On my way out of my neighborhood each morning, I turn left onto a street that can be tricky. The traffic is light, but travels quickly. Construction on the street has sometimes made the view even more difficult.
For several weeks, this guy has been standing there opposite my street. He's a large man, well bundled, wearing a reflective vest. Once he's had a stop/slow sign in his hand, but most days, it lies at his feet. But he's ready. Should he be needed, he'll spring to action.
It's cold most mornings and he just stands out there, all bundled out. As the cars fly past him, the wind must be quite chilling. And because of where he stands, as I'm accelerating, should I fail to turn the wheel, he could be a hood ornament.
So, I've been waving to him every morning, not sure if he can see me, but just because he must stand out there all alone for long periods of time, I figure someone waving might be nice.
The last few days he's doing the "pull forward" wave at me when it's clear, making it easier to exit the neighborhood. So I've continued to wave when I get out onto the street and now he smiles and nods.
I've been waving at the crossing guards later on during my route. Hopefully soon I'll get a return wave there as well. I guess most people are grumpy with them because of the school crossing the slows us all down to 20 on one of the only two roads out to civilization.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Cool Technology
NEWS.COM -- This is a cool new technology that I will probably end up taking advantage sooner than I'd like. Basically, it improves on the concept of a hearing aid. A pair of glasses with multiple microphones pick up the sound around the person's head. A miniature computer determines which sounds (based on where the sound is coming from) are more important than others and adjusts the levels so that certain things are more amplified than others. Compare that to current technology where everything is amplified. Cool. More...
If I die...
News.com had a story about what happens when someone dies and they've had a MySpace or a blog or something. It was really sad to read of these parents who learned more about their child's life after the child had passed away, or who recieved comfort from all kinds of people's responses to their children's deaths. Well, not sure if that was as much sad as heartwarming in a sad way. But it made me think... about me, of course. Should I die... if so, I'm sorry for leaving a scattered mess across the internet of all of the trivial stuff that in past generations would have stayed safely locked up in my head unlike now where it's virtual litter blowing across far too many landscapes. :)
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Monday, April 24, 2006
Unseasonable
All I remember from growing up around here was rain. Lots of rain. I liked rain. We haven't had a lot of rain as of late. In fact today it was 82 degrees out when I got in my car at 5 pm to come home. I really love leaving for work at 7:40 and arriving home at 5:30, as opposed to when we lived down there and carpooled... we'd leave at 7:10 and get home maybe 6, 6:15. Brutal.
I learned that the lake in our private park used to have river otters and eagles, but they ate so much of the bass that they were trapped and sent elsewhere. A shame.
I learned that the lake in our private park used to have river otters and eagles, but they ate so much of the bass that they were trapped and sent elsewhere. A shame.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
S is for Silence (Sue Grafton)
Working backwards, I was a little disappointed with the outcome. No explanation in the epilogue of how Kinsey solved the crime. One other thing, but I don't want to spoil the story, so I won't say what.
Grafton, in the 18th installment of her alphabet series, decided to mix it up a little bit. Lori's mom did not care for it, but Lori and I found it intriguing.
If you're familiar at all with Lost, while the story progresses forwards, we the viewers are treated to backstory/flashbacks that allow us to learn more about the motives of the charcters, insight that the island's fellow castaways aren't privvy to, until such time as one of them tells the others (not the others) about something from their past.
Maybe it's because we like Lost, but in this particular book we, the reader, were presented with flashbacks. Every so often we'd start a new chapter, presented with the name of one of the people in the story and a date thirty years prior. Through all the flashbacks, we'd learn of something and then hope that eventually someone in present day would explain it to Kinsey.
The story itself is a young woman trying to find out what happened to her mother thirty years before and Kinsey agreeing to take on the job and try to succeed where the police and private eyes have failed in the past.
If you've been a fan of the Kinsey Milhone series, then you'll probaby like this one.
Grafton, in the 18th installment of her alphabet series, decided to mix it up a little bit. Lori's mom did not care for it, but Lori and I found it intriguing.
If you're familiar at all with Lost, while the story progresses forwards, we the viewers are treated to backstory/flashbacks that allow us to learn more about the motives of the charcters, insight that the island's fellow castaways aren't privvy to, until such time as one of them tells the others (not the others) about something from their past.
Maybe it's because we like Lost, but in this particular book we, the reader, were presented with flashbacks. Every so often we'd start a new chapter, presented with the name of one of the people in the story and a date thirty years prior. Through all the flashbacks, we'd learn of something and then hope that eventually someone in present day would explain it to Kinsey.
The story itself is a young woman trying to find out what happened to her mother thirty years before and Kinsey agreeing to take on the job and try to succeed where the police and private eyes have failed in the past.
If you've been a fan of the Kinsey Milhone series, then you'll probaby like this one.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Your Moment
During your life, you will have moments. What you do at these moments will be defining in your life. You may step up and take your moment, or you may be oblivious to your moment and turn down the wrong path, or continue on blindly when you should have turned your life in another direction. Or, you may eagerly embrace your moment and change the course of your life.
Your moments will not be random, God will have prepared you for them. Before the moment occurs, you will have become aware of a need. You will become consumed, obsessed by the need and you will begin to see the role you might play.
If you feel compelled, but unsure of what to do, then the moment isn’t here yet, but it’s on its way. Pray. Watch for -- expect even -- open doors. Prepare as much as you can. Get ready.
And when the moment arrives, seize it boldly.
What will happen? You may succeed! You may not. You could die. (Literally or figuratively. But hopefully only figuratively.) You will honor God. You may choose to completely ignore the moment. If you do, you may find yourself driving around in circles until you stop to ask for directions and re-arrive at the moment. (Caution: Choosing to ignore a moment may cause the moment to come back to you repeatedly until you act. And when you finally do act, you may end up kicking yourself for not having acted sooner.) Or, the moment may be gone for good.
Moments in the Bible: Jesus in Matthew 21 (Palm Sunday), Esther in Esther 4 (saving the Jews), Nehemiah in Nehemiah 1&2 (rebuilding the city).
paraphrased from a message provided by Jeff MacLurg at Our Savior’s Baptist Church in Federal Way on April 4, 2006.
Your moments will not be random, God will have prepared you for them. Before the moment occurs, you will have become aware of a need. You will become consumed, obsessed by the need and you will begin to see the role you might play.
If you feel compelled, but unsure of what to do, then the moment isn’t here yet, but it’s on its way. Pray. Watch for -- expect even -- open doors. Prepare as much as you can. Get ready.
And when the moment arrives, seize it boldly.
What will happen? You may succeed! You may not. You could die. (Literally or figuratively. But hopefully only figuratively.) You will honor God. You may choose to completely ignore the moment. If you do, you may find yourself driving around in circles until you stop to ask for directions and re-arrive at the moment. (Caution: Choosing to ignore a moment may cause the moment to come back to you repeatedly until you act. And when you finally do act, you may end up kicking yourself for not having acted sooner.) Or, the moment may be gone for good.
Moments in the Bible: Jesus in Matthew 21 (Palm Sunday), Esther in Esther 4 (saving the Jews), Nehemiah in Nehemiah 1&2 (rebuilding the city).
paraphrased from a message provided by Jeff MacLurg at Our Savior’s Baptist Church in Federal Way on April 4, 2006.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
The Witness by Dee Henderson
I don't know if I can describe this story without spoiling it, but I guess that's fine because I wouldn't recommend it anyhow, so let me save you the trouble by just telling you what it's about.
Kelly sees a bunch of people get killed where she works by the ex-boyfriend of one of her colleagues. She, in shock, hides in the bathroom. Eventually someone reports her and she tells them what she saw, including who did it. Conveniently, the man she talks to is a pretty senior police officer in this semi-little town.
Then she disappears.
He figures out who she is and goes to her house. They talk a little more and form a bond. She leaves, but gives him one more opporunity to talk. She's embroiled in something big and has been on the run for years from a multi-faceted criminal who's running his operation from jail.
She has information that will dismantle his operation and allow the feds to seize all his money.
Then she disappears. By the way, her name is Amanda, not Kelly, but her friends call her Amy and her family calls her Mandy.
Then three years pass.
The police officer is now chief. Someone dies who was very wealthy and he leaves the money to two sisters who never knew he was their dad. They wish their third sister, who died years ago, could be with them to share in the windfall, even though he wasn't her dad.
Before I figure out the connection, still wondering where this is all going, I pick the book up to start reading again and read the back cover which mentions "Amy and her two sisters." Well, while that was obviously about to come out quickly, it ticks me off because it does spoil it temporarily.
The third sister resurfaces and this semi-small police department has the money to keep her in some safe house and the two sisters are brought out to the safe house to learn that their sister is still alive, but that they can't stay reunited, it's just a brief visit.
By now, the police chief is in love with Amy, one of his best deputies is engaged to another sister (they had been dating for years) and the deputy's partner, the police chief's other best deputy, is falling in love with the third sister. It's beginning to feel like a Saturday Night Live movie where everyone gets paired off in the end.
But then someone rather gruesomely kills the dead rich guy's former driver. That sucks. Is it a warning? Is it the criminal coming after the sisters with the new-found money since he knows Amy was their sister?
And then a second former life-long employee dies, the bookkeeper. Again in the victim's blood at the crime scene is the words "I know the family secret." Something funny about the money?
All the while, some characters pray to God and others fret about their friends who don't know Jesus. I asked Lori if Dee Henderson was trying to evangelism in her books and she said that Henderson was a Christian writer. Other than the characters being pretty squeaky without any vices, I didn't understand what all the murder and stuff had to do with Christianity and the evangelism was too blatant to be effective, in my opinion.
And then one of the sisters is murdered. The one who was engaged. I didn't see that coming and it kinda sucked. One of the local reporters seems to know a lot about the crimes and has even managed to get photos where he shouldn't have had access. Is someone on the police force providing him with copies of the negatives from the police crime scene photos?
I haven't competely finished the book yet and Marley is still #1 so I wondered if the Christian Bookstore near Barnes and Noble has a Bestseller section of its own. It doesn't, but it has one entire endcap devoted to this book. And a big professional sign, either done by the company who owned the chain of stores or (more likely) the publisher, asks something to the effect of "Can the police protect Amy and her sister long enough to find the killer?" Which is an odd thing to put in a Christian bookstore, but worse yet, "sister" is singular. That is, now you know Amy/Amanda/Kelly is connected to a sister, but when you open the book and find two sisters, now you know before you get to the end that one of them is dead.
Who dunnit? The reporter from the newspaper, also a legitimate son of this wealthy dead guy, but not at all mentioned in the will.
Everyone lives happily ever after. Except all the dead people. And the people in jail. And the people who don't know Jesus. Ok, I added that last part.
Poor story, poor writing, really bad job at evangelism and crummy marketing that ruins the story ahead of time. Personal opinion, not sure that Dee Henderson would sell too many books if she didn't get placement in Chrisitian bookstores. On the other hand, Lori and her mom both read it and I think would give more favorable reviews.
Kelly sees a bunch of people get killed where she works by the ex-boyfriend of one of her colleagues. She, in shock, hides in the bathroom. Eventually someone reports her and she tells them what she saw, including who did it. Conveniently, the man she talks to is a pretty senior police officer in this semi-little town.
Then she disappears.
He figures out who she is and goes to her house. They talk a little more and form a bond. She leaves, but gives him one more opporunity to talk. She's embroiled in something big and has been on the run for years from a multi-faceted criminal who's running his operation from jail.
She has information that will dismantle his operation and allow the feds to seize all his money.
Then she disappears. By the way, her name is Amanda, not Kelly, but her friends call her Amy and her family calls her Mandy.
Then three years pass.
The police officer is now chief. Someone dies who was very wealthy and he leaves the money to two sisters who never knew he was their dad. They wish their third sister, who died years ago, could be with them to share in the windfall, even though he wasn't her dad.
Before I figure out the connection, still wondering where this is all going, I pick the book up to start reading again and read the back cover which mentions "Amy and her two sisters." Well, while that was obviously about to come out quickly, it ticks me off because it does spoil it temporarily.
The third sister resurfaces and this semi-small police department has the money to keep her in some safe house and the two sisters are brought out to the safe house to learn that their sister is still alive, but that they can't stay reunited, it's just a brief visit.
By now, the police chief is in love with Amy, one of his best deputies is engaged to another sister (they had been dating for years) and the deputy's partner, the police chief's other best deputy, is falling in love with the third sister. It's beginning to feel like a Saturday Night Live movie where everyone gets paired off in the end.
But then someone rather gruesomely kills the dead rich guy's former driver. That sucks. Is it a warning? Is it the criminal coming after the sisters with the new-found money since he knows Amy was their sister?
And then a second former life-long employee dies, the bookkeeper. Again in the victim's blood at the crime scene is the words "I know the family secret." Something funny about the money?
All the while, some characters pray to God and others fret about their friends who don't know Jesus. I asked Lori if Dee Henderson was trying to evangelism in her books and she said that Henderson was a Christian writer. Other than the characters being pretty squeaky without any vices, I didn't understand what all the murder and stuff had to do with Christianity and the evangelism was too blatant to be effective, in my opinion.
And then one of the sisters is murdered. The one who was engaged. I didn't see that coming and it kinda sucked. One of the local reporters seems to know a lot about the crimes and has even managed to get photos where he shouldn't have had access. Is someone on the police force providing him with copies of the negatives from the police crime scene photos?
I haven't competely finished the book yet and Marley is still #1 so I wondered if the Christian Bookstore near Barnes and Noble has a Bestseller section of its own. It doesn't, but it has one entire endcap devoted to this book. And a big professional sign, either done by the company who owned the chain of stores or (more likely) the publisher, asks something to the effect of "Can the police protect Amy and her sister long enough to find the killer?" Which is an odd thing to put in a Christian bookstore, but worse yet, "sister" is singular. That is, now you know Amy/Amanda/Kelly is connected to a sister, but when you open the book and find two sisters, now you know before you get to the end that one of them is dead.
Who dunnit? The reporter from the newspaper, also a legitimate son of this wealthy dead guy, but not at all mentioned in the will.
Everyone lives happily ever after. Except all the dead people. And the people in jail. And the people who don't know Jesus. Ok, I added that last part.
Poor story, poor writing, really bad job at evangelism and crummy marketing that ruins the story ahead of time. Personal opinion, not sure that Dee Henderson would sell too many books if she didn't get placement in Chrisitian bookstores. On the other hand, Lori and her mom both read it and I think would give more favorable reviews.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Just for fun...
TOUR BUS
A tour bus driver is driving with a bus full of seniors down a highway when he is tapped on his shoulder by a little old lady. She offers him a handful of peanuts, which he gratefully munches up.
After about 15 minutes, she taps him on his shoulder again and she hands him another handful of peanuts.
She repeats this gesture about five more times. When she is about to hand him another batch again he asks the little old lady why they don't eat the peanuts themselves.
"We can't chew them because we've no teeth", she replied. The puzzled driver asks, "Well then, why do you buy them?"
The old lady replied, "We just love the chocolate around them."
A tour bus driver is driving with a bus full of seniors down a highway when he is tapped on his shoulder by a little old lady. She offers him a handful of peanuts, which he gratefully munches up.
After about 15 minutes, she taps him on his shoulder again and she hands him another handful of peanuts.
She repeats this gesture about five more times. When she is about to hand him another batch again he asks the little old lady why they don't eat the peanuts themselves.
"We can't chew them because we've no teeth", she replied. The puzzled driver asks, "Well then, why do you buy them?"
The old lady replied, "We just love the chocolate around them."
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Walking in L.A.
Vastly an incomplete list, but here's all the stuff we never did get around to doing. (Almost - we did do some of the more obvious ones.)
Museums:
Museums:
- Getty Center
- LA County Museum of Art
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- Huntington Gardens
- Autry Museum of Western Heritage
- Hollywood Bowl Museum and Tour
- Page Museum - La Brea Tar Pits
- Museum of Miniatures
- Peterson Automotive Museum
- Guiness Book of World Records Museum
- Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum
- Hollywood Wax Museum
Theme Parks:
- Disneyland
- Universal Studios, etc.
Animals:
- LA Zoo
- Aquarium of the Pacific, etc.
Street Fairs, Parks and Malls:
- Monrovia Street Fair (Friday Night)
- Griffith Park and Observatory
- Hollywood and Highland
- The Grove/Farmer's Market
- Paseo Colorado, etc.
Other:
- Forest Lawn Museum - (click on "Hall of Crucifixion/Resurrection" and "The Last
Supper Window") - Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels (new Catholic Cathedral)
- Walt Disney Concert Hall
- Spring Street Tour - Los Angeles Conservancy Walking Tour Experience the area that recently has become a hub of downtown revitalization
- Hollywood/Walk of Fame
- Olivera Street
- Westwood
- Angel's Walk
- Angel's Flight
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Are You Out There?
I've been meaning to post this again for a couple of days now. I've been graced in the past few months with a few people from my past, like Janeal, Greg and Brian. Of those, I can count exactly none of them as a result of their names appearing on this list.
The closest success story I've got is that I've reconnected with Adam Bargmeyer (his name was on the list) and met (only online) his lovely wife, who was searching for his name and came across this list the last time it appeared.
I've also heard through Andrew Ledbetter that Andrew Alexander just recently got married and was as close as Vegas about the time we were packing to move from L.A. to Seattle. I have yet to connect directly with Andrew A., though. And Brad's gonna have to go on the list. I know you're still around here somewhere, Zeitner.
Andrew Eichner still used the same e-mail address, so I actually did have a way to contact him. Surprised to find out he had moved to New York. Deryk Stillwell was still in Encino and amazingly enough, married! He and Lisa said we should get together before we moved, but that didn't happen.
So, here's the updated list... Maybe they'll search for their own name and come across this list. I intend to repost it frequently so that it's always fresh on this blog. In some cases, I could find these people by calling their parents back home, or by calling my parents, but (a) what's the fun in that, (b) I'm too lazy, (c) that's too weird and (d) maybe they don't want to hear from me.. that's fine. Plus, I could also check my colleges' alumni website, but that's not entirely acurate... for instance, according to them, I am a Dr. and an Esq. and I hold a PhD in Microrobotics from MIT. (And I'd like to note that I'm now receiving mail from PLU addressed to Dr. James A. Lamb, KBE, Esq. ha!!!!)
I have but a few brief moments today, so the list will have people missing and very little info about why I'm hoping to make contact with them.
And here's some search words for Google, to get us started... Washington, Bremerton and Port Orchard and Silverdale. Tracyton Elementary School and then Fairview Jr. High School and then Olympic High School and finally Pacific Lutheran University. Family of God Lutheran Church and Silverdale Lutheran Church. Oh, and Little Caesar's Pizza! Pizza! I guess I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention South Kitsap High School, Central Kitsap High School, Bethel Lutheran Church and Warner Bros. Online. And for search purposes, James Lamb. Oh, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ultimate TV, UltimateTV, TV Net, UTV and the WB Network. Monrovia, Pasadena, Lake Avenue Church, Los Angeles. Movie Clicks. Stuff like that.
Of course, some of you on the list might think "What the heck would I talk to you about these days?" Fair enough. For some of you, perhaps I'm just curious to hear what you're up to these day and how you've been.
In no particular order...
1. Eric McGraw - last seen probably on graduation day from high school.
2. Glenn Krauss - El Camino
3. Holly Grellier - San Francisco
4. Jamey Peterson
5. Wendy Ehrlich - Warner Bros. Online
6. Becki Brunelli - Warner Bros. Online
7. Shannon Carvey
8. Tighe and Susan Carvey - Little Caesar's Pizza
9. Marshall B. "M.B." Miller IV
10. Robin something who liked cows
11. Chris Wilkinson
12. Doug Hahn
15. Darice Good - thespian, brother is Darren Good
16. Paul Bates
19. Patty Armstrong / Patty Hoem / Patty and Hayden
20. Richard Mar
21. Jamie Anderson (The Mast)
22. Kathleen and Susan Jacot
24. Scott Kim (Warner Bros., laid off the same day as me)
26. Eric Funk (former DJ, KPLZ 101.5 STAR Seattle)
27. Carol Maakestad
28. Pastor Robert Hoem
29. Huy Nguyen
As always, I have to end noting that this is an incredibly incomplete list with Janeal and Greg as evidence.
The closest success story I've got is that I've reconnected with Adam Bargmeyer (his name was on the list) and met (only online) his lovely wife, who was searching for his name and came across this list the last time it appeared.
I've also heard through Andrew Ledbetter that Andrew Alexander just recently got married and was as close as Vegas about the time we were packing to move from L.A. to Seattle. I have yet to connect directly with Andrew A., though. And Brad's gonna have to go on the list. I know you're still around here somewhere, Zeitner.
Andrew Eichner still used the same e-mail address, so I actually did have a way to contact him. Surprised to find out he had moved to New York. Deryk Stillwell was still in Encino and amazingly enough, married! He and Lisa said we should get together before we moved, but that didn't happen.
So, here's the updated list... Maybe they'll search for their own name and come across this list. I intend to repost it frequently so that it's always fresh on this blog. In some cases, I could find these people by calling their parents back home, or by calling my parents, but (a) what's the fun in that, (b) I'm too lazy, (c) that's too weird and (d) maybe they don't want to hear from me.. that's fine. Plus, I could also check my colleges' alumni website, but that's not entirely acurate... for instance, according to them, I am a Dr. and an Esq. and I hold a PhD in Microrobotics from MIT. (And I'd like to note that I'm now receiving mail from PLU addressed to Dr. James A. Lamb, KBE, Esq. ha!!!!)
I have but a few brief moments today, so the list will have people missing and very little info about why I'm hoping to make contact with them.
And here's some search words for Google, to get us started... Washington, Bremerton and Port Orchard and Silverdale. Tracyton Elementary School and then Fairview Jr. High School and then Olympic High School and finally Pacific Lutheran University. Family of God Lutheran Church and Silverdale Lutheran Church. Oh, and Little Caesar's Pizza! Pizza! I guess I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention South Kitsap High School, Central Kitsap High School, Bethel Lutheran Church and Warner Bros. Online. And for search purposes, James Lamb. Oh, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Ultimate TV, UltimateTV, TV Net, UTV and the WB Network. Monrovia, Pasadena, Lake Avenue Church, Los Angeles. Movie Clicks. Stuff like that.
Of course, some of you on the list might think "What the heck would I talk to you about these days?" Fair enough. For some of you, perhaps I'm just curious to hear what you're up to these day and how you've been.
In no particular order...
1. Eric McGraw - last seen probably on graduation day from high school.
2. Glenn Krauss - El Camino
3. Holly Grellier - San Francisco
4. Jamey Peterson
5. Wendy Ehrlich - Warner Bros. Online
6. Becki Brunelli - Warner Bros. Online
7. Shannon Carvey
8. Tighe and Susan Carvey - Little Caesar's Pizza
9. Marshall B. "M.B." Miller IV
10. Robin something who liked cows
11. Chris Wilkinson
12. Doug Hahn
15. Darice Good - thespian, brother is Darren Good
16. Paul Bates
19. Patty Armstrong / Patty Hoem / Patty and Hayden
20. Richard Mar
21. Jamie Anderson (The Mast)
22. Kathleen and Susan Jacot
24. Scott Kim (Warner Bros., laid off the same day as me)
26. Eric Funk (former DJ, KPLZ 101.5 STAR Seattle)
27. Carol Maakestad
28. Pastor Robert Hoem
29. Huy Nguyen
As always, I have to end noting that this is an incredibly incomplete list with Janeal and Greg as evidence.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
I can't wait for Christmas
I was walking Barkley tonight, enjoying the weather. It was in the high 40s, no wind. The moon was large and the night sky speckled with clouds. I was wearing shorts and my heavy ski jacket. The air smelled of pine trees and made me think of cabins in the woods. A song I've loved for a long time, a song that used to give me the chills every time I heard it, a song that will never grow old, came on my iPod, "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)" by Amy Grant. It was off the last Christmas album she did when she was still a Christian artist before we jumped over to sap-pop and before she realized she stunk at that any anyone who liked her Christian music was boycotting her and she came back to Christian music. The song is basically from Mary's perspective as she's travelling to Bethlehem on a cold night, asking God how He could possibly think she was up to the task of being the mother of Jesus. I didn't listen to the words as closely tonight because the song made me remember hearing it years ago when I would talk walks late at night in school. And how the weather then made me feel closer to the song, imagining what the weather might be like. I didn't walk much in L.A., and certainly not alone. When I could get out for a walk, it was with Lori, so we would talk. But I'd never hear that song while out on my own where I could think about it. And tonight I did and it got me excited for Christmas. When Christmas comes this year, it will be cold. It could rain, it could snow. We will be inside watching the weather outside, but we will be inside, toasty and warm. We may have a fire in the fireplace, we may be holding mugs of coffee or hot chocolate. Friends and family will surround us and the warm light from the room will spill out onto the dark front lawn.
The affair is over. To anyone I ever told "I'm a native Southern Californian accidentally born in Seattle," I apologize. It was a lie. It's like that period of time when I thought Lowes was better than Home Depot. I fell in love with a place I could not afford to enjoy. Only now that I don't live there will I be able to enjoy it again. Trips to Disneyland will be more magical, traffic will the minor inconvenience while getting between destinations, not the norm of life. The heat, the smog, the pouring rain, it'll all be something I won't be able to see again through the palm trees. We'll say "I miss the area." and then we'll fly home and say "Nah, I don't miss it." Maybe someday, San Diego. But I can't imagine ever calling Los Angeles home again. It has a beauty, a hope, a promise, but it's better seen on the silver screen than lived by the general masses who inhabit it.
This is home.
The affair is over. To anyone I ever told "I'm a native Southern Californian accidentally born in Seattle," I apologize. It was a lie. It's like that period of time when I thought Lowes was better than Home Depot. I fell in love with a place I could not afford to enjoy. Only now that I don't live there will I be able to enjoy it again. Trips to Disneyland will be more magical, traffic will the minor inconvenience while getting between destinations, not the norm of life. The heat, the smog, the pouring rain, it'll all be something I won't be able to see again through the palm trees. We'll say "I miss the area." and then we'll fly home and say "Nah, I don't miss it." Maybe someday, San Diego. But I can't imagine ever calling Los Angeles home again. It has a beauty, a hope, a promise, but it's better seen on the silver screen than lived by the general masses who inhabit it.
This is home.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog
Marley & Me was a really enjoyable read. In some ways, I am envious that this guy wrote this book and is now making all kinds of money just because he journaled about his life in such a way that he was later able to put it all down together, cohesively and make a nice little story. I think to myself "I could do that." But I didn't keep a good journal of my time with Barkley, or even my time with Rachel, for that matter. On the other hand, I've not had nearly the interesting journey that this guy had. Nor can I write as well as he did. It was non-fiction but I wonder how much leeway there really is.
From the subtitle, you expect to really hear about an awful dog, but this really doesn't turn out to be the case. Marley is obviously far from the world's worst dog and I've heard enough stories second- and third-hand to know this. Even the author, when writing a farewell piece after the dog's death at the end of the book (hope I didn't spoil it for you) in his newspaper column admits as much in talking about the responses he got from others disputing the title of world's worst dog.
In addition to a nice read, I enjoyed the book because it was so relevant. Marley was a Golden Retriever and if you know me, I have a retriever of my own. Entirely black, she looks like a Black Lab, but in reality, as I always tell people, she's "half golden retriever, half great dane, half stupid." I've learned a lot more about the dog we share our lives with, I've become a lot more sympathetic to her way of being and I'm come to some realizations.
Moving down here, it's been my goal to walk with her regularly. If the average has been every-other-night, then she should have gotten to take a walk with me tonight. Sadly, it did not work out this way. But I'm realizing that a lot of her energy -- what we find so annoying when she always jumps on us -- is because she's not getting enough exercise, she's not getting it out of her system. It's also because she doesn't get to spend enough time with us, so each time she gets to see us, she's really excited. So, I need to get the fence done and make sure it's secure so she can spend more time outside. Our old neighbors told us that the only time she would bark was when we were home and ignoring her, that if we were gone, she was perfectly quiet while she was outside. This is a big concern for us, living in a homeowner's association with some pretty rigid standards.
I also realized that we've had it pretty lucky. On one hand, she's never been allowed free roam of the house, because she's so large. She's been crated or at least tethered when she was indoors, limiting her range of motion. So she hasn't eating all nature of toys, couch cusions, etc. But on the other hand, she can be pretty lonely and she will sometimes cry when left in her kennel. So we've been trying to spend more time downstairs with her out of her kennel. I'm not sure yet how much calmer she's getting, but I expect that she will over time as she's allowed to be out of her kennel more. She's being nicer to the cats and they seem to be getting less afraid of her, either simply moving to where she can't reach them, or fighting back if she gets too nosy.
In the early years after she had gotten larger, we were really frustrated over her excitement because of the force she could exert with her large size. On more than one occasion her happiness to see the baby resulted in the baby getting smacked down with a paw, whipped hard by the flurry of tail, even knocked by a shaking ear, or knocked over as the dog passed by her. Rachel's never taken it personally and handled it well, but we ended up having to limit how much time the baby could spend with the dog and in what context. Now more controlled visits are allowing the dog to experience the baby, but often with the cage between them. Over time they'll probably be able to once again share space, supervised, without too much fear for the toddler. One thing's for certain, Barkley would never do anything intentionally to hurt the child, that's pretty obvious in the way she acts around the baby, far gentler than she does with us. Even as adults, Barkley's paws, tail and ears are a force to be reconned with.
But Barkley's continued exuberence was really a source of stress for us. Our friends all said "By the time she's one, she'll have calmed down." One came and went with no discernable change and our friends swore to us "By the time she's two, she'll have calmed down." as if they had never told us about it coming the year before. We stopped telling them about the dog stress, but had we not, I'm sure they would have said "By the time she's three, she'll have calmed down." But the book told me something no one else had, golden retrievers have a long puppyhood, about three years. With that in mind, perhaps by August we can see a dramatic change, although we have seen smaller changes already.
For one, she really enjoys walking. Even more, she enjoys running, something I've been able to start doing a little more as my body has gotten used to walking regularly for exercise. For two, we can already see improvement in her behavior when she's out. For three, she's being less of a pinhead after she goes outside to do her business. She will still paw the window from time to time, but it's far less frenetic, far less frequent, and happily that leaves me with far fewer paw prints to clean off the back window.
Thanks to this book, which I would not have read if it were not for my little book club thing, I have more insight to my own pet, insight which will no doubt help both she and I to better enjoy each other's companionship and lead to a better life for her.
The book still tops the chart for this week, so my next book purchase is undecided. I will probably pick something up tomorrow at Barnes and Noble from their best-seller section. I'm really hoping the current #2 doesn't make it to #1.
From the subtitle, you expect to really hear about an awful dog, but this really doesn't turn out to be the case. Marley is obviously far from the world's worst dog and I've heard enough stories second- and third-hand to know this. Even the author, when writing a farewell piece after the dog's death at the end of the book (hope I didn't spoil it for you) in his newspaper column admits as much in talking about the responses he got from others disputing the title of world's worst dog.
In addition to a nice read, I enjoyed the book because it was so relevant. Marley was a Golden Retriever and if you know me, I have a retriever of my own. Entirely black, she looks like a Black Lab, but in reality, as I always tell people, she's "half golden retriever, half great dane, half stupid." I've learned a lot more about the dog we share our lives with, I've become a lot more sympathetic to her way of being and I'm come to some realizations.
Moving down here, it's been my goal to walk with her regularly. If the average has been every-other-night, then she should have gotten to take a walk with me tonight. Sadly, it did not work out this way. But I'm realizing that a lot of her energy -- what we find so annoying when she always jumps on us -- is because she's not getting enough exercise, she's not getting it out of her system. It's also because she doesn't get to spend enough time with us, so each time she gets to see us, she's really excited. So, I need to get the fence done and make sure it's secure so she can spend more time outside. Our old neighbors told us that the only time she would bark was when we were home and ignoring her, that if we were gone, she was perfectly quiet while she was outside. This is a big concern for us, living in a homeowner's association with some pretty rigid standards.
I also realized that we've had it pretty lucky. On one hand, she's never been allowed free roam of the house, because she's so large. She's been crated or at least tethered when she was indoors, limiting her range of motion. So she hasn't eating all nature of toys, couch cusions, etc. But on the other hand, she can be pretty lonely and she will sometimes cry when left in her kennel. So we've been trying to spend more time downstairs with her out of her kennel. I'm not sure yet how much calmer she's getting, but I expect that she will over time as she's allowed to be out of her kennel more. She's being nicer to the cats and they seem to be getting less afraid of her, either simply moving to where she can't reach them, or fighting back if she gets too nosy.
In the early years after she had gotten larger, we were really frustrated over her excitement because of the force she could exert with her large size. On more than one occasion her happiness to see the baby resulted in the baby getting smacked down with a paw, whipped hard by the flurry of tail, even knocked by a shaking ear, or knocked over as the dog passed by her. Rachel's never taken it personally and handled it well, but we ended up having to limit how much time the baby could spend with the dog and in what context. Now more controlled visits are allowing the dog to experience the baby, but often with the cage between them. Over time they'll probably be able to once again share space, supervised, without too much fear for the toddler. One thing's for certain, Barkley would never do anything intentionally to hurt the child, that's pretty obvious in the way she acts around the baby, far gentler than she does with us. Even as adults, Barkley's paws, tail and ears are a force to be reconned with.
But Barkley's continued exuberence was really a source of stress for us. Our friends all said "By the time she's one, she'll have calmed down." One came and went with no discernable change and our friends swore to us "By the time she's two, she'll have calmed down." as if they had never told us about it coming the year before. We stopped telling them about the dog stress, but had we not, I'm sure they would have said "By the time she's three, she'll have calmed down." But the book told me something no one else had, golden retrievers have a long puppyhood, about three years. With that in mind, perhaps by August we can see a dramatic change, although we have seen smaller changes already.
For one, she really enjoys walking. Even more, she enjoys running, something I've been able to start doing a little more as my body has gotten used to walking regularly for exercise. For two, we can already see improvement in her behavior when she's out. For three, she's being less of a pinhead after she goes outside to do her business. She will still paw the window from time to time, but it's far less frenetic, far less frequent, and happily that leaves me with far fewer paw prints to clean off the back window.
Thanks to this book, which I would not have read if it were not for my little book club thing, I have more insight to my own pet, insight which will no doubt help both she and I to better enjoy each other's companionship and lead to a better life for her.
The book still tops the chart for this week, so my next book purchase is undecided. I will probably pick something up tomorrow at Barnes and Noble from their best-seller section. I'm really hoping the current #2 doesn't make it to #1.
Friday, April 07, 2006
The Book Report
Ok, a new week is just about to begin and I believe "Marley and Me" is still at the top of the charts. This might be a good time to solidify the rules to my little experiment. The whole goal is to (a) learn new things, (b) be exposed to things I would not otherwise be exposed to, (c) stay a little more current - without having to do any work myself.
- To that end, I will let others dictate what I read - if there is a new #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List for Nonfiction Hardcover, I must purchase and read it from cover to cover, regardless of the subject matter.
- In the event that the same title remains at the top of the chart for more than one week, I may, at my discretion, choose from the top seller in any other chart (other NYTimes lists, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.)
- I post -- in a timely manner -- my thoughts on the book. I may post while reading, but certainly, at the end, I must post again.
- I may add other books to the reading list for no reason other than (a) they were laying around the house or (b) they looked interesting or (c) they were recommended by a friend, family member or colleague.
Happy Friday
I need a laptop. I'm not updating my blog or Rachel's blog enough. I finished Marley and Me and now need to write about that. But as it stands, I only have three minutes until work starts. I rushed through my morning routine to go and get coffee and they were so quick at the Starbucks that I was to my off-ramp at the time I've typically been starting up the car at the house. It is so nice having such a short drive to work. Not sure why it takes so much longer in the evenings, unless it's simply that I don't leave work on time and then try to find alternatives with less traffic.
Speaking of traffic, I'm itching to start a Seattle blog similar to my L.A. blog. Sadly, I don't have the kind of time I did before, though, so I don't know when I'd edit it. Lunch? Maybe a little. This is my first week on the job and I've been having lunch with the boss every day. They have a great break room here with a place where you can buy simple foods and then an outside eating area surrounded by tree. It's really nice.
And now it's 8 am and I must shift into work mode. Hope everyone has a good Friday and a good weekend.
Speaking of traffic, I'm itching to start a Seattle blog similar to my L.A. blog. Sadly, I don't have the kind of time I did before, though, so I don't know when I'd edit it. Lunch? Maybe a little. This is my first week on the job and I've been having lunch with the boss every day. They have a great break room here with a place where you can buy simple foods and then an outside eating area surrounded by tree. It's really nice.
And now it's 8 am and I must shift into work mode. Hope everyone has a good Friday and a good weekend.
Monday, April 03, 2006
New Day
I was planning to write about how I enjoyed the rain and unlike many, I found joy in it where many found sorrow. And then the rain cleared and suddenly, there was this vibrant rainbow in the sky, brighter than I'd ever seen. The photo doesn't capture it, but it was actually so bright that there was a faint reflection of it, a mirror image, to its left.
Today was the first day of my new job. It was energizing, exciting, but at the same time a little sad. It's all the things I wanted for Lake Avenue Church, all the things I wish I could have done for Lake Ave. I guess it wasn't meant to be, I wasn't called to do that. But at the same time, all along, I had that glimpse. Like Nicholas Cage in one of my favorite movies, "The Family Man," I saw the glimpse. I knew the potential that no one else apparently was willing to see. So that dream is slowly dying with me. Granted, I have every confidence that LAC can still be great, but it won't be on my watch. (Uh guys, I've now been gone an entire month and am still listed as being on staff.)
The new job will start off slow. Not sure when I'll get a computer to actually work on, but I read all of the available training material today. I don't know if I should bring a book tomorrow, or lug in my own desktop just to see if I can get online. Sure wish I had bought a laptop.
It is good to be working again and the commute will be one I can do without even thinking about it. Took me 18 minutes today to get there and even less to get home. Gotta love it.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Life is Good
I am really enjoying living here. I've been walking the dog pretty regularly, enjoying listening to my iPod. I've found a church that I really like the speaker at. However, it's not our final church, so I've been going to it on Saturday nights because the series is really amazing, on leadership. Once I've heard part four next week, I want to summarize it here. But something I liked about tonight was the idea that everyone who's in our life is there for a reason, and either they are ultimately to influence us or we are to influence them. I also started my plan tonight of reading the #1's from the New York Non-Fiction Bestseller list. Borders lost my business; their new kiosk lists them alphabetically instead of by ranking, so I went to Barnes and Noble and signed up for their frequent buyer card. This is somewhat rambling tonight. We'll try another church in the morning. The one we went to last week we left after an hour and they hadn't even gotten to the sermon yet and it was way too uncomfortable for us. On Monday I start a job at World Vision. It's a temp. job, but it could lead to permanent work. The house is really getting close to settled, just a few more boxes to unpack and then a lot of stuff to start hanging on the walls.
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