Eating for fuel or cooking for pleasure...

Eating for fuel or cooking for pleasure...

This week I've been thinking about eating and cooking. Maybe because its the holidays, or maybe its because L's influence on me, or maybe some of both, but I've taken a step back in time and found pleasure in preparing and eating food.

In recent years I've come to see eating as a fueling activity; a pitstop on the race through life. Get in and get out - minimal preparation time and in a maximum rush. Years ago I developed a list of several dozen meals I could throw together in 30 minutes or less. And the best ones are the 30 minute meals with leftovers that can carry you though at least one more meal with 2 minutes on high in the microwave.

But I enjoy cooking. So why don't I slow down a little, eat better and enjoy the process a little more?

Today, just for fun, I'm making a batch of yogurt. I haven't done that in 25 years! L whipped up a batch of granola, and I made a decadent chocolate mousse to take to the New Year's Eve Party tonight. I'll let you know if the yogurt turns out OK. Of course this kind of resolve falls apart when one has too many other commitments. Maybe I can let go of a few of those.

Got it right...

Got it right...

A number of my posts recently have been about moving my mom out of the family homestead. Read another perspective here. Rationally thinking through something and reaching a conclusion often has no bearing on the reality of the emotional process.

Thanks...

Thanks...

All week I've had this acorn squash sitting on my countertop, and tonight its time had come.

So I cracked open Ben's Christmas present (Simply in Season) and looked for winter squash recipes, quickly settling on a variation of stuffed squash. (Actually I sort of grabbed ideas from each, and it turned out great.) Then I used another of Ben's presents to dip a bowl of ice cream which I plopped into Leena's handmade bowl, and I topped it with Ralph's Waterloo County maple syrup. Too bad it isn't a sin! Thanks one and all for your contributions to a great meal.

Leena and I got her photos hung last night. Her present to me was a single work made up of six photos taken at Thanksgiving at the last family gathering at Mom's house. OK, I'm biased both because she's my daughter and because of the content, but they are great art. If you're in town, you really have to come by and see them. Let me know and I'll arrange a private viewing, but you have to come this weekend or wait until February. She has to take them back to Waterloo for a critique.

Today we finished emptying Mom's house. Pretty stark.

Walk on the tame side...

Walk on the tame side...

I had to drop a check off at the neighborhood bank, so I took off about 9pm for the short walk there. After the drop my legs were just getting warmed up and I decided to keep walking. I ended up covering most of the college green subdivision on foot, and I found myself searching for any houses that backed to the south. Of the hundreds in the area, only a handful were.

I'm amazed and disappointed that the #1 developer in my town has absolutely no sensitivity to solar orientation. Did he go out of his way to make sure his houses have few or no windows facing south?

By the end of my walk I felt overwelmed by the cookie-cutter sameness to the look and feel of the houses. Everything is neat and tidy. Well trimmed lawns, nice sidewalks everywhere, adequate landscaping. Every house has a brick facade and at least a two car garage. Formulaic. Designed to sell. And resell.

But where is the beauty?

This is not my neighborhood.

But then, if I believe the survey that Joe mentioned the other day, I should get out of Goshen and move to Salisbury, Maryland or Hot Springs, Arkansas. Which made me wonder what you'd have to say to have the survey tell you you'd love Goshen.

Stress...

Stress...

Last night I was talking with a friend (ok - it was more like unloading). At some point he shook his head and said, "Man, I can't believe how many transitions are going on in your life right now."

I know that, but it got me thinking about one of those supermarket magazine-style surveys I saw years ago that told you your risk for getting cancer or some other major illness due to life stress. I did the google thing and found the 'life stress test' in about 45 seconds. I did a quick run through and added up 484 points. And they didn't even have a category for 'Helped mother move out of family home and pack up over 50 years of momentos and family history." I'm guessing that would put me well over 500 points. Anything over 300 points puts me at 'High susceptibility to stress-related illness'. (Of course according to the web site this also puts me at high susceptibility to their product pitch.)

The web site says "Daily practice of relaxation skills is very important for your wellness. Take care of it now before a serious illness erupts or an affliction becomes worse."

Which is why I'm writing this post while eating shavings of 5 year old waterloo county cheddar cheese, washed down with a glass of really cheap Australian Cab-Sav.

Today was clean up day at the family homestead. What a day. I'm so grateful that my brother was leading the charge. He had a very pragmatic attitude about the whole thing and we sorted, boxed, packed, loaded, and pitched from 8 until 2. He even had the sense to call for a coffee break at The Mayberry at about 10 and we all had a second breakfast. Thanks to hard work by Leena and Jake it went pretty fast. We got it done.

Toughest part - we had a brief ashes scattering ceremony in the wild corner. (Maybe someday I'll post my account of my hike to the back of Pike's Peak last year for the same purpose. Let me know if you're interested.) High point - was remembering and digging out the rock bird bath. John O'Donohue says that the dead aren't far away... and I believe that. Thats what I experienced today.

Meanwhile, Ben drove back to DC today. He should be arriving about now. Hope the drive went safely.

Well, the wine is about done and I need to get some supper together.

The Power of Myth

The Power of Myth

Every year we retell the story of Jesus' birth, and I've gone from literalist to that's-bullshit to I-don't-know-what-I-guess-believer-whatever-that-is in the course of my life. I've read enough Joseph Campbell to know a little of the frequency of miraculous births in world mythology; in other words I'm barely knowledgeable.

But last night as I heard the story once again, I was struck by the power of myth, both in this ancient story, and in my own personal family myth as played out in this meeting of former lovers.

I'm taking a risk, using the word 'myth', because today it connotes fantasy or untruth. In fact it is the opposite - it is the core of truth or longing for truth that is truer than true.

For me what has become more important is existential truth. At the root, as Ken Wilbsr says, we have to look beyond the myths and seek direct experience. He was talking about our experience of the divine, but I am sure he would agree that it also applies to all our personal relationships.

Out of that comes a kind of discovery and freedom that the myth tries to capture or explain, but cannot substitute. It is that direct experience that gives me the courage, the chutzpah, to the look life in the eye and take it as it comes.

Meme

Meme

Joe tagged me with a meme. Being a MAWG this is the first time I've been tagged. I'm flattered.

Rules:

*Find the nearest book.
*Name the title and author.
*Turn to p. 123.
*Post sentences 6-8.
*Tag 3 more people.

Here goes:
Folksingers WordBook, compiled by Fred and Irwin Sibler.
Page 123 lands you on the first page of the chapter 'Songs of coal miners, textile workers, long-line skinners, track-liners, field hands and other HARD-WORKING PEOPLE.' (If you don't know the name of this tune, or can't sing it in your head, we've lost something in America.)

Now the man that invented the steam drill,
He thought he was might fine;
But John Henry drove fifteen feet,
The steam drill only made nine. (Lord, Lord)

John Henry hammered in the mountains,
His hammer was striking fire;
But he worked so hard, it broke his heard
And he laid down his hammer and he died. (Lord, Lord)

Now John Henry had a little woman,
Her name was Polly Anne,
John Henry took sick and had to go to bed,
Polly Anne drove steel like a man. (Lord, Lord)

Having just heard a sermon about Mary's Magnificat, I think Polly Anne would have identified with her.

Now the problem with this meme... I only know 4 other bloggers. Joe's one and he tagged It Never Happened and Some Bird. So I guess I have to go with my fourth: ABB. But I don't think she reads my blog. I just hope memes aren't like chain letters that if you break them you get pox or an IRS audit. (If so, do I get to choose? I'd prefer the pox, please.) I gotta get more of my friends to blog.

Heigh ho, Heigh ho

Heigh ho, Heigh ho

I figure after living in a place for 2 1/2 months its probably about time to clean it, right? I've been using the excuse that I don't have a vacuum cleaner, but that doesn't explain the grime in the tub. OK, so maybe this is too much information, but what I thought was hard water stain in the tub actually came off with a mixture of Comet and Tilex and a lot of elbow grease.

Anyhow, I did the whole place, top to bottom. We're talking disposing of clutter, mopping the floors, vacuuming (borrowed machine), scrubbing sinks and tubs - the whole nine yards. It didn't even really take that long. Actually, I spent more time (and energy) procrastinating than I actually spent working. Nothing like company coming to motivate you to clean house.

Still, this place isn't exactly decorated for Christmas. In fact, my sum total Christmas decorations are - shoot, it's not even plural - is one single white taper candle. ummm.... So maybe I'm not fully invested in the festivities. Of course, ABB has some great advice.

This & that

This & that

This morning before breakfast I threw my first load of laundry into my new washing machine. By the time I finished my coffee I was hanging it out. The only catch is that it is still drying (10 hours later). Well - beats the laundramat.

The problem is I don't have gas hook up and my landlord hasn't decided if he will put it in for me. The old fashioned air dry method is fine with me, especially in the winter months because it gets some much humidity into the house. I just have to plan ahead.

There is one other catch: I have HARD water. Any suggestions on getting really clean laundry with hard water? It isn't bad, but I wish I had a water softener.

In other news...
Last night I caught some of W's news conference NPR. The talking heads were tearing him apart. Where where those guys 3 years ago? As I was listening I thought I could hear W's handlers cringe. He'd sort of dribble off on an answer and then suddenly get some energy into his voice and start free-lancing an answer. That's when I heard the cringe. I think he is seriously on the ropes. It would be satisfying if not for the fact that we're all implicated in this mess. We've unleashed a demon and it ain't pretty.

But we think Dale had breakfast with Gates in Baghdad this morning. If you looked sharp we think he is 3rd from the right of Gates in this photo. We saw him on video too, but now I can't it. Wonder what he told him?

Count down

Count down

Winter solstice takes place at 7:22 EST tonight.

I can hardly wait for the long slide of lengthening days. I think in a prior life I must have worshipped at Stonehenge.

Be it ever so humble...

Be it ever so humble...

"Just say it over and over:
'There's no place like home...
There's no place like home...
There's no place like home...'"
Good witch to Dorothy

I've been busy. I spent most of Saturday getting ready for a trip up to Minneapolis, and then most of the day Sunday getting to Minneapolis. We drove about an 90 minutes out of town to meet our customer, arriving about dusk on Sunday. Then Monday was visiting all day with various teams of people, culminating in a high-level meeting with a couple of VPs and Executive VPs. Everything was smiles and thumbs up - we're moving forward. I keep saying: 'Execute. Execute. Execute. We gotta do it right!'

Then this morning we met with people from a different company up in St Paul, followed by a 3 hour camp out at a convenient Panera. Good thing I like their food. We finally caught our flight and, crammed in the back in seat 20A, I had a great view of the starboard engine about 8 inches outside my window. I also got to hear it all the way back. THANK YOU JESUS FOR BOSE NOISE CANCELLATION HEADPHONES!!!! Without them I think I would have assaulted the people around me. As it was, I turned on Dorado Schmitt's Gypsy Reunion and bounced all the way back to Midway. Then it was a short (attempt at scarcasm) 2 1/2 hour drive back to Goshen. I'm home now, safe, and glad to be here.

More transitions

More transitions

Today Mom moved to Greencroft. I told her I never thought I'd see this day. She said she didn't either - she didn't think she'd live past 80! Personally, I think she's good for another 8 or 10 years at the least.

So I took off midday and ran over to her new apartment. Jake was just pulling in, but being 19 he beat the caravan of Don's truck and trailer and Mom's car by a good 15 minutes. We had everything unloaded by noon, then swung by my place to unload the washer and dryer. (I've been looking forward to that!) Then it was over the the Soda Shop for a quick lunch before going our separate ways. All done by 1pm!

I have to say Mom's new place is nice. She was very thoughtful about what she'd bring over, and somehow found a nice balance between spartan and homey. Greencroft completely refurbished the space so it feels and smells like new. She'll be all set up to paint, and sometime next week she'll get a new Internet connection up. (My fault for the delay - I thought I had another week or so yet.)

The amazing thing is that it is only 3/4 mile from my place.

In other news, I decided this week to do a house sitting job for an acquaintance this spring. Marge is leading a GC SST Unit to Peru, and I can stay at her place from April to July. That starts when I have to be out of this place and it gives me more time to look for what I want. Not only that but thanks to a nice discount on rent for basic lawn care I'll have more time to build my down payment. I have to firm it up with her, but I'm optimistic that it will work out and that it is the right thing for now.

I'm home tomorrow, but then taking off Sunday noon for Minnesota. A couple of us are going to visit a client in the south-central part of the state. We have a packed day Monday with visits with four different groups of people in this company. I'll be leading most of the sessions. Right now I think meetings like these are the part of my job I like the most.

Bach

Bach

I woke up in time to make it to choir practice, and then singing in church. We did Bach Cantata 180, 'Soul, Adorn thyself with gladness' (or 'Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele').

I can't hit the high G that the tenors get in the penultament phrase, so I sang Bass. The low G that shows up for the basses is a reach, but my voice has dropped at least 1 1/2 steps in the last 30 years and I can get it now.

Bach's moving bass lines are among my favourites, I think because of the way he uses accidentals (raising or lowering a tone by half a step from what you expect from the key signature). I think my favourite line is in that same penultament phrase: Our line goes G, Bb, A, G, A, B Natural, C, D, E, F, G, G (octave down). That B Natural is such a sweet touch, and so JS Bach.

ABB

ABB

I love the Angry Black Bitch's blog. Stuck up in a tree had me in stitches. Others, like Get Found, leave me in tears.

If you don't already do so, take time at least once a week to see what she has to say. I think she's brilliant!

Winter is here...

Winter is here...

Since moving into an 1960's/'70s era house, I've become a lot more conscious of heating costs. My first heating bill in this new place was $178. That's compared to $104 for the same period at my old house. Keep in mind that this new place is roughly 1/5th of the floor space, with no basement!

The difference is, at least partly, due to insulation. In the 70's everything was 2x4 walls and, if they're insulated at all, nobody really paid much attention to how carefuly the job was done. I haven't inspected this one too carefully, but it has some obvious problems. My old place was 2x6 walls, carefully insulated, with a good 12" blown into the ceiling.

So I've got a setback thermostat and I'm trying to manage it. It cuts back to 55 at 10pm, so I'm often climbing into a cold bed.

But I have the perfect solution. Last year #1 daughter made me a rice bag for Christmas. Basically it is a soft terrycloth towel sewn into a 12x8" envelope, and filled with uncooked rice. You pop that baby in the microwave for about 6 or 7 minutes and when you pull it out you have a piping hot foot warmer that lasts for at least half the night. It sure beats sliced bread on a cold night!

Loose my grip...

Loose my grip...

You've been leading me
Beside strange waters
Streams of beautiful lights in the night
But where is my pastureland in these dark valleys?
If I loose my grip, will I take flight?
--- Bruce Cockburn, Strange Waters

Letting go makes space for something new to happen.

Letting Go

Letting Go

I've been pondering letting go.

A couple weeks ago I had dinner at Mom's with Joe. It was one of those chilly fall evenings, and she had a fire going. We sat and talked by the fire before dinner, then adjourned to the kitchen for a nice supper, and then back to restoke the fire after cleaning up dishes. It was in the lull before Thanksgiving, so everything was pretty low key. I realized as we sat that it would be one of the last - if it wasn't the last - times I'd be able to sit around that fire place.

Maybe six weeks ago I had to let go of my own house. I've been grieving that loss. Now I'm in the market for a house - why don't I just buy Mom's? I wonder... My two main reasons: location and effort are reasonable. Why would I set up a 35 minute (one way) daily commute if I didn't have to? Of course there are people who commute over an hour each day... I've just never been one of them.

The effort part is that that place was Dad's full time hobby for 50 years. I like green space, but not that much. Given a choice of playing music or trimming shrubs or pulling weeds, I know where my heart is.

And beyond that, it seems like the wrong decision to make so close on the heels of moving out of 1722.

So I'm trying to let go.

And which is the echo and which is the source?

With Christmas closing in I'm faced with a radically different holiday experience. For over 20 years I held on to an exquisite dream of Christmas. That dream, the distilled essence of the marriage and family, lies shattered like crystal hurled against a brick fire place.

What does it mean to let go?

The fact is, I'm not 35 anymore. My kids are well past 3 and 7, that golden age of mystery that I seem to want to preserve. When I put it in that perspective, why would I hang on? I'm delighted in the adults my kids are becoming. And at 51 I don't want to turn back the clock on my own life. But still, is there anything of that deep history that I carry forward? And in this first Christmas since separation, what does family mean?

While I wish there was someway to skip December and go directly to January, I know there is no shortcut: the only way around is through.

I may come back to this topic - or even this post - again. I'm still pondering.

Petition

Petition

This morning I received and signed the Petition. The legal process is well underway. If it is all done in 60 days (which it won't be) it would conclude the first week of February. Signing was easy; clearly the right thing to do.

Nice words

Nice words

Last night the band formerly known as the Barn Owl String Band played a benefit in Kalamazoo. This morning one on the band members sent me this in an email:

I really enjoyed the gig last night -- those "extra" fiddle bits you added in here & there (I'm especially thinking of the chorus on Wagon Wheel) were genius! Bruce had his little recorder in the audience and captured someone behind him saying "he's a great fiddler!".

What a nice thing to say. And the dual compliment - one from a respected fellow musician and one from an anonymous audience member - is especially meaningful.

I say FKA the BOSB because a quick google search turned up a band in central Iowa called the Barn Owls. They've been around for at least 5 years. My proposed alternative: the Screech Owl String Band - what better name for a band with two fiddles? Unless, of course, we dropped the word 'String' and then we would have a unique name and a great acronym.

Texas travels

Texas travels

Well, he put me off in Texas
A state I dearly love
The wide open spaces all around me
The moon and stars up above.
-- Jimmy Rodgers, 1929

There may have been wide open spaces all around me, but I sure didn't see moon or stars. I landed in Austin about midnight Wednesday after a two-hour delay in Cincinnati. The layover was amazing: the plane was full and we were waiting for them to close the door and give us the demonstration on how to insert the metal tab into the metal buckle when the 1st officer came on the PA and said "You may have noticed the Captain just got off the plane. He's been transferred to another flight. The good news is that we have another Captain on his way here. The bad news is that he is still in his driveway and it will be about an hour and a half before he gets here."

Maybe they wanted the new guy because he was a more skilled pilot. It turned out that there was a cold front crashing in on Austin. On landing it felt like our plane was being tossed about like a cork on the ocean. I got in my rental car at about 1am, and the front was giving me a pretty dramatic sound and light show. It started raining about 5 minutes into my drive, and 5 minutes later the street I was on was a river. Texas-sized rain drops above, deep water below! Eventually I drove out of the worst of it. By the time I arrived in Temple (2:30am local time), the temp had dropped probably 30 degrees!

In spite of only about 4 hours of sleep, my meeting went well. I was a little foggy, but I really didn't start to fall asleep spontaneously until I was caught in a traffic jam back in Austin that evening. I made it back to my hotel safely, then crashed and woke up in time to catch a 6am flight out. Alas, no live music in the city that bills itself the live music capital of the world.

Friday morning the sky was starting to clear, and once we got in the air I had a georgeous, full-spectrum sunrise somewhere over Houston. From 30,000' I was surprised by how indistinct the coast line is along East Texas and Louisianna: no sharp edges here. Which is, I guess, part of why the hurricane tidal surge is so dangerous.

I landed back home in Indiana early in the afternoon. While I was gone, Winter had showed up and camped outside my door.

The other big news: I had toast today! (OK, if this is big news, maybe I need to get a life!) Now I'm not as nuts about toast as, say, Heywood Banks, but once in a while it's nice to have. So today I went out and bought my very own toaster oven. Now, if I just had some bagels and cream cheese...

Home body

Home body

Maybe it's 'cause I've been gone so much, and maybe I was just hungry for my own cooking. Whatever - I took the leftover-from-Thanksgiving mango Mom gave me and stir fried it into a curried chicken/mango/ginger/veggie delight. It was good. I even have leftovers. Hope they keep 'till I get back from Texas Friday night.

Monday I was on the road at 6:30am to drive up to Wisconsin. I way over estimated the drive time and got there a couple hours early. Chicago traffic wasn't a big a nightmare as I feared. After my meeting I drove an extra 20 minutes west to have dinner with my old friend Mike. We had a great time yaking, cooking and drinking wine. ("Remember Ben and Gordon digging for gold and devil's poop?") Met Ellen, his wife-to-be, and heard all about their vacation in Mexico last week. Mike's been retired just over a year, and what can I say? I'm jealous. They live right on the river, with a couple of canoes and kayaks perched just feet from the shore.

Drove part way home last night, got a cheap room for a couple of hours, and then started driving early to beat the morning traffic. Sailed through downtown Chicago in record time. Cars actually move at 6am! I made it home by about 10 and then took a couple hour nap.

Tomorrow night I'm off to Austin, Texas. I think I have some downtime after meetings all day Thursday, so I'll be looking for live music Thursday night. Alas, Friday night my Austin-based fiddle idol, Elana James, is playing up at Dallas at the same bar I saw Big Sandy and the Fly Right Boys last year. I won't be in Dallas Friday night.

But if you're in Goshen, come on down to Rachel's Bread for pizza and a beer Friday from 7 - 9pm. The Barn Owl String Band will be performing unplugged. Actually it is less a performance than a practice before we drive up to play for the Loaves & Fishes Benefit in Kalamazoo Saturday night. Hope to see you there.

A different Thanksgiving

A different Thanksgiving

Today marks an unexpected Thanksgiving. I'm writing this from a study desk at the Waterloo Public Library. They offer a quiet space with free wifi, and free parking. What a great way to use taxpayer dollars. Of course nobody here wonders why I'm spending my holiday in the public library.

I drove up to Waterloo yesterday morning. Spent a couple hours on campus with #1 daughter. Surprised myself by getting choked up when we met. Then drove up to St Jacobs for supper with Ralph, talking late into the night. That friendship, spanning more than 30 years, ranks near the top of my list of things I am thankful for this year.

Now I'm killing time until Leena finishes classes for the weekend and we make the long trek home. The morning is passing quickly!

I needed this break. Navigating marriage dissolution and an overload at work has me stretched to a tight wire. Add church and orchestra responsibilities and things are falling off my plate. Taking an extra day off, with windshield time and time talking with a friend, is just what the head and heart doctor ordered. Someday I'll write a long post about my perspective on depression.

On the drive up I listened to an hour-long interview with John O'Donohue. Quote of the day: "The mind altering, alters all things." This break helped me alter my mind.

We'll be home tonight, with lots of business of family gatherings and food the rest of the weekend (I'll even try tofurky - which has to be the ugliest word in food marketing - if there is enough .) Saturday afternoon is a wedding shower for Joe and then a book signing for Cross-X. No small challenge is the fact that this is the farewell gathering at the family homestead.

Cause célèbre

Cause célèbre

Tonight I reached a major milestone: an agreement on how to proceed. As a bonus, the lawyer has everything he needs.

We were able to talk through all the issues, with only a few minor eddys and an occasional submerged boulder. Now the current is strong, the way seems clear, and I'm arriving in a new and exciting watershed.

All this augurs well for civility and long term family relations, which is something both of us covet.

So if you're free at 8pm, join me at The Constant Spring. If not, raise a toast to my future.

Do I always swim against the tide?

Do I always swim against the tide?

I never thought I'd say this, but after being against the Iraq war since the outset, I have serious misgivings about the current talk of getting out as fast as possible. When everyone else was gung ho for the war I was against it. And now I'm looking at it differently.

Oh, don't get me wrong: I'm still against the war - any war. But the reality is we've made a mess of Iraq. Don't we have a moral obligation to clean it up. It is going to be expensive by every possible measure. But the alternative - packing our bags and going home - looks a whole lot worse.

This idea has been lurking for me for months, but an interview with retired Marine Col. Thomas Hammes on NPR gave voice to my thoughts: we got into the war on stupid, thoughless impulse; we shouldn't use the same impulsive process for getting out.

I don't know how I reconcile this with my pacifism. I couldn't carry a gun, but neither am I ready to sign up for CPT. So I'm both out of step with popular opinion and unwilling to put my life on the line for my values.

True

True

Tonight I made up a pot of Leena's Erin's Puréed Butternut Squash Soup and it is every bit as good as she said it is.

I wholeheartedly recommend it. Have to find out if my vegetarian niece and vegan niece-in-law-to-be would vote for it as an alternative to turkey on Thanksgiving.

I've been recovering from a cold. It started in my throat on Tuesday, due, I think, to getting overtired, flying on planes and talking all day. By Friday it had more or less left my throat and moved up into my nose. I took a pile of Vitamin C. I don't know if it helped, or if it was what kept me awake last night. I heard somewhere that V. C could do that. Maybe it was the power of suggestion, but sleep proved elusive. A bit like drinking expresso at 9pm.

Went to the pottery shop today and bought a sweet little honey pot. The sales person said it would be just right for Pooh, and I said said, no, Pooh's would have been a lot bigger.

Amaz(on)ing

Amaz(on)ing

Amazon.com today listed Cross-X as one of the top 10 non-fiction books of 2006!

And I finally had time to listen to Joe's interview on Talk of the Nation. Joe and Marcus did an absolutely great job. I've been falling behind though. According to Joe's blog there a bunch more to listen to. Better get to work!

I'm back. I'm tired.

I'm back. I'm tired.

I arrived home early this afternoon all tuckered out. Great trip to Dallas - actually Cleburne. Monday and Tuesday were lonnnnnng days. I got to Dallas late in afternoon and went straight to meet my prospective customer at his plant. I spent about two hours there walking the floor and talking with some of his staff. I learned a lot about the issues they face; it really helped to have seen it when I met the rest of his team on Tuesday.

So I drove to Cleburne after grabbing a bite to eat (Steak and Shake really is the fast fat capital of the world). I did a little prep when I got to my hotel, but it as pushing 11 or 12 by my internal clock, so I crawled into bed. Problem was I had a couple hours of work to get ready for my meeting in the morning, so when I woke up at 2am I got up and did it. I fell back asleep from maybe 4-6, and then finished getting ready for the meeting to start at 8 or 8:30.

The day went really fast and really well. I ended up facilitating their team meeting to help figure out what would stop them from making good use of our software. I did demo software, but most of the time was focused on them. I've been on this tack for some time, but this was the fartherist I've pushed it with any client. What I heard was that they really liked the approach. Only time will tell if we'll win the business.

Then last night I drove back up to Dallas and contended with traffic. You know the myth that everything in Texas is BIG? Well its true. Even the miles are bigger there. Someone tells you 'just go a couple miles after the airport and you're right there', but they don't tell you that Texas miles are longer. Its like the difference between kilometers and miles.

For dinner I found the historic downtown of Grapevine Texas, which seems like I should have known what it was famous for - probably gun battles. But the fried catfish couldn't hold a candle to Miss Fanny's last winter down in Meridian. It wasn't even close. (Photo on the right is Miss Fanny's fish - I don't dress like this when I'm on a business trip.)

Then it was up early this morning to catch a 7:30 flight. Three-quarters of my flights this trip were on time, so it wasn't an awful trip.

Now I'm home for a couple of weeks.

Oh - I have to say something about the election. We're still stuck with Souder, but any day that you get rid of Rummy counts as a good day in my books. One down and two to go. It was fun to be driving around Dallas and hearing how the congressional races in Indiana were a bellweather for the rest of the country. Imagine that. That would explain why even W seemed to get it that people aren't happy with the way things are going.

If I'd have thought of it, I would have tried to find Kinky Friedmann's campaign headquarters last night in Dallas. He came in a distant 4th (of 4) for Texas Governor, which is too bad. I heard bits of his concession speech on the way home, and I wish I could have voted for him. (Actually its a good thing I didn't try to find him in Dallas, because he was in Austin.)

Not so random Sunday PM notes

Not so random Sunday PM notes

Challenging church service this morning on a number of fronts. I don't begrudge blessing a new marriage in our congregation; on the contrary I wish the couple all the best.

What was challenging was hearing language that marriage is a blessing to the community. It is. But then what to do with the end of a marriage? Failed blessing? Our hymnal has no liturgy for the end of marriage.

Then tonight, Mom and I went to the Memorial service and lit a candle for Dad. It is good to make space to remember and to grieve. Janeen's singing 'Come ye disconsolate' touched deep. And it is OK if the grief of two losses blurs.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Texas on the last of four major trips in as many weeks. I'll be back sometime Wednesday. Getting ready for this has been a challenge due both to time and some software things that aren't working the way I think they should. Wish me luck, patience and presence of mind.

Random Sunday AM Notes

Random Sunday AM Notes

I'm not the first or last person to use his blog to procrastinate.

I played three gigs this weekend! (Actually, three is nothing; by the end of the day today Pete will have done five!) Friday night the Barnowls practiced at Rachel's Bread. I landed in South Bend from Florida ON TIME at 6:05, rushed home, grabbed my fiddle and was at Rachel's by 7:25. We played for an hour or so.

Then yesterday morning I was settling into my prep for next week when Pete called and invited me to sit in with the Heisenburg trio for an hour that morning (making it the Heisenburg Quartet, or as I called it, the Hot Club of Heisenburg). So I was back at Rachel's and played through a dozen pop / jazz tunes with Pete, Jake and Kent. Pete somehow got Rachel to come out and sing a verse of Autumn Leaves in French. She was fantastic - smokey, low voice - perfect for the song. I had played maybe 2/3rds of the tunes before, so I did some serious improvisation. Pete does such a great job leading with his guitar - I call it the six string piano - that it was easy. And Jake added a nice solid bottom end to it and it all just kind of flowed out. It was a lot of fun.

Last night the Barn Owls reconvened to play for the Goshen Contra Dancers. They have been trying to get us for the last year, and we finally found a date that worked. It is so much fun playing twin fiddles with Bev - passing the high and low parts back and forth, finding harmonies, varying the rhythms... Still, by 10:50 I was pooped and my bow arm was turning into wood. Fiddling for dances definately has an endurance aspect - most dances last 15 or 20 minutes, which is along time to hold a fiddle up.

I'm in between my last two trips of this heavy travel schedule. In the last 3 weeks I've been in the office I think a total of 1 1/2 days - maybe 2. Tomorrow I fly to Dallas, returning Wednesday afternoon. This will be a packed trip, but at least it is only 3 days. I have a lot of preparation to do for it yet today and on my flight tomorrow. Then I expect to be home for a while. At least I don't have any flights booked right now.

Tonight Mom and I will go to the 8th Street memorial service and light a candle for Dad. We've done that every year since he died, and it is a really nice service.

So in between this heavy work and travel schedule I'm squeezing in some things that are important and fun. But I'm looking forward to being in town for a couple of weeks.

Contrast

Contrast

The other night I stayed at a fancy resort hotel up in Orlando. Everything is grandious. Big pillars. Heavy granite. Huge spaces. High ceilings. Everything BIG. Everything NEW. My hotel room bigger and better equiped than my new apartment. (Which, ok, isn't saying all that much.) Guarded entry. Six foot fence to keep those people out.

Tonight I'm down in Palm Beach, which is, mostly, older wealth; also at the high end scale of things.

Except I decided to take the evening off and find some live music. After poking around online for a while I found a link to a link to a link to a musician's website. This guy sounded like he might be good, so I headed downtown to the Office Bar & Grill.

Ben Prestage far exceeded my expections: he was fantastic. And it was pretty much the polar opposite from the high tone ostentatious crap we had been at a couple nights ago. Think biker bar. Signs on a couple of that tables that they were reserved for the Pool League. And the Pool Leaque players were there - with padded cue cases. Did you know there are single and double cue cases? Padded? I was impressed. It reminded me of Poling's in Muncie in 1981.

Prestage was billed as a solo act, and he is a one-man band. He played a drum set with his feet (bass drum with right foot, and trap and snare drum with two separate foot pedals (heel and toe) with his left. Snare drum mounted edgewise in a plastic milk crate. Everything miked to the nines, so the sound was tight. He had half a dozen guitars that he swapped around including a hollow-bodied electric, a resonator, a couple of accoustics and some weird cigar box bass with a long neck, 2 strings and no frets that he played with a slide. All finger picking. We were there for 90 minutes and he played more or less non-stop with almost no talking between songs. He just peeled them off, one after the other. Vocals fit perfect.

Music covered included a bunch of Robert Johnson tunes. Some harp player sat in and reminded me why I think I'm just toying with the instrument. He also covered a great song called "Bigboned and Buttugly" from someone name Brian Martin that Steve would love. (The countdown from 15 is a blast!)

Great music. Down and gritty venue. Fantastic food. I had the Obscene Roast Beef Sandwich. Hoping for a cheap thrill I looked and was disappointed. Except for being really big, it was just a really good sandwich.

Pictures

Pictures

Here are the house photos I promised the other day.

If you come for a visit, park on the right side of the drive, behind my car.





Then walk around the East (right) side of the garage to the back of the house. You'll see the main door - on the right side of the awning. My bell is on the left side of the door (1408). Most of the time that door is unlocked and you can come in the entry way and knock on my door - inside and on the left side.

Confused yet?

First thing you see when you walk in is my kitchen. Nice mobile, eh? It's your basic one long counter deal, but its all there. Fridge out of sight on the right. Door to living room on the right edge of the picture. East-facing picture window (Visible from the outside photo under awning) is on the left.










Once you're in the Living room you'll see my music / reading corner on your right.





And when you turn around you'll see my gallery of family art. This also leads back to my bedroom, office and bathroom. Nothing really special to see there.

Come on over sometime...

Which reminds me of a great old-timey song:
Won't you come over and see me some time?
Won't you come over and see me some time?
Eat your breakfast 'fore you start
Bring your dinner in your hand
And you leave before supper time.

Gotta be one of the most unhospitable tunes on record. Don't worry - I'll look after you.

More travel

More travel

To anyone who wants to sell me a meal while I'm on the road: give me free WiFi.

Panera gets my business because of that. Oh, the sandwiches and soup are great. But in a town like Orlando there are thousands of places to eat lunch. I need free wifi.

Hotels are catching on that it needs to be free. I'm batting 100% for last 10 nights on the road. Now if we could just get it free at highway rest stops and airports.

We're doing the whirlwind Florida trip: Miami, Orlando, Palm Beach... So much so that I missed Joe's TOTN broadcast. (And technology is failing me: I can't get the archive recording to play on my pc. I've heard from a couple of people that it was great.) Weather has actually been rainy, but I'm not complaining. Good meetings and conversations all week and one more tomorrow. But we can't get a flight out until Friday noon. So darn, we have to find a beach for a while.

Cross-X

A Turbulent, Triumphant Season with an Inner-City Debate Squad

Cross-X - is a great story about a debate team and race relations in America in the 21st century. But the real story is about how Joe Miller faced his own sense of entitlement as a white guy and learned that 'you can't dictate the revolution.' He also learned to control his mouth. Oh there is also a Mighty Ducks theme of the triump of the underdog, but don't let that fool you. The real story is the personal journey.

OK, so Joe is my nephew and this is blatant nepotism (nephewtism). But I'm not above trying to drive traffic to help Joe Miller sell more books about racism and debate.

New Digs

New Digs

So where does this term 'Digs' come from, and why does it mean 'place that you live'? And why do I use it to name where I live? Why not say 'apartment' or 'house' or... ?


More photos coming soon. (OK - Poll time: I put the photos up on Snapfish thinking that anyone can view them. But you need to create a username and login to get to them. Is this OK, or would you rather view them here? The disadvantage to here is that they slow down the page load. Your comments are welcome.)

Not too a bad place, especially compared to some slums that I could have had instead. If you come to visit, use the sidewalk on the side of the garage, and ring the bell for 1408 by the back door under the awning.

Tomorrow I'm off for 5 days in Florida. I love Goshen, but I'm having a hard time thinking of what can be wrong with lows of mid 70s and highs in the mid 80s. And sunny.

This afternoon I biked on one of Goshen's best-kept secrets: the bike trail along the river North of the dam. This time of year the leaves are mostly off of trees, so it is a lot more open and right or wrong you don't even think of poison ivy. Wonderful place on a sunny afternoon.

More travel whining and KC - a winning combination

More travel whining and KC - a winning combination

The other day I couldn't stop myself from whining about business travel. Last night I sat for an hour or so in the Kansas City airport listening to a recorded voice welcoming me to "Kansas City, a 2006 All American City. PLEASE, enjoy your stay" - and contemplating my rental car bill.

OK, nephew Joe Miller, author of Cross-X, about the Kansas City (MO) Central High School Debate Team, has on occassion gone over the top in his rants about KC politicians, and frankly I've rolled my eyes and wondered if he needs to watch his blood pressure. But I have to say when I saw my bill I began to get it. The bill, for a 23 hour car rental came to $71.84. What got my attention is that the actual rental fee came to exactly $50.80. So what is the other $21.04? You got it: Taxes! Here is the itemized list:

MPT Fee $1.42
9% AP Fee $4.70
CFC Fee $3.00
Arena Fee $4.00
TFC Fee $2.00
Sales Tax (8.97%) $5.92

OK the extra fees are enough, but you know what really frosts my ears? Its the sales tax on the taxes! The @!#*ing Sales tax of 8.97% is not 8.97% of the car rental, its on that and everything else! And, may I ask, what the hell is an MPT, a CFC and a TFC?

I need to check my own blood pressure.

Anyhow, I made it home safely and almost on time. And no travel until Monday at 5:30am.

Orchids

Orchids

You'll never guess what was in my mailbox tonight! I'm so excited. OK, you can see it here in the photo. Neil's music arrived today!



If you don't know the story, this is the music that my mother commissioned for the Maple City Chamber Orchestra in memory of my dad. The funds came from the sale of his orchids after his death. Neil Dufallo is a fantastic NYC-based violinist/composer with shoestring connections to the MCCO. He was delighted to tackle the project and today I got the score and parts. I can't wait to hear it, but it looks like it will be fun and accessible by our little group. It is written for string orchestra, so it should lay out nicely for quartet too. The piece is titled Fragments of Celestial Color, and is based on Maori legends about orchids, and, of course, photos of my dad's orchids. I haven't seen the program notes yet so that is as much as I know.

Rehearsals start after Christmas, with world premier at Sauder Hall on February 25. You better be there!

Whining

Whining

Sometimes its hard not to whine about business travel. The whole activity is dehumanizing. Beauty is hard to find.

Yesterday's trip started with mechanical trouble on the flight out of South Bend. We get on the plane. And then sit. Get off. Check out alternate plans. Good news: we can get back on and fly. But I miss my connection in Detroit, get rerouted through Indianapolis... arriving in KC at 6 instead of 2 - and miss Joe. Three ups and downs instead of 2. My ears hurt.

Food in airports suck. Then there is the dehydration factor. Plus all the hotels except the Super 8 seemed to be booked so I'm down the hall from smokers in a room that feels grimy, and the 'Continental Breakfast' they advertise is a donut. Not 'donuts'; donut. The OJ was good and I'm off to find a real breakfast. With coffee.

Enough whining.

St. Joe here I come

St. Joe here I come

Last minute, quick trip to St. Joseph, Mo to visit a customer.

One the way I'll stop and see nephew Joe, who is a good guy, but probably not a saint. Back late Thursday night.

Counting last week, I'm on the road for business 15 out of 20 days.

Notes to self on being a friend

Notes to self on being a friend

Years and years ago a friend of mine went through a divorce and I did a lousy job of being his friend. Admittedly, we weren't all that close to begin with, but I was close to rude. Far closer than I care to admit.

Now that I'm here I've been awed by the support I've received from my friends. It is undeserved grace. Most memorably, Ralph showed up Friday night with jars of jam, applesauce, a pan of homemade rolls and a housewarming gift.

We talked till after midnight Friday and all day Saturday. What I appreciate most is his ability to hold my words lightly: I can say whatever I want and know that he'll thresh the grains of truth and let the chaff blow on the winds of emotion.

He also reminded me of the vital importance of unpacking my bags and surrounding myself with beauty and meaning. We hung pictures and shopped for wine glasses. And while he gently prodded and poked at any laziness or negativity on my part, he reserved his own opinions until I had solidified my own.

If ever I have the opportunity to walk with another friend through this jungle, I'll have a better idea how to do it.

Obligations

Obligations

Recently I had dinner with a new prospective customer. I had just met this fellow, and his company really needs our software and help. He is clearly interested in what we're doing and have to offer. It would be a great business opportunity for us.

In the course of the evening I learned that our political viewpoints are polar opposites. As he described the debate leading up to the Iraq war you didn't need a blood pressure monitor to see his rise with his indignation over the opposition to the war.

I found myself mildly bemused at his anger and emotion. Clearly here is a someone with a very different view of reality. But I didn't get hooked into his emotion and I felt a greater obligation to my stakeholders - my partner and my employees - to win his business than to 'correct his errors in judgement.'

Still, I felt a little guilty about keeping my mouth shut and implying approval of his view. The bottom line is that I had no hope of changing his view point and I want his business. But have I sacrificed principle for opportunity?

Customers

Customers

Day 3 of this 4 day trip was user conference day. We had about 25 people from 8 or 10 companies. They were looking for new ideas, and they seemed really happily stretched. Smiles and good reviews for all our presentations. Lots of forward-looking opportunities.

4 of the companies are wannabes. They are about to make a purchase. I'm making it a policy to not name my clients - mainly because I don't want to tip off my competitors. But you can think of a major restaurant chain and probably the premier speaker maker in the world.

Tomorrow we're spending the morning with the speaker people. We'll walk in with their data and, we hope, walk out with an order or at least the path to one clearly in place. Then I'm ready to head home. This has been a very productive trip, and frankly its been good to get my head out of my own troubles and into a broader perspective. But I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Mansfield

Mansfield

Today and tomorrow Tom and I are exhibiting at an ASQ conference in Mansfield, MA. These conferences are always kind of a crap shoot - sometimes they pay off and usually they don't. This morning soon after we got everything unpacked and were mostly set up a woman walked up and started a conversation. It became evident that she had more than idle curiosity. When I prodded further she told me that she had come all the way from Florida because she wanted to meet us and hear my presentation! That almost never happens, so I'm thrilled.

My paper was well received. Some of my faithful readers (Ok, maybe its more like click and clack - 'my faithful reader' singular) may find this surprising, but I get pretty animated in a presentation like this. I have some passion for the topic (which my reader will see as downright wierd since the topic is data systems and quality...) and that comes through in the presentation.

My basic thesis is that we're all in the business of changing corporate culture so that decisions are made based on objective data (data driven) instead of opinion or hierarchy-driven (he's the boss so whether he is right or not, he's right). But we pay almost no attention to making it easy to get data to make decisions. Instead we train people till we're blue in the face and hold them accountable (read 'fire them if they don't meet expectations'). In fact if you make it easy to get data and then actually start to use it, the culture changes itself.

All of a sudden I'm getting some invitations to get on the road. In the next six weeks I'm looking at 2 trips to Texas and a multi-day trip to Florida, criss-crossing the state. Should be a wild ride.

Lost

Lost

About 95 pages into Cross X I realized I had forgotten that Joe had written it and that I had met the protagonists just last week in St. Louis. It was just a heck of a good read. Only problem is my flight wasn't long enough.

Bloggingrhythm

Bloggingrhythm

My first problem with blogging is keeping a rhythm going on my postings. For me, once I've broken that rhythm it is kind of hard to know what to pick up and what to leave out. So this turns into more of a diary than anything else.

Not that I don't have a good excuse for the long gap between posts. And not that I need an excuse, but so much has happened.

First - I'm in my new place. To say it feels like home is a stretch, but I have books unpacked, and I'm getting my kitchen stocked with equipment and utensils. Today I bought an iron and ironing board. Yesterday it was decent butcher and paring knives. And I have some salt and pepper and other spices in my cupboard, along with rice, flour, lentils and some meat in the freezer, and jam in the fridge. Oh and some good bread from Rachel's.

Second - well its been a busy week with something musical just about every day. Today was the MCCO concert with Dan Berggren. The concert itself was fun, but the high point was the musician's gathering Friday night at Rachel's Bread. We put out the word to area folky types that Dan would like to meet us and play with us. Maybe a dozen showed up from 8-10. The Schmaltzentrubers kicked it off with 'Poor Wayfaring Stranger' and 'Ain't Misbehavin'. Then Pete and Jen joined us and we played a couple D dance tunes, followed by 'Wagon Wheel', and it took off from there. Dan played a couple of his tunes, and we just kept playing. I was the only fiddler, and at one point I took a break and played harmonica. It was fun - more than fun I've had in a long time. Dan brought such a gracious and generous spirit.

Thursday night the Schmaltzentrubers played a benefit for the Interfaith Hospitality Network (and we had practiced the night before). It was a volunteer gig, and we've learned over the years that there is an inverse relationship between how much we get paid and how much fun we have: the free concerts have always been the most fun. The audience was really appeciative - and we sounded pretty good. We could hear each other really well, and somehow we were just 'on'.

Finally, I've been waiting to get high speed access at home. My new modem / wireless router arrived Friday, but somebody needs to throw a switch somewhere, and they aren't scheduled to do that until the 20th. After grumbling about that for several hours I realized that I could write this off-line and then load it up across the old-fashioned slow dialup.

I went to church today and a whole bunch of people told me how glad they were to see me and glad to hear that both of us plan to continue to attend. I'm not sure how this will work for me, but only time will tell.

Looking ahead, tomorrow I fly to Boston area. I give a paper Tuesday morning at a conference, and then on Thursday we have a north east region user conference meeting, and I have a presentation there. Wednesday and Friday are prospective customer meetings. I return Friday evening, and my friend Ralph is driving down for a visit from St. Jacobs. I appreciate the moral support.

Fast Trip

Fast Trip

24 1/2 hours. That's how long I was on the road.

Mom picked my up at 7am Saturday and we drove to St. Louis. I forgot how beautiful the arch is, even driving by at 60 mph. Stunning architecture.

The Big Read! It was so cool to be there. I helped Joe pass out fliers. I had this infectious enthusiasm about Joe's book that made it easy walk up and say "Do you have one of these( (handing them a flier). This is an invitation to a reading at 5pm in Tent C. My nephew - we're all so proud of him - just released his first book, Cross X. Its about a high school debate team from Central High School, which is a failing intercity school, and how their debate team wins a national championship. You'll love the story."

Unfortunately I don't think anybody that I handed the flier to came to the presentation, and from their perspective I can see why not: most of them were there to check out the booths, browse the book racks and have a fun time with their kids. The author presentations, many of them on food and travel - were not the main attraction. I wonder if the organizers were happy with the turn out. I'm not saying the fliers aren't a good idea, but they may be more to get people to look at the book than to come to the presentation.

What I did notice is that the rich white folks that I talked to - which were most of the people there - connected immediately to what Rinehart called the Mighty Ducks part of the story: underdogs succeed against overwhelming odds and win national championship. The real story, I think - and I haven't read the book yet so don't hold me to this - is about Joe's coming to terms with white priviledge.

I digress.

I got to meet Shark-fu, The Angry Black Bitch. She caught me off guard. Maybe I shouldn't blow her cover, but my first impression was she didn't seem angry enough. Her sharp wit is evident, as is her ready critique of 21st century reality. But there is love there too. Actually it comes through in her posts, so I'm not really blowing her cover.

Joe's read was fantastic. The story's hero's: Marcus, Ebony & Jane were on stage with Joe. Obvious love and respect between all four of them. My comment to Mom on the way back to the car was 'I'll vote for Marcus any chance I get. '

Then 4 hours N to Flanigan. I crawled into bed at 11, woke up at 3am and jumped in the car without waking anyone and was home by 7:30. 24 1/2 hours later.

Short nap later and I'm doing my final pack and house cleaning before I get the key to my new apartment.

I've always thought the saying 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life' rated up there in swarmeyness with 'smile, jesus loves you'. Both may be true, but dammit, keep your mouth shut if that's all you can say. But that is actually how I feel.

Life savers!

Life savers!

Floyd's call Sunday evening that his neighbor is interested in a house sitter for the winter.
Kevin's call Friday afternoon pointing out that it is a beautiful day and that I needed to get out of the office and get some fresh air. 18 holes later I felt almost human.
Ralph's conversation Thursday night that was a long distance blanket around my shoulders.
Supportive calls, hugs, emails and conversations from family and friends scattered around the world.
A crew of great guys who readily drop their Sunday afternoon plans to help me move.
A staff of amazing employees who carry on in my absence without missing a beat.

How do people who don't have family and friends make it through something like this? I can't imagine.

Tomorrow Mom and I drive to St Louis to The Big Read to cheer for Joe in his first public appearance promoting Cross X. I'm so excited to actually get my own copy and to see him in public.

Then it is back Sunday for The Big Move. No tents or speechs planned for that event. Maybe I'll borrow a camera and get some photos of the crew and my new digs.

Wish us safe driving.

Welcome!

Welcome!

Welcome to M-AW-G's blog!

So I have to have a reason for the name, right?

Several converging lines...

First there was the conversation several years ago with Naela, a new employee from Palestine with the name that I had to practice to get right. Nii-ella? No, Naela. Nay-ella? No, Naela. Naella? No, Naela. Naela? Not bad... Not bad for a middle-aged white-guy? I wasn't going to say that! No, but it's what you were thinking. Well, yes.

Middle-aged White-guy became a running joke. Any time I did something Naela even mildly approved of (which wasn't much) she'd say "Not bad.." and I'd complete "...for a middle-aged white-guy."

Then a few days ago I ran into Shark Fu, the Angry Black Bitch and I thought "this woman has got it!" Her post about 'M' had me in tears.

Then I ran into the new Weird Al Yankovitch video and thought 'you know, I'm neither black, nor particulary angry, nor particularly bitchy, but I am a middle-aged white-guy.

And then this past weekend my wife and Idecided to end our marriage of 31 years. I'm looking for an apartment and I want a way to stay in touch with my extended family through this transition. So I'm launching this blog. In a few days I'll let my friends and family know it is here, and then I'll see what happens.

Which is characteristic of the rest of my life right now!