Home Sweet Home

The big news here is that I'm going home to PEI on Saturday!

I am not looking forward to the usual crap at airports but it will be worth it to get home in the summer. Christmas is for family but summer is for fun and easy living.

Take a look at these pictures! Now imagine me in them. Nice. Especially considering you can fry an egg -- nay, roast the chicken -- on the sidewalks in St Louis.

if you are on The Island, I'll see you soon!
CC

Peace and Quiet (and Speed)

I've been tempted to write recently about how much noise there is in the city. Between equipment at work, and insanely loud AC at home, I am constantly bombarded with sound.

So, it was interesting to read this article about Ashley Fiolek.

She is 18 years-old, 5'2" and 105 lbs. She is winning motocross races left and right: as a rookie she won the championship for the Women's Motocross Association.

Oh, and by the way: she's deaf.

This may seem stunning but especially when you read the details about riding a motorbike. It has been years since I've been on one, but riders rely intimately on hearing for knowing when to shift. This is especially true when they occasionally 'catch neutral'. This young girl does have some trouble with neutral (a helluva problem), but her coach says she is uncanny at shifting at the right place in the powerband.

A terrific story.

CC

Quote of the Week

Burt and Verona are two characters rarely seen in the movies: thirtysomething, educated, healthy, self-employed, gentle, thoughtful, whimsical, not neurotic and really truly in love... For every such character(s) I’ve seen in the last 12 months, I’ve seen 20, maybe 30, mass murderers.

-- Roger Ebert

From the review for Away We Go.

I saw this flick last night. Not a great film, but fun in several places, profound in one or two. Worth seeing. Some reviews harp on the 'superiority complex' among the main protagonists, but I think it is more of a commentary that we all see everyone else as slightly crazy and just "not getting it" (and vice-versa).

Happy Father's Day!

Here is a Happy Father's Day wish to my father and all the Dad-readers (and Dads-to-be) of the blog.

My one-line summary of motherhood, as is well-documented, is that there is no stronger force in nature than a mother defending her young.

For fatherhood, I think my summary is that, aside from primal elements like hunger, nothing occupies a man's mind more than trying to live up to his father's example and legacy.

There are countless examples in history, sports, and film where a guy is driven to formidable heights, all predicated on just trying to make Dad proud. From Tiger Woods to Mozart, I'd say it is one of the motivating forces of civilization.

Personally, my father set the bar extremely high, and I'm grateful.

CC

Pushing Up Daisies

Click here for a great (implicit) commentary on the print media....

This is actually a sincere idea for old news boxes. But, the imagery is too good to pass up. Pushing up daisies, indeed.

CC

ps. I realize those may not be daisies!

Baby Train

One dear group of friends has had a lot of weddings in the past couple of years, and now, you guessed it, here come the babies! They aren't all here yet, but the train is steaming toward the station. At a recent baby shower/BBQ/party, there were several expectant couples.

(Ed's note: I'm playing it super-safe, and not naming names because I don't know who is truly 'public', and I shy away from that kind of thing in general.)

Naturally, one is excited both for the individual couples, and also collectively. This is quite a special, tight-knit group. I wonder if the children will play together -- grow up together?

Artifacts of a Move

Over the last few weeks, I've found the following stuff:

• A photo of me standing next to Herbie, the Miata, in either PEI or South Carolina (the soil looks quite similar). The photo was taken circa 1998. In the photo, I was wearing the same t-shirt that I was wearing as I stared at it, here in 2009. Though I don't wear this shirt to public functions, I think I need to update my wardrobe.
  
• I found a hand-written letter in a 'memory box'. I couldn't imagine why I had kept it, until I saw the sign-off at the bottom. The author was my cousin, who has passed away.
• For years, on my fridge, I have had a print/drawing of our church, celebrating its 150(?)-th anniversary. I turned it over and found a note from my mother. Nothing particularly dramatic, though she mentioned the wedding of a next-door neighbour. It was dated 1994. (Due to wear, this print did not survive the move, though I did take a picture of it.)

Just some of the things that make one stop and think.... There was a lot more, but it is too difficult to summarize, or much too personal (even above the bar I have revealed here).

One of the many issues with moving is that every box has the potential to stop you in your tracks with a blast from the past, and its concomitant introspection.

The Stanley Cup!

Game 7 was awesome! A great game.... Here are some thoughts:

• Talbot (sp?) for the Penguins, scored 2 goals that were just as a kid would dream, skating on a flooded backyard as a lad. One was a massive giveaway right in front of the net; the other was a strong slapshot to the top corner of the net (also known as "he roofed it").
• Congrats to Pittsburgh, but everyone in Canada knows that Sidney Crosby's home town and province will be wild with jubilation. He will never have to wait for a retaurant table again (though if he is smart, like Steve Yzerman, he will insist that he queue up with normal folks).
• It is true that Detroit beat Pittsburgh last year. This is unconfirmed but I heard a player left Pittsburgh this year for Detroit, for the express intent of winning the Stanley Cup. i.e. He has lost in the finals 2 years in a row, with the same 2 teams playing. This is a classic tragedy that is part of the Cup legend.
  
• I ran 6 miles for part of the game and watched the rest with some cool peeps. A great evening.
• Detroit really pressed in the final minutes. Every 20 years or so, a rookie goalie will win the Cup (Ken Dryden led Montreal to the Promised Land many years ago). Late in the game, there were some VERY close calls for the Penguin netminder, Fleury. I thought for a minute that the crossbar would win the MVP award.
  

I'm just delighted with that game.....

Stephen Colbert Cannot Be Stopped

Stephen Colbert is 'guest editor' of Newsweek magazine this week. It is a fun issue and a rather bold move by the magazine. I'll be very interested in seeing the Letters to the Ed next week.

(I imagine most know this, but if not: Stephen C hosts a satirical TV news show. It is brilliant.)

Game 7

Earlier today, I wrote a sentiment (in email), identical to the following quote (from this article). Because of the coincidence, I had to blog it.

"You would spend your whole life as a kid, at least in Canada...when you don't even have a net but you had little snowplows on the street, and you're dreaming of scoring the game-winning goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final," said Detroit head coach Mike Babcock.

Friday night is the ultimate in the NHL: Game 7 for The Cup.

I suspect much of eastern Canada is rooting for Pittsburgh, partly due to the underdog status but also because wunderkind Sid Crosby is from Nova Scotia.

Advice

2009 has been fairly rough. My detractors are never small in number but it seems like a lot lately, and probably with justification.

I remember hearing a young George Clooney say once that his father (an eminent journalist) would offer this advice:

You're never as good as they say, and you're never as bad as they say.

I guess this presumes no laws have been broken (e.g. a felony charge would put a kink in it). At times like this, we thank the senior Clooney for the perspective.

How To Reclaim 21,000 Miles

Great news! I am back in black with American Airlines: 21,000 miles.

I called them some time ago (when I received the dire expiration message), and received some ideas. The agent told me that if I had used one of their partners (and everyone is a partner) since the last flight, that would count. I just had to call the partner and attach my AA number to the transaction.

I used a rental car last September in Detroit, and bingo, 6 weeks later, I am ready to roll.

*whew*

Minor Update

I had my first workout today since the move.... My gym is a 5 minute walk (if that). Very nice indeed....

Still no internet yet and no cable TV. Working through options on that one... Plus it has been a busy week so I essentially just have the bed and bathroom set up. Everything else is still in boxes.

Turn Off The Lights

I've moved! I'm writing from the new complex's office centre.

It has been a tantric experience. Saturday morning was a high point of suffering, as there seemed no end to the amount of "stuff", but the payoff has been worth it.

Thankfully the weather was very good, and miraculous for the pro movers: book-ended perfectly by rain. Pro movers are astounding, though I think anyone at a pro-level for anything is generally impressive.

My new place is full to the gills, despite some major sell-offs and the use of a storage space in the basement. The move really isn't over but definitely in the end-game.

CC

ps. Fun fact: A married couple lives next door. During introductions, I told them straight-faced that I was a concert-level tuba player and that I practice rather loudly at night. The guy's body language got highly defensive before I told them I was joking.

pps. I lived at the old place for a long time. I feel like I should post a retrospective but to be honest, I feel unsentimental. I had some good memories there but stayed 3 years too long.

Into The Twilight Zone

I'm writing on Friday PM and will be offline for awhile... I haven't ordered Internet/cable/phone for my new place yet, but the clubhouse at the new complex has Wifi.

Things will be 'interesting' tomorrow but I think I'm good shape. A productive night last night and tonight. Alas, as everyone knows, it is the last 10% of nitty-gritty stuff that really drives you crazy.

peace out... see you on the other side!
CC

Couldn't Stand The Weather

The good news is that since the weird WD-40 deal with the AC unit, I haven't had to run heat or AC during May. It has been lovely, and I have had the windows open for an unbelievably long stretch of time.

However, Missouri's spring is no longer quaint.

Several moons ago, I took a class in aviation weather. In the class, we learned how thunderstorms formed, and why they are especially prevalent in the spring in the midwest of the US.

All very nice, and moderately interesting from an intellectual standpoint.

But when one is TRYING TO SHUTTLE one's stuff from one apartment to another, they are NO LONGER interesting. Especially after the 5th day IN A ROW, where the weather is lovely during the day and then a CRUSHING DOWNPOUR from 5 to 7 pm.

I only gave myself a week to work with, and it's gonna get interesting. I can't afford downtime in the evenings.

CC

ps. Many friends have offered to help me move. Unfortunately, I have chosen to 'shuttle' rather than pack-haul-unpack, and 'shuttling' doesn't scale very well. Also, I have a strong aversion to asking people for help for moves. Perhaps more in another post. However, I am sincerely grateful for all offers. It is nice to be acknowledged, as I have tried to help others move.

pps. The title of this post comes from one of the greatest songs of all time.

Free Stuff ! (and some Not-Yet Free Stuff)

I'm moving soon and have been jamming since Saturday.

It has been intense and occasionally emotional: everyone knows that people purge when moving but when you are single, you may very well touch every single item that you own. That's crazy.

I have some free stuff if anyone wants it. I'm not naming names but I will stare at Eric B.

• Some strong bathroom cleaners such as Tilex, Bleach, etc.
• I have a couple of bottles of anti-freeze for the car. I have no idea where to get rid of it.
• I have some potentially old bottles of hooch: vodka from 2004 and Jagermeister from 2003-4. Yikes. The good news is that there are no insects in that cupboard.
• I have rusty deck chairs that might be salvaged with some paint. Also a table with the glass top blown out. My deck looks pretty rough. I don't think I'm up for a beautification award.

I have already posted this to Craig's List but, here is some Not-Yet Free Stuff:

• I am selling my iconic BBQ Grill. It is in rough shape and needs the hoses checked. $50 including 2 half-full propane tanks (that's value right there)
• I have some laptop bags for sale. They are good stuff.
• It is unclear why this is true, but I have many Maxim and Stuff magazines from 1999-2000. Potentially a real collector's item. These are the early editions where the writing was brilliant and hadn't dipped completely into sophomoric mediocrity.
• I also have a broken hammock frame. The wood is shot but the metal joints are prime. Plus I still have the hammock -- it has stayed inside. The latter is quality stuff. Contact me for EZ pricing.
  

That's it from Moving HQ.

CC

A Moment of Silence

My community back home lost someone very special recently.

I have been quiet. It feels wrong not to mention it, yet writing my thoughts seems inappropriate. She was not family, and yet is family to some readers of this blog. She was a mother and aunt to several kids on our road. She and her husband are among my parents' dearest, closest friends, and have been for 40+ years.

My condolences to anyone who knew her, for it is a sad time. Jean will be truly be missed.

The Oak Tree and the Cypress

As alluded to in the previous post, my sister and Dave asked me to read this poem at their wedding: On Marriage by Khalil Gibran.

Though it is popular, I hadn't really heard of it, and as I practiced it over and over again, I grew to appreciate it deeply. I loved its jazzy dissonance against the traditional parts of the ceremony: here is a poem from the 1920s, written by a Lebanese-American, that has both elements of celebration and warning within it. When reading it, I tried to accent the text in such a way that balanced that tension in the poem.

Fill each other's cup, but drink not from one cup.

I remember being being stunned at how the author had nailed an idea that I had barely considered. Though I have a few different aesthetics that I admire as a lifelong union, this one is close to a personal manifesto. There were several readings at the nuptials: I wondered if my sister paired me with this particular one as some kind of Buddhist message. ("See? There is a middle way.") Or perhaps because it fit rather well: my own personal narrative and experience, as the scarred embodiment of caution. (Of course, any rationale was probably more personal to the couple's style than 'me', as it should be.)

10 years later, I have some new perspectives on it, naturally. But, for now, that stays with me. Maybe more on my birthday.

ps. Binky, am I correct that this was a reading at your wedding?

(Readers, 'Supermom' is a dear cousin to my sister and I, and especially close to my sister growing up. She and Binky married 12 years ago. We're very lucky to have him as well.)

Party Like It's 1999: Happy 10th

It's not for a couple of days yet, but I want to wish my sister and bro-in-law a

Happy Tenth Anniversary!

Wow, 10 years. That is hard to believe. I'm truly happy for them, and our family is blessed to have such a cool guy join the family. (Dave and I would have been friends in high school... very similar interests)

I will probably blog more thoughts, but here are some things I remember:

• It was really special to see my sister get married in our church. We have been going to the same one since we were little.
• I vaguely remember that my father and I didn't quite set up the reception hall correctly with respect to balloons. Let's just say that we thought we did a fine, if utilitarian, job. When the work was surveyed by the supervisor, there was much disagreement. Yikes.
  
• I was asked to read at the wedding. I thought the poem was a nice touch, as it was used by others in the fam, but upon reading it closely, I was stunned. It was gorgeous and articulated a thought that had barely surfaced in my own mind. I practiced it so loudly and so long (in different voices) that my sister nearly laughed at the actual reading in the church. More on this one later. Massively influential.
• Everyone looked great (my sister was radiant, my bro-in-law: dashing), and it was a lovely day.
  
• I'm pretty sure that they were married by a female minister who was really fantastic. Alas, she joined our church just after I went "away" to Ontario and then the US. She was really cool and I regret not getting to know her better.
• At the reception, our Dad constructed a mini-putt golf course. To get the couple to kiss, one had to sink a putt. The course wasn't groomed to PGA standards and it quickly became a par-3.
• My bro-in-law mentioned guitar during his thank-yous but I didn't realize at the time that he was a huge fan of Randy Rhoads and Steve Vai, and could play a lot of RR stuff. (This is like winning the in-law lottery).
• I spoke at the reception. As a public speaking performance, it is the only time where I have no self-criticism: A+. This is fortunate because it was one of the few times it was truly, profoundly important. As Mom would say, "you only have one sister". I have told the story to several people, in person. The gist is that it was, by turns, heavy and funny; but the main thing was reciting a poetry verse to my sister. I didn't write it, but it was highly personal. It seems crass and a betrayal to write it here. Though sad, it remains the most beautiful (and haunting) thing I've ever read, and I can still recite it effortlessly.
  
• The 2nd part of the reception moved to the very same fire hall as mentioned in the post about Uncle R and C. I remember that the couple danced to "From This Moment On" by Shania Twain. It was cool to meet Dave's family. I vaguely remember his Mom trying to set me up with someone... ha! I had forgotten.

I'm comfortable with my lifestyle, and am at peace with the Beethoven-esque golden years that probably await me, but as I've written many times, I'm a sucker for a good wedding. This one was great.

Here's toasting the next 10....