sick is so exhausting!

My stomach is finally starting to feel settled. Yesterday it felt like a Jenga tower with lots of missing pieces! But I still have no appetite. None of my food looks appealing - now I wish I had healthier options at home! My fruit seems the most appealing right now, but fruit can be pretty acidic. Kent already berated me for drinking OJ - but I need to replace liquids somehow! And water gets old fast.

So far my major accomplishment of the day is taking out the trash. Yesterday when I went out to get medicine, it made me feel really bad and I had to lie down. Today, it felt good to get some fresh air and move around a bit. Hopefully I rapidly improve this afternoon! I'm almost out of online episodes of the Black Donnelies!

2007-05-14T10:20:00.000-04:00

I'm not feeling well today and am home sick. Somehow, I woke up with a stomach ache. Perhaps it was something I ate yesterday, not sure. Just need some extra rest today.

Yesterday I went to the opening weekend concert of Elysium Chamber Choir and Orchestra. Performing Tchaikovsky's "Serenade for Strings" and Mozart's unifinished requiem, it was a fantastic performance in an small venue. Alan is the co-director. He has always loved chamber music, and has consistantly brought fantastic orchestral and choral performances to smaller venues. It was an exciting opening weekend for them, and it was fun to see so many of my friends in such a high quality ensemble.

2007-05-12T17:49:00.000-04:00

Brown paper packages tied up with string. These are a few of my favorite things. Today my Himalayans CD came in! Woot! I was still mid-celebration when I saw on my stoop that my LL Bean present from my company arrived (minus one shirt on backorder). This all on my way home from picking up my Crate and Barrell gift from my company recognition bucks (the one positive thing from working doing crazy things at crazy times). I've about decided that my next gift from company recognition should be Home Depot. I really want to do some tiling or... something. Haven't made up my mind, but definitely something...

I was being actorial today at church. I have a small, tiny, three line part in the next church show - "J.B." A modern setting of "Job" set in verse. It's way too deep for me to have gone out for one of the major roles, so I'm playing the offstage role of "a distant voice." I really enjoy doing bits and pieces of shows at church. It's great that our church has a full time Drama Ministry.

I'm listening to the Himalayans now. Not my favorite, but it's still entertaining. It's funny, I would say the Adam Duritz factor would have had a bigger impact on me liking this old, non-existant, idea of a band (they broke up before releasing an album), but it is way different than the Counting Crows. I can see how Adam got from here to the Counting Crows though, and isn 't that really the point of listening to a non-existant band from seventeen years ago? Haha. It's all so hilarious. It's worth owning the album for the most eighties sounding version of "Round Here" you've ever heard (originally recorded by Himalayans).

Of to a summer cookout. What a wonderful day for it today - sunshine, in the eighties, light summer showers. It smells like summer today. I love it.

2007-05-10T22:36:00.000-04:00

It's kind of funny that the computing industry still relies so heavily on the "PC" concept. As I enjoy my new wizbang, it occurs to me that basically all I wanted was a more reliable internet browser. Sure, occasionally I write a document or open a spreadsheet, but 90% is web browsing. Why isn't there anyone making "computers" that are just web terminals? Seems like you could do that and ex out all the "MS" cost. Probably get something like that in a laptop format for a couple few hundred bucks.

My work computer got formatted today too, so everything is clean like spring. I still think my work computer may have some quirks. It really doesn't like to be carried around anymore, and it gets really mad if you make it hiberate.

I was thinking yesterday how it's strange when people are upset at you, and you do some digging, and you realize they are not upset at you - they are just frustrated in general. No one likes to deal with frustrated people, especially with the frequency that I talk to them, but I am really interested in that breakthrough when you start listening to the person's concerns and you finally understand how you might can help. Usually, it's not that big a deal.

I still can't believe yesteday's game. I sort of wish I had recorded it on DVR. Maddux and Smoltzie are really funny. You don't normally see athelethes cut up that much. But as Maddux said "We're professionals - we have our names on our jersey!" He's so good at realizing that it's a game. It's a really great game.

2007-05-09T23:42:00.000-04:00

Today is like Christmas.

Tonight I attend an historic event. I got to see Greg Maddux pitch against John Smoltz. This hasn't happened since 1992. Realize, Maddux has won 250 games since the last time he faced Smoltz! The game was incredible. They dualed. Maddux shut down the Braves and baffled young hitters like Brian McCann. Gotta love that. Maddux took himself out in the sixth and the Braves rallied late to help Smoltz win his 198 game. Combined with Maddux, I saw 532 game winners facing each other for their 533rd win between them. Quick, someone with an Elias Baseball Encylopedia and tell me how often 500 win pitchers have faced each other in the last decade! It was truly amazing.

Secondly, my new computer was delivered. I'm not sure how I feel about Windows Vista, but the overall look and feel is snappier and... hopefully more stable... than my Win98. Though, I have to admit I've already crashed this new machine. Something went horribly awry when I logged in, brought up a command prompt, and typed "ippconfig." Woh. Dell gets props because I ordered a CD the same day as this computer and the computer got here faster!

2007-05-07T22:14:00.000-04:00

Seriously, what is happening to television? I started watching the new show "Drive" because it has Nathan Fillion, the lead actor from "Firefly". Three episodes later... cancelled. Literally a week after the premier they have commercials that say "catch the exciting conclusion." Poor Nathan.

Then there is the Black Donnellies. It made it four episodes before getting the ax. It wasn't a great show, but it was good. I was hooked. It was on my list. There was no fanfare over it's removal. They replaced it with filler episodes of "Deal or No Deal" and "The Real Wedding Crashers". How is it possible that more people tune into opening briefcases rather than a crime drama? Instead of scheduling any more shows, the new episodes are "online only."

Lastly, and most importantly - what happened to Studio 60? It made it half a season and then gave way to the Black Donnelies. I read online that they contracted a full 22 episodes, but I haven't seen any signs of it since February. The website says it will be back near June... We'll see. It go disapointing reviews after drawing "only" 7 million viewers. What the heck is going on with the world?

The only bright spot it seems is "Heroes" which continues to be good, continues to be aired (whew!) and seems to have hope of a second season. What a crazy year in television. Even my DVR is confused.

2007-05-06T21:27:00.000-04:00

I'm watching Ted Coppel's documentary on Cancer on the Discovery Channel. It's sad and yet fascinating. I'm also cooling off after a run (yay me!). The Chatahoochee is so very beautiful. And the summer is full on so you can run after 7 which is great. It means I can maybe run more than once per week. Sunday is really the best day for me each week. Church is always so great to ground me each week - today we had rehearsal for the always hilarious men's bell choir scheduled for Mother's day. Handbells are really kind of complicated - I need more practice. After bells today I squeezed in Spidey 3 (not so great), then lunch, then a Sunday nap. And there's usually time for some DVR and checking in on the baseball team. I got my run in, and had time to do a load of laundry. It's really just the best day.

Yesterday I did some shopping but didn't get too much. I got some food at Sams and a bed skirt at BBB. I dropped off my spring cleaning at Goodwill (after having second thoughts and reclaiming a couple pair of pants and a sweater from the five bags). I wanted to get a book at BnN, but couldn't find anything I wanted. Finished off errands by grabbing some cheesecake and watching a DVD over at Kent's. We watched the Braves followed by "28 days later" while playing Scrabble. Kent beat me up with an early lead scoring 70 on a seven letter word (staring). I got stuck with the Q and finally had to dump it for 12 points after holding it for half the game. All in all, a nice weekend.

Oh! Congratulations to Chrissy who graduated once again on Cinco de Mayo. And happy anniversary to everyone on 6 years post-GT. Somehow that seems so... long... ago.

2007-05-05T11:31:00.000-04:00

So, this was actually a pretty big week for me.
1) The trade. Late on Wednesday night, I got a yahoo message from one of my fellow fantasy baseball league managers. "Looking at your pitching stats, you suck...So let's think blockbuster trade." he said. Then he proceeded to intice me into a trade for some of his pitchers. I am terrible about trading, but this was a 1B, 2B, and 3B and 2 pitchers, for like in kind from the other person. I couldn't see any reason not to make the trade. SO, I picked up some starters and maybe a few RBI's. Ya never know about these things. Here it is:

The Fray		Spanish Flyers
Derrek Lee David Wright Ryan Theriot Matt Lindstrom Rafael Soriano	[ View Trade ]	Albert Pujols Dan Uggla Garrett Atkins Rich Hill Jake Peavy

Blockbuster!

2) I finished Angela's Ashes. It was way better than I expected. I saw the movie a long time ago and hated it. Things just get worse and worse. But, having read "Teacher Man" and knowing where he arrived helped keeping your spirits up through the terrible conditions he had as a child. After he was about 12, he started improving his lot in life. Amazing. Perhaps I'll rent the movie again.

3) I bought a new computer. I was up last night looking at Fantasy Baseball stuff when I got the blue screen of death. Dang it! I immediately switched to my laptop, got on Dell dot com and got a new machine. It's kindof mediocre - no bells, no whistles. It does have Vista, 2GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive, productivity software, and Macafee. But that's really all it has. No monitor, no nothing. But since I'm limping along on a virus destroyed Win98 machine with 256MB of RAM (killer for 98!) and 10GB hard drive... it should be better.

Today I'm going on a spending spree with all my "recognizing you" money from work. I've already bought two shirts and a pair of pants from LLBean. Woo hoo!

2007-05-04T22:33:00.000-04:00

There is a tree in my living room. And stadium chairs in front of my fireplace. And a giant wicker couch standing up on end at the bottom of my stairs. That's right! They are painting my condo. Hooray.

Here's some advice from tomorrow's future leaders code of effics from the Daily Show: "don't back down from a fight, get money, hold your own, mind your business, don't snitch, look fresh." I believe the children are the future...

2007-04-29T18:51:00.000-04:00

I cleaned out my closet today. For maybe the first time in history, I sorted clothes to be given to Goodwill. In the past, I've been so fond of the clothes that I would not have any I wanted to give away. But perhaps I've been buying new clothes and all the old clothes were just piling up. In fact, I have four bags of clothes in my hallway and a bag of shoes, and I don't feel any amount of loss at all - on the contrary! The clothes in the bags were clothes that didn't fit, or I didn't like anyway. Meanwhile, simply by cleaning up the stacks of shirts, I feel like I have all new stuff. Some of my favorites had just gotten buried in the mounds of ridiculous Georgia Tech tshirts and other silly things.

Church today was awesome. It was Youth Sunday so we didn't have to sing - even better, we didn't have to go to early church. Hooray! I got to sleep in two days in a row for the first time since... forever. I've always been to churches where Youth Sunday is awful. Generally, they schedule it for the lowest attendance week of the year - the week after Christmas. But this service was extremely well organized and we have millions of youth that are apparently very talented. The senior that did the sermon was really quite good (despite going to prom last night!). The youth choir has 50+, and though they sing pretty easy, contemporary songs, they honestly do show a lot of energy and enthusiasm when singing which actually conveys the message.

Though we did not have to sing this morning, this afternoon we had one of those church music fests. We hosted six other Methodist churches, and "oh, aren't we all united" and all that. A bigger self congratulation fest has never been known. That said, it is really actually quite fun to sing in a choir of 250 or so. And the brass players were fine. And the speakers (though longwinded) were interesting. The entire rep was made up of songs written by Charles Wesley. Not to hard to put together since he wrote thousands, but still, it was interesting. I enjoyed it a suprising amount.