Oh Great Sights

A Chat

2011-10-27T18:58:00.001-05:00

"How are you Janice?"

I had become friendly with the new receptionist over the last few weeks.

"Good. I used to say 'I'm Blessed', but I was told I can't say that here."

"Yeah, some people find it offensive."

I wanted to tell her that I don't find it offensive, that I find it meaningless. But then most of our greetings don't carry much meaning.

"I have a question for you."

"Sure."

She handed me her flip phone and asked how she could put the bible on it.

"I'm not sure you can, you may just need to carry a tiny bible in your pocket. You really don't need the Old Testament."

She'd been the receptionist for a few weeks and it was only yesterday that I realized the hoveround parked behind the desk belonged to her. She was always behind the desk when I arrived and behind the desk when I left. I never pictured her arriving on wheels.

I was sitting at the front desk with Janice because my 2PM patient hadn't arrived and Janice seems to like me. I like people who like me.

"I'm going to bible study tonight. Do you go to church?"

"No"

"Are you an atheist?"

She scooted away from me while asking this as if I'd be dangerous if I were an atheist. I didn't answer the question. I don't really know if I am one or not. I guess that makes me an agnostic.

"I was raised in church. Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night." Maybe this would repair the new rupture in our work friendship.

"Did they tire you out on it"

"I guess that's it"

"Oh, well as long as it's inside you, that's what matters. I like your spirit. I really do. I sense it in you."

is it a holiday today DOT com

2011-03-07T23:35:00.000-06:00

I woke up to go running today and the gym was closed. I decided to go for coffee and work on a paper. There were so many children in the coffee shop. One even tried to hide under my legs during a game of hide and seek. When I got to work I checked http://isitaholidaytoday.com . It said "No." It was wrong. Casimir Pulaski Day. One of the many strange reasons I love Chicago. How could I forget?

Bistec-en Identity

2011-03-06T16:56:00.000-06:00

I received a text from Miguel's sister:

Marlene: I left my lunch bag in the fridge at school! If it's there tomorrow please eat it!
Me: Yes! What is it?
Marelene: Bistec encebollado. With tortillas and beans. In a gray lunch bag.

That was Wednesday night. I had class Thursday morning. I tried to get to school before they cleaned out the refrigerator. Success! I found it. I ate it.

When I get to their house on Saturday, Marlene is watching TV with her parents.
"Here's your tupperware."
"That's not mine."
"Yeah, from the lunch you left at school."
"Mine was in a gray lunch bag. That's not mine"

By this time everyone was laughing pretty hard at me, including me. I ate someone else's lunch. What are the chances that someone that day had the exact same lunch including a package of tortillas?

So to the person whose lunch I stole:
I'm sorry. It was a mistake. And you should probably use less salt.

Snowed In

2011-02-02T12:08:00.002-06:00

I may not have a snow shovel,

but I do have apple pie.

A Dirty, Jolly Joke From a Very Old Man

2010-12-16T14:52:00.000-06:00

So Much Past Inside my Present

2010-11-16T16:44:00.004-06:00

You're telling me a story over fries and beer. I'm not taking it in because I am focused on how good you look. Sorry for not listening. You're distracting me from you.

This Moment Without Judgement

2010-11-01T23:49:00.000-05:00

An excerpt from Peace, by Dorothy Hunt:

  Peace is this moment without judgement. That is all.

This moment in the heart-space where everything that is, is welcome.

Peace is this moment without thinking that it should be some other way. That you should feel some other thing. That your life should unfold according to your plans.

Peace is this moment without judgement. This moment in the heart-space where everything that is, is welcome.

The night before

2010-09-27T22:19:00.000-05:00

Class begins tomorrow. Time to learn how to do therapy after doing therapy for a couple of months. Classes have never seemed so relevant.

Thinking about what is ahead for the next 10 weeks, I decided to treat myself after a long day of interning. Tacos and 3 episodes of 30rock.

Blerg

2010-09-23T22:34:00.000-05:00

Last winter NBC sent a letter to my internet service provider who in turn sent a letter to me demanding that I stop downloading NBC programming. I missed the new episode of 30rock tonight. I was one click away from downloading it. Then I remembered the letter. Then I got angry. Threatening to sue your consumers cannot be a winning strategy in the long run.

Why don't you do what you dream, Bastian?

2010-08-17T22:06:00.002-05:00

I'm forever seeing Falkor the luckdragon when I look at the sky.

Bahá'í

2010-08-16T23:28:00.000-05:00

I took a bike trip to the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette today. It was the perfect day for a ride along the lake shore.

Hold the Door

2010-08-14T13:22:00.001-05:00

She said "excuse me" while walking to her seat on the train in a way that suggested she was apologizing for her existence. I took a break from my book and felt sad for her. I peaked back to where she was sitting. She chose that isolated pair of seats in the very front of the car where the driver would be if this were the lead car. She had already begun taking her belongings out of plastic bags and spreading them out on the seats and floor mumbling to her self. The voice of the CTA announced "This is Belmont".

"Is this Fullerton?" She asked me this knowing full well that the disembodied head of the CTA had just announced that we were at Belmont.

"No, That was Belmont. Next will be Wellington, Diversey, and then Fullerton."

"Will you tell me when we get to Fullerton?"

I agreed. At Diversey I noticed that all of her belongings were still spread out. I wanted to give her time to get everything together so I told her Fullerton was next. She acknowledged me, but didn't start preparing for her stop.

When she heard the announcement at Fullerton she freaked out. "Oh my god, this is my stop. Hold the door sir, hold the door. HOLD THE DOOR, please sir, please."

I wasn't about to hold the door. I hate when people hold the door. She could easily get off at the next stop and take a north bound train.

But some unsuspecting passenger boarding the train heard her plea. Not knowing that I gave her a full two minutes to prepare for her stop, he held the door. She took her time. He was holding the door for about 10 seconds while it was trying to close on him. When she finally exited the train, she turned around and stood in the doorway, not letting it close.

"Did I get everything?" She was talking to me.

"Yes, you got everything." I knew this because I was watching her in disbelief the whole time.

"You didn't even look."

"Yes, I did."

"No, look. I might have left something." I twisted in my seat and looked where she had been.

"You have everything, let the doors close."

"You didn't look under the seats." I physically stood up, walked to her seat, walked back and told her there was nothing there. She didn't seem convinced, but she let the doors go. The train didn't move. I knew after The Great Stroller Scare of 2009 that train conductors had to be extra careful about door issues. We would have to wait while the conductor walked the length of the train checking for babies, puppies, or any possible object that would make a compelling "CTA Train Drags Widowed Civil Rights Leader 100 Yards" news headline. All clear. North and Clybourn is next.

Look What my Brain Made

2010-08-11T23:09:00.002-05:00

Crazy dreams last night. The final image that flashed through my head before I woke was this Garfield cartoon. It's taken me all day, but I can now pinpoint the three actual events that came together to create this nonsense:

1)The T-mobile salesman that tried to give me a high-five to celebrate my pre-approval.

2)The first episode of Showtime's The Big C starring Laura Linney in which she pours wine all over her new sofa as an act of liberation.

3)The neighbors cat who now apparently lives in the stairwell and startles and/or meows at me every time I walk up the stairs.

Anatta

2010-08-10T18:09:00.001-05:00

I do not know which to prefer,

The beauty of inflections

Or the beauty of innuendos,

The blackbird whistling

Or just after.

- Wallace Stevens

Cheers to Queers

2010-08-09T23:12:00.000-05:00

"What did they say?"

He hadn't understood what the guys shouted from the pickup truck as it drove by. We were near the halfway point on our six our drive back to Chicago walking around downtown Galena, IL looking for a place for dinner before everything closed down.

"I think they called us queers."

"Really? Is it that obvious. Maybe its our matching pants"

The matching pants were an accident. Just some plain khakis. I can't remember anything like that happening to me before. I kind of like the word queer. Maybe they didn't realize it had been reclaimed.

Not letting it disturb our plans, we sat down to dinner and ordered our wine and pizza.

We're here. We're queer. And yes, we have wine even when just stopping for dinner on a 6 hour road trip.

Leap

2010-07-31T15:13:00.000-05:00

These are two photos of me jumping off of high things into water. I don't spend a lot of time in the water, but there was a period in my life where I spent a lot of time with someone who loved spending time near the water. I became more of a beach person than I ever thought I would be. Weeks of my life were spent on the beach. I never became that comfortable with it, though. In both of these photos, you will notice that I am unashamedly holding my nose. I will never understand how one jumps into the water without securing one's nostrils.

My days in 'nam

2010-07-31T14:49:00.000-05:00

My bike hasn't been ridden in weeks. I need to leave the car at home.

Conversations

2010-07-28T19:03:00.000-05:00

"I had a dream about you."
"I like this coffee shop."
"I think you're amazing."
"What time is the movie?"

Testing the Strong Ones

2010-07-28T18:38:00.003-05:00

My grandparents house is a common setting for my dreams. It’s not always my grandparents house, but it always is. You know the way dreams go. A lot of my dreams are set in this house. My grandmother died nearly 12 years ago. But she has always been alive when I dream. Last night, in my dream, my grandmother was dead. Granddaddy wasn't.

I was in the basement of that house with an important person in my life, someone who has never actually been in that house. I told him I had to go upstairs to check on my granddaddy. The house was in the condition it was in when I was home just over a month ago. All of his possessions sorted into piles. Sell, keep, discard. Items that had been on the same shelf in the same room since before I was born no longer there. But in my dream granddaddy wasn’t dead. He was there as the house was emptied. Grandmother wasn’t. My dreams are a death behind.

We Are Young, We Are Strong

2010-07-25T16:10:00.000-05:00

Love is a battlefield . Luckily I have this tank.

Showdown

2010-07-12T20:07:00.002-05:00

Take 10 paces. Turn. Draw. Shoot.

Casa Hilda

2010-07-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

Tragedy struck while we were sleeping. Our host, the night before a bubbly man who welcomed us warmly to La Casa Hilda, was visibly distressed. He served our breakfast while the news was on. The story was of a fire in the hospital only several miles away. The patients on the upper floors were not able to be evacuated in time. It felt inappropriate to continue buttering my toast. I felt sad, but unable to feel what one feels when tragedy strikes closer to home. The sirens that annoyed me the night before now had a story.

2010-05-04T22:55:00.000-05:00

Some photos I scanned while I was home in April. Me in the minivan of my childhood memories. Me with a Koolaid mustache and turntable. My dad as a teen with his horses.

A Buddhist Joke From a Very Old Man, Vol. IV

2010-04-24T13:56:00.000-05:00

Jebediah Foster

2010-04-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

I came across this photo last weekend while going through things at granddaddy's house. That man on the left is my great-great-grandfather, four generations before me. He looks like his name should have been Jebediah, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't.

Culture

2010-04-13T18:31:00.005-05:00

How many classes or trainings have you had where the instructor starts by asking "what is culture?" and people call out increasingly inane things until someone says something so ridiculous that the entire class is silenced and agrees that we have stretched the definition far enough.

I have come to appreciate "southern" as a culture. I think one only comes to appreciate one's culture as distinct when living apart from it. In Taiwan, my friends and I focused more on the similarities of our shared western cultures. You may speak differently, my South African friend, but we can both agree on the need to move out of our parent's house and live independently as soon as possible. You may pronounce numbers as "noombahs" my friend from Leeds, but we can agree that we prefer our meat products properly refrigerated.

In chicago, my definition of culture becomes smaller, the differences more refined. My culture is not western or American. My culture is Southern. It is defined by the way my grandfather would sometimes say "I ain't seen that in a coon's age" or "well, I'll be dogged" in one utterance that sounded like "wellalbeedawg". The way we devoted one entire day each July to "fixin' corn". That is, picking. husking, boiling, creaming, and freezing a year's worth of corn. The fact that some of my elementary school classes were held in a converted train caboose. Others aren't coming to mind at this moment, but each time a difference is pointed out, I appreciate where I come from a little more. I could devote an entire blog series to the deficiencies and backwardness of the South, but I'll leave the focus of this one on the things that make it home.

Found on my Desk, Vol. II

2010-04-08T09:41:00.003-05:00

To make up for reigniting years of childhood trauma about the way I walk, Carol decided to tell me that I remind her of an actor in the new show, Justified. Old-school U.S. Marshal Raylen Givens is reassigned from Miami to his childhood home in the poor, rural coal-mining towns in Eastern Kentucky. I'll take it. You can even start calling me Raylen if you like. No really, call me Raylen.

A Southern Stroll

2010-04-06T22:23:00.001-05:00

"Hey Kevin, Carol was just doing a great impression of you". My coworker, John, said this as I walked into the office while Carol stood in the doorway looking guilty.

"What, Carol? You can do an impression of me? I need to see it."

"No, no. I was just saying you have a slow southern stroll when I saw you walking to the office". She went to find backups.

"Yes, you have a distinct walk, Kevin, but I wouldn't say it is particularly Southern.", agreed another coworker.

My family has always mocked the way I walk, saying that I tend to bounce on my toes. It is difficult to watch oneself walk, but I have always been conscious that perhaps I have a funny one. But you know, isn't that what family is for? To mock you for things that may make you a social outcast in order to keep you from doing them?

No, I think that's what middle school is for. Family is for loving you unconditionally and telling you that your walk is perfect and that you should probably consider going pro with it.

Easter

2010-04-05T22:34:00.004-05:00

I celebrated the holy day with an impromptu picnic in Ukrainian Village. One should always carry a blanket in the car for times such as these.

Digital Conversion

2010-04-03T08:18:00.001-05:00

I found this on my desk after leaving for a while yesterday. For a couple of months I have been helping one of our volunteers figure out how to work her digital converter box with her VCR and TV so that she can "watch her tapes". A couple of weeks ago, I resorted to drawing diagrams. It still didn't work, so she brought me a detailed description of everything she had hooked up. I love it. It's beautiful. I love that she copied every detail from the connectors. I love the elderly cursive writing that no one uses anymore. I love her faith that because I am 26 years old, I can make it work. I just redrew it for her, and hopefully she is watching her tapes right now.

A Certain Weariness

2010-04-02T10:31:00.005-05:00

Cierto Cansancio - Pablo Neruda

Estoy cansada del mar duro
y de la tierra misteriosa.
Estoy cansada de las gallinas:
nunca supimos lo que piensan,
y nos miran con ojos secos
sin concedernos importancia.

I am weary of the strong sea
and of the mysterious earth
I am weary of chickens:
no one knows what they're thinking,
and they look at us with dry eyes
and consider us unimportant.

I snapped this photo while eating lunch in a market in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. With its feet bound, this chicken somehow squirmed out of the bag it was in. Then it just lay there helplessly, watching the people walk by. I am weary of Chickens.

Careful with Your Words

2010-04-02T09:46:00.001-05:00

"Happy Friday, Ellen", I said while pouring my coffee.
"No, it's Good Friday"
"Eh, happy, good, it's all the same"
"No, it's not, actually", chimed in an offended third party.

Happy Good Friday, everyone.

A Dirty Trick From a Very Old Man, Vol. III

2010-04-01T23:00:00.000-05:00

First Day of...

2010-04-01T22:01:00.000-05:00

...school. Three three-hour classes on Wednesdays. Psychodynamic Theory, Working with LGBT Clients, and Adult Psychopathology. Hundreds of pages of reading each week. Life will be different. I will now have something to actually work on when I go sit at the cafe with a very productive someone on the weekends.

...sidewalk dining. Sultan's Market. Chicken Shawarma. In the company of Maryann. Welcome Spring.

Buffalo

2010-03-26T09:07:00.000-05:00

When is a superlative not the best?

"Here, let me see which towel is cleanest", said my friend and host in Buffalo, Mike.

I arrived here at midnight. Did you know you need a passport to drive from Buffalo to Toronto? I did. But it slipped my mind until I was waiting for my flight yesterday.

On to Toronto.

Put on Your 3D Glasses

2010-03-22T22:09:00.002-05:00

...and enjoy another photo from the Damen Blue Line platform.

Two Views of North Avenue from the Damen Blue Line.

2010-03-20T11:18:00.000-05:00

2010-03-14T11:46:00.000-05:00

I got my acceptance letter from Columbia University. Reading the information for new students led me to a series of daydreams in which I lived in NYC. I love last minute escape plans.

But, I solidified an internship here in Chicago. I interviewed on Friday and they offered me a position. It wasn't my first choice, but they have a good year long training program AND the building is attached to a Whole Foods. Lunch. I will need to increase my lunch budget. So, Chicago is home for at least another year.

Dirty Jokes From a Very Old Man, Vol. II

2010-03-11T16:39:00.002-06:00

Back to School

2010-03-11T16:00:00.003-06:00

One of my absolutely-not's when moving to Taiwan was "I am not getting a scooter. People die on scooters". I bought a scooter my first week and it became one of my favorite things about living in Taiwan.

I am making a shift in the coming weeks from productive, working member of society to full-time student, and am currently searching for an internship. I recently got a pretty surprising rejection. Surprising because I felt so good about the interview. Everything flowed. I felt like I represented myself and my skills really well, and most importantly, I felt like they bought it. However I was not selected. I have two other possibilities. One has been crossed off of my list because the interview was terribly awkward. I have one more interview tomorrow. If this one doesn't work out, it is back to the agency database.

I have some absolutely-not's in regards to my internship. Some things I absolutely do not want to do. But maybe I will end up settling for one of these positions and find it to be one of my favorite parts of returning to school - a memory as fond as my scooter, Green Peace.

Laundry

2010-03-01T20:58:00.001-06:00

My grandmother, God rest her soul, could fold a fitted sheet so that it was indistinguishable from a flat sheet. This is a skill I did not inherit.

Dirty Jokes From a Very Old Man, Vol. I

2010-02-26T09:52:00.000-06:00

The very old man in question is a volunteer at my work. He's such a nice, gentle, man. Every week when I go visit him at the booth, he tells me a dirty joke. Enjoy.

Illinois Beach State Park

2010-02-18T22:25:00.026-06:00

After Coffee I stopped by Illinois Beach State Park. I was the only one there and the entire beach was lined with a shelf of ice, snow, and sand packed together and being eroded away by the waves leaving these caverns full of icicles. Even with the backdrop of a spent nuclear power plant, it was magical.

Gulls with Nuclear Power Plant

Boy with Nuclear Power Plant

Drip

Icicle Drips

Temporary Stalactites

Chicago in the distance

Cairn

Fault

Tracks

One hour in the sun and my freckles appear

What a State Park. Nuclear power plant and asbestos contamination. I did not see this warning until after I had walked around, picked up rocks, and played on the ice. I refrained from licking my fingers the whole way home.

Coffee in Zion

2010-02-18T22:06:00.003-06:00

Meet Teresa. Teresa was my undergrad internship supervisor. She is an amazing school social worker and I used to spend hours with her in her Ford Explorer traveling between schools watching her put out metaphoric fires and reminding her to eat.

She was my supervisor during a pretty difficult time in my life, and being the intuitive social worker she is, she picked up on that. For the five years since my internship ended, we have kept up routine coffee chats anytime I return to Chattanooga.

I am convinced that the Universe wants Teresa and I to get together every few months. I wasn't planning on being in Chattanooga again for six months, but she made a trip to Wisconsin to see her family. I took the day off work today and met her in the middle. The middle being Zion, IL which, according to Wikipedia is one of the few cities in the world to have been completely planned out prior to building.

We met at a great little cafe named Its All Good. Our meetings seem to have a natural life of 3 hours. This time was the same. Long enough to discuss politics, religion, alternative medicine, and work out some issues in my personal/professional life. I'm lucky to know Teresa.

Mobility

2010-02-18T20:24:00.003-06:00

I bought a car last Friday. It's a 2006 Scion xA. I feel so mobile.

Buggies

2010-02-13T19:00:00.004-06:00

When we walked into Target I asked Mike if we should get a buggy.

He asked if it would be horse-drawn.

Shopping cart, shopping cart. They are called shopping carts.

Our Lady of Erosion

2010-02-08T16:35:00.004-06:00

From my Ringgold series, this documents a church my mom always referred to as Our Lady of Erosion.

Lugnut

2010-02-08T16:21:00.003-06:00

Last time I was home, my sister picked me up from the airport along with my cousin, Mark, and his wife. Mark lives on the mountain in a house that belongs to the Forester Sisters. There are several mountains in North Georgia, but each is referred to by it's inhabitants as THE mountain. On the way home from the airport one of his stories from the mountain began as follows:

We were in Eton going hog hunting when we realized we only had one lugnut...

I wish I remembered the rest of the story, but I never got over the richness of the opening line.

Clippings

2010-02-04T09:38:00.003-06:00

Our office administrator is a lovely lady who expresses her feelings through newspaper clippings. I have to be careful of which pop culture events I express interest in because I will be inundated with related newspaper and magazine articles. Over the course of my time here I have received no less than 15 articles about Harry Potter. This week, I received around 10 articles about Lost. For a while she would cut out any article related to texting. I'm really not sure how this one happened, except that she had seen me texting. She didn't even own a cell phone, but started trying to work texting into office policy.

"Oh, we should let Dave know that he doesn't need to come in tonight. Kevin, can you text him?"

"I think it's probably better if you just call him, Linda".

I did finally convince her to get a cell phone. She has digital camera and she wants an ipod. As her technology guru, I keep trying to explain to her that these things are pretty useless without a computer, but she just isn't ready for that yet.

Friends

2010-01-18T10:30:00.004-06:00

"We're not friends", he tells me. He adds that we won't be friends for a long time, maybe 10 years. I tell him I'll add that to my Google Calendar.

I got an email from my not-friend saying he was flying through O'Hare and I could stop by his gate to say hello, if I wanted.

Ever since the airborne toxic event that was our breakup, we don't have conversations. He emails me a news article about Taiwan. Weeks later, I'll send him a link to an odd invention that slices a hotdog to look like an octopus. He alerts me that the new Vampire Weekend album is on sale on Amazon. I send him a funny picture of Mayor Daley. Our emails are never in response. Always new, unrelated topics. Responses would make conversations. Conversations are dangerous. We are not friends.

I stop by to see him at his gate. The conversation is pleasant for a few minutes. Updates on life. I tell him about being accepted to the University of Chicago and completing my application for Columbia.
"How are you applying to such prestigious universities", he asks.
"You mean, why?", I ask, genuinely confused by the question.
"How or why; choose your interrogative. You went to Dalton State University for undergrad"
"Dalton State College", I correct.
"Exactly".

Snarky as hell. Not friends. I'm fine. I could be friends. But it takes two, right?

So why communicate at all? Because even though we may not be friends, he knows me well enough to send what were the most thoughtful words I received after Granddaddy's death.

Hey, Kevin. Liza just told me that Granddaddy passed away earlier this week. I sure am sorry about that. I hope that your family is able to spend lots of sweet time together remembering him this week. Your stories and anecdotes about him were always so fun, such a reminder of what home really is and why family is worth all the effort that is required. I'll be praying for you and all of your family - your mom especially, too - this week.

James F. Daniel

2010-01-15T21:13:00.010-06:00

My granddaddy died. Anytime I told someone this over the last couple of weeks, I found myself pausing, considering using "my grandfather", knowing how childish "granddaddy" sounds. But he wasn't my grandfather. To my mom, aunt, and uncle, he was Daddy. To his six grandkids, he was Granddaddy. To his one great-grandchild that just began talking, he was Gangay (though we were never sure if she knew the difference between Gangay and the La-Z-Boy recliner he was always sitting in until she correctly identified his body at the viewing).

I heard my cellphone ringing on Sunday morning. I was sleeping in a stranger's brand new apartment in Mexico City. I knew why my sister was calling. I had talked to her yesterday when they knew he was close to passing. I had just been home for Christmas ten days earlier. I got to spend several days with Granddaddy. As he had gotten sicker, he had switched from Fox News to the Western Channel, progress for progress. My relationship with my grandfather for the past 5 years has been sustained by arguing and trips to Cracker Barrel for lunch. For some reason the two never coincided. Our arguing took place in his living room sitting in adjacent recliners. Our time at Cracker Barrel was reserved for quieter conversation about family and work.

I arrived just a few days before Christmas and went to see him. I was worried about how different he would be from the last time I saw him four months ago. After sitting down for a few minutes he said, "Kevin, I believe this is the first time you've ever come back to visit with a decent shave". Compliments like this usually only came after long arguments about politics, when he felt like maybe he should lighten the mood.

I didn't answer my sister's call. I slept for another hour. I got up, told Miguel I needed to call home and left the room. My Dad told me that Granddaddy had said goodbye to everyone the previous night, and then died in his sleep that morning. I didn't feel left out of the goodbyes. I told him goodbye before I left for Mexico, and we both knew we wouldn't see one another again.

I went back to sleep for another hour, then spent the day changing my ticket, buying funeral clothes, and trying to enjoy my last day in Mexico City.

They Carried Him

2009-12-19T23:27:00.007-06:00

"What time am I picking you up from the airport" my sister asked?

After the details had been arranged she mentioned that our mom and aunt had kidnapped Granddaddy from the nursing home.

She was being a little dramatic. They had simply decided to remove my grandfather from the nursing home he had been checked into one day prior and take him home.

I picture the two of them sitting in my grandfather's room, both with the same thought. They turn to face one another and without even speaking they take their places on each side of his bed lifting him up and into his wheelchair. I imagine it like a scene that Pedro Almodovar could have directed. The two sisters able to lift their father only because of his recent and significant weight loss.

They knew he would be more comfortable at home. This dingy nursing home was no place for Jim Daniel.

Kids Castle

2009-12-04T16:28:00.005-06:00

Anyone can be a freelancer in Taiwan. I miss this. I find myself becoming jealous of people that work for themselves and stumble upon ridiculously cool jobs that have them working from coffee shops and going to Portland to "help my buddy get his business off the ground".

In Taiwan if you wanted a little extra money, you just picked up a few kindergarten sub jobs. You could drop off your resume one day and be in charge of a class of 3-year-olds the next day. A couple of times I judged speeches for this shady mega-school called Kid Castle. This involved riding my motor scooter about 25 minutes across town and listening to kids repeat a memorized speech (or freeze up completely unable to say one word in English). I was paid 1000NT/hr to do this. That is about $31 right now. I just got an email today asking if I would like to judge another speech contest. At that rate, 27 hours of judging speeches could pay for my roundtrip ticket.

I don't know why I haven't told them I am no longer living in Taiwan. I like the idea that someone thinks I am still scooting around drinking bai xiang lu cha (wei tang, chu bing), shopping at Mitsukoshi. Sometimes I have a hard time cutting that last stubborn tie.

KTV

2009-11-23T14:44:00.005-06:00

"Don't worry, they'll love you", I said offering him a little encouragement.

"What?" The sound of the music had drowned out my words.

"I said they'll love you!"

He put his arm around me, and we watched 3 girls finish up their karaoke version of some song that was bad enough in it's original form. He squeezed a little tighter.

Oh shit. Does he think I said "I love you". It's obviously way too soon to say that. Well, he didn't say it back, so that's good. Or is it? What if he thinks I said it and he chose not to say it back? Now he thinks I'm way into him. Or...

St. Oliver

2009-11-15T16:04:00.008-06:00

I was on my Sunday morning train ride, skulking home from a Saturday night not spent at home with tousled hair and the feeling that everyone knew I was in the same clothes I was dancing in the night before. People were dressed well for a Sunday morning train ride. The people behind me talking about the way God led them to Moody Bible Institute. The people in front of me were carrying bibles. Everyone was going to church. I used to do that, I think. It seems foreign to me now. I didn't feel any of the guilt I always imagined the people in my shoes feeling when the roles were reversed. The only thing that ran through my mind was how I lived with a girl once who claimed that her beagle, Oliver, carried books for blind students at the Moody Bible Institute. The truth was much uglier. Oliver subsisted on a steady diet of Christian children.

Shane and Carmen

2009-11-09T11:11:00.003-06:00

My nightly ritual this month has been to watch an episode of the L Word before I go to sleep. Last night, Carmen took Shane home to meet her big Mexican family. Hilarity ensues as Carmen's mom insists that Shane wear her dress from 20 years ago to her cousin's quinceanera. Of course then Carmen comes out to the family and ruins everything. I try to make sure that my life parallels the L Word as often as possible.

The Penalty

2009-10-08T00:24:00.003-05:00

There should be a name for that phenomenon that happens when you have heard a song many times and then one morning on the way to work, you hear it and it is like you're hearing it for the first time. This song was that song for me this week.

Farmer Vicky

2009-10-07T09:17:00.002-05:00

The CSA season is almost over. Our farmer sends out an email every week telling us what we will be getting in our boxes and updating us on what's happening with the farm. I love her updates. This was the beginning of this weeks email:

I am back from my trip and in full gear. I had a great time. The mountains were beautiful - and cold. I was actually deterred one day by a snow storm. What impressed me most was the golden hues in the aspens. I thought of harvest time. The earth turns the most fabulous colors as if to rejoice in the time of harvest. I get excited watching it all come in, and it seems Mother Nature, joins with me in the triumph of the season. As a farmer, it is my job to be harmony with nature, working within the confines of natural selection, and designation. What nature creates day to day and month to month I seek to cooperate with and utilize my skills to produce a crop that only Mother Nature can create. I can not create, only emulate. It is so important to realize we are truly not the head, the boss, the top of the heap - we are subordinates in the overall scheme of nature, and this world we so wonderfully inhabit.

Travels with my Aunt

2009-09-23T10:26:00.003-05:00

I picked this book up when I while I was back in Chattanooga last month. I wanted to read something by Graham Green and I can't seem to get enough travel lately, so this book seemed perfect.

I have not quite finished it but feel ready to share some of my favorite passages. The synopsis:

Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, meets his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta for the first time in over fifty years at what he supposes to be his mother's funeral. Soon after, she persuades Henry to abandon his dahlias and travel her way, Brighton, Paris, Istanbul, Paraguay...through Aunt Augusta Henry joins a shiftless, twilight society; mixing with hippies, war criminals, CIA men; smoking pot, breaking all currency regulations...coming alive after a dull suburban lifetime.

I love Aunt Augusta's character. Everyone should have a relative like her. Wildly independent, quirky, adventurous. She speaks so matter-of-factly about things that should be shocking from a 70yr old woman that you are convinced that hers is the only way to live.

When speaking of one of her many old lovers, she says "I have always preferred an occasional orgy to a nightly routine".

Another passage I liked:

Aunt Augusta: "You will be sorry one day that you refused to let me tell you the story I proposed"

"What story", I asked, thinking of my father.

"The story of Charles Pottifer, of course", my aunt said.

"Another time, Aunt Augusta."

"You are wrong to be so confident in the existence of another time," my aunt replied and called for the bill so loudly that the dog barked back at her from the bar.

Goodbye, Amanda

2009-09-10T16:15:00.004-05:00

Today is my coworker, Amanda's last day at work. Don't be fooled. This blog is only tangentially about Amanda. It is about me and my constant inability to be satisfied with where I am. Amanda is leaving to do an internship in Thailand so we bought her a Thailand travel guide. I was browsing through it during lunch getting lost in thought about traveling again. Not like weekend traveling, but quit-your-job-sell-your-things traveling.

My plan: Continue working until sometime this winter when I will quit my job, sublet my apartment and head south of the border. Then I will bunker down for grad school....somewhere.

I love this picture. Tropical downpours, sunburned legs, passion fruit green tea, and what appears to be a banana. I don't ask for much from life.

Mismatched Socks

2009-08-02T23:58:00.002-05:00

This morning I put on a sock with a little black dot in the corner on the seam. I remembered how you used to mark your socks with a black dot so they wouldn't mingle with my socks. I also remembered how I intentionally disregarded your black dots and matched up dotted and non-dotted socks wearing them both haphazardly like I did most things; while you did most things meticulously. In fact, if you were reading this you would probably be wondering about my use of semicolon.

Pie

2009-07-25T17:21:00.004-05:00

This is a pie I made today. It is the very first time I have made a pie with homemade crust. I went to the farmers market this morning and got some peaches, blueberries, and raspberries (along with some other great finds). I found a recipe in a Betty Crocker cookbook. You know the three ring binder red one that your mom always had around? First I made the pastry dough. Then I realized that I didn't actually have a pie pan so I rode my bike to Target to get one while the dough was chilling. My crust making skills could use some work.

I would really like to put it on the windowsill to cool, but I learned from cartoons that this only tempts the neighborhood children. I don't want them scaling the bricks and climbing up to the second story window.

The occasion? My friend Laura is having a pie party tonight. Everyone brings a pie, and everyone eats until they're sick. Should be fun.

Cavalia

2009-07-16T23:16:00.005-05:00

I went to see Cavalia. Cirque de soleil with horses. Verdict: thumbs down. I fell asleep a little. Larry King said it was the greatest show he had ever seen. Why Larry? There is only one thing that can redeem you in my eyes.

Goodnight Moon

2009-07-07T22:38:00.004-05:00

Tonight I had a picnic on the beach at dusk, my favorite part of the day. After it got dark, I noticed a whispy cloud over the lake that was glowing. I couldn't figure out what it was reflecting and then a few minutes later, the moon began to rise out of it like it was sliding out of an envelope. It was a big, orange full moon. The display only kept getting better. I felt like I was at just the right place at the perfect time to see it. Of course the sky probably puts on a show all the time. I'm going to have to make more time for sunrises, moonrises, and sunsets.

Run, Rod, Run

2009-06-12T10:51:00.002-05:00

I heard about the stenciled paintings of a jogging Rod Blagojevich appearing on the sides of buildings in Chicago. I finally saw one while walking around West Town yesterday. I love the paranoid look over the shoulder. It was about a year ago that I saw the real Governor Rod jogging through Ravenswood Manor. This was well before he became known as a media star, icon of corruption, and husband of Patty F-Bomb Blagojevich.

Circumlocution

2009-06-12T10:46:00.001-05:00

On my walk to the train this morning.

omg, kill it kill it

2009-06-11T16:20:00.003-05:00

At first I didn't kill the spider in my shower because I was afraid of getting into its strike-zone. Now I don't kill it because I feel a little attached. Terrified and attached.

Critical Mass, Madison

2009-06-10T15:16:00.006-05:00

I spent May 29th and 30th in Madison, Wisconsin where my friend, Mike, is living for the summer. We rode our bikes downtown and participated in Critical Mass. There were only about 15 people, but it was a fun group. There was honking and angry name calling. It felt like I was in some kind of historic reenactment being called a dirty hippie.

photos from mitchellsuter

CSA Week #1

2009-06-03T23:14:00.007-05:00

This year I am participating in a Community Supported Agriculture program with Genesis Growers.

From the website:

Genesis Growers’ mission is to provide nutritious products to local families utilizing the natural processes of the land and to provide a living wage to those who work there. It is a very personal and spiritual endeavor for Vicki Westerhoff. In fact, it’s hard to separate Vicki from Genesis because her beliefs permeate every part of the operation.

The land itself is respected. When Vicki first took over stewardship of this land she found it in bad shape. Years of traditional farming had left it in an almost sterile state. The only thing living was the crops, and those, only sustained by chemicals to fertilize and keep down weeds and pests.

Vicki changed all that. She uses no chemicals and practices sustainable, natural farming. The land uses its own natural devices to nurture what grows. The result is animals living amongst the crops and yes, weeds too. That’s OK. The natural process yields naturally healthy land that provides unmatched crops.

Genesis Growers provides a living wage to its workers. Produce in supermarkets come from all over the world. In many cases, the workers providing labor on these farms are paid pennies on the dollar. At Genesis we value our workers and pay them a living wage. Without them we wouldn’t be able to provide the best quality for our customers.

Vicki Westerhoff farms Genesis with the help of her son Jon and head worker, Jay. She also employs 6-8 hands and utilizes the help of interns and volunteers. We’re extremely proud of our farm. CSA members have the opportunity to attend two parties at the farms.

This is the first week of the summer boxes. Vicki sends out an email each week to let you know what is happening on the farm and what to expect in your box. The box this week included:
strawberries, kale, spinach, rhubarb, radishes, mixed baby salad greens, purple asparagus, and thyme. I was pretty impressed with the variety this early in the growing season. The farmers markets in Chicago are still pretty sparse. The picture at the top of the page is of the contents of this week's box. These are some pictures of what I did tonight:

This is a strawberry rhubarb crisp using this recipe.

These are Kale Chips. I dressed the Kale in red wine vinegar, olive oil, fresh thyme, salt, and pepper and then baked it on a cookie sheet until crisp. This was a suggestion from the farm.

Another shot of the purple asparagus, rhubarb, and thyme.

dates

2009-05-28T18:47:00.002-05:00

I'm really bad with dates. I usually think of an important date about a week before. "Next week is Mom's birthday, I have to remember to call Mom on her birthday. She will be crushed if I forget again." And just a couple of days before I'll think about it. Maybe write myself a note or something. The next thing I know it's the day after her birthday. I call. She pretends like it doesn't bother her. "Of course, you're in Taiwan, you didn't know what day it was." I can do simple time-zone subtraction. I'm just inconsiderate.

The same thing happened today with a pretty important anniversary. I thought about it last week. Wondered if I should call. Ultimately I decided it would be inappropriate. Then the day went by without a thought. Until I read your blog this morning. You had a first date on our would-be anniversary. I hope you didn't mention that to him.

Janet Wisniewski

2009-05-03T14:42:00.006-05:00

Janet (name changed) is a volunteer at work. I wish I were more adept at describing personalities, but I'm not. This story will suffice.

Janet brought in what we thought was a donation. Some travel magazines and sunglasses. I don't know why she would bring us those particular items, but volunteers often bring in weird things from home that they think we can donate to refugees. (Fisher Price record players, retro suitcases, over-sized western shirts...) After Janet went out into the Terminal for her shift, we sorted through her things. I tried on the large plastic framed sunglasses and then threw them into the trash.

Hours pass and Janet returned to the office to collect her things. "Hey, where is that bag of stuff I gave you?"

"I'm not sure Janet, what was in it?"

"2 pairs of sunglasses and some magazines"

shit shit shit I think to myself. I threw away her sunglasses. I've misunderstood. This was not a donation at all. I picture my coworkers and I laughing about the ridiculous glasses before throwing them in the trash. We are bad people. "Well, we are moving offices so a lot of stuff has been misplaced. I'm sure we will find them by next week."

Janet was determined. "I need my sunglasses. I have very sensitive eyes, and I can't go out without my sunglasses".

Just in time my coworker distracted Janet by leading her into the back room. I quickly retrieved the sunglasses from the trash and stashed them in a desk drawer.

"Oh look, Janet, someone put them in this drawer."

"Oh good, I don't know why someone would have done that".

I don't think she suspected anything unusual.

The next week Janet called in due to an eye infection. I felt nothing.

My Roots

2009-04-29T10:41:00.010-05:00

Ringgold

When I tell people that I grew up in a small town in Georgia, they often ask how small. I always tell them that I really don't know. "Like, 100 people, or 10,000 people?" I honestly have no idea. I have finally done some painstaking Wiki research and am proud to report that Ringgold, GA has a population of 2,440. That is pretty small. The above picture is of our main street in Ringgold. I was a bit confused by that number considering that my graduating class had about 300 students. Was 12% of the population of Ringgold in my graduating class? Well, no. Most of the students lived in the county.

Catoosa County, GA. Population 53,282. This is a better reflection of where I grew up. I never really lived in the city limits of Ringgold.

I also lived about 10 minutes from Chattanooga, TN. Population 155,554. I lived closer to Chattanooga than to Ringgold. So maybe I'm not as much of a small town kid as I like to think. I take a little bit of pride in that identity, and let my southern drawl slip once in a while just as a reminder.

And now a few facts:
Dolly Parton and her husband as well as George Jones and Tammy Wynette were married in Ringgold, GA. People came to Ringgold to get married because the whole process (blood test, license, ceremony) could be done in about an hour.

Chattanooga has it's own celebrity stories. Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) is from Chattanooga. He is rumored to return often and hang out at fine drinking establishments.
Chattanooga is also the hometown of Emmy Award Winner Leslie Jordan.

What I was blogging 2 years ago

2009-04-23T21:18:00.002-05:00

I took a drive out of the city yesterday with my family. I put a helmet on my favorite daughter, told the other one to hold on tight, and took off around 2PM. I went up to Art Street to do some shopping. There is a store there that is like a really great thrift store at home. I bought a few things, and decided to keep driving.

Over the ridge, I could see the harbor. It would be a really great view without the haze. Old roads wind down the side of the ridge through the farms. I tried to stick to the main path since I was nearly torn apart by a pack of dogs last time I went exploring.

It's a slightly eerie view of the Harbor.

Saturday

2009-04-19T10:56:00.004-05:00

Bike bike bike with the roommate to Andersonville for brunch with Mike.

Walk to Gethsemane to check out the spring flowers.

Ovehear the plant girl give her best zombie growl at Mike.

Stop by Edgewater Produce for 2 mangoes, 2 apples, 1 orange, some blackberries, and some red potatoes.

Bike bike bike back home.

Dinner at Dharma Garden.

Walk around to check out my neighboring neighborhoods.

Spring means people outdoors. Neighbors drinking Miller Light on the porch. Boomboxes on the front steps. Kids attempting a ballgame on the sidewalk. A rise in homicides. Trees budding, flowers blooming.

89 going on 90

2009-04-03T13:03:00.004-05:00

My friends and I nearly ran into a lady while walking to the bus stop on Tuesday. Maybe she missed us due to her nearsightedness.

"Ooooooh, I was looking for the bus and didn't notice these 3 good looking young people. I've got 5 grandkids you know, just like you. I'll be 90 in September."

My friend Melodie told her she looked great for 90 years old.

"That's because I have a lot of sex".

She apologized to me, the only male in the bus shelter. She seemed to think I was blushing. It was just the cold wind. Then she went on.

"Sex is the greatest thing. Sometimes you just forget where you are. I'll tell you something. My husband and my 5 brothers were in the war. When he would come home.....woooo. Sometimes I had to call in to work the next day. You know what I mean?"

We all got on the bus and rode together for a while. She got off near one of the big retirement communities. I like to think she's pretty popular there.

Naked Dumbledore

2009-03-26T22:20:00.002-05:00

Why am I so amused by this? Wizard Swears is also funny. Dobby's sock.

I Just Twoted All Over the Place

2009-03-24T07:28:00.001-05:00

Next time one of my 80 year old volunteers asks me to explain twitter, I think I'll show them this video.

Sunshine Cleaning

2009-03-21T14:12:00.003-05:00

I saw this last night. Family dysfunction. Crime-scene clean up. Amy Adams. You'll love it.

All I Wanna Do Is Wake Up in the Morning and See Your Eyes

2009-03-16T11:13:00.008-05:00

Before you start reading this I'm going to need you to press play above, count 8 beats, and....begin reading:

I had a dream last night that I was sitting in a school cafeteria somewhere. Friends from different parts of my life were all there eating and chatting. I remember that I was sitting at a table with Laura (because I talked to her on the phone last night). Everything was as it should be until I sang "All I wanna do when I wake up in the morning is see your eyes" and someone immediately jumped in with "Rosanna, Rosanna". Another voice at my table then sings "I

never thought that a girl like you could ever care for me". And then my entire table sings "Rosanna-uh-oo-uhh" in unison. Music begins playing from who knows where and soon we're all up on the tables dancing and singing. Just like a musical, we all somehow knew the moves ahead of time. We had the snapping...the musical interlude . It was amazing. I'm not sure where the music came from, but I like to think that maybe the cafeteria ladies knew just when to cue it.

Another Post Secret

2009-03-16T00:01:00.001-05:00

postsecret

Little Red Bicycle

2009-03-13T02:34:00.002-05:00

Liza and I had breakfast at the Little Red Bicycle Cafe in Portland on Wednesday morning. This was the best sandwich I have ever had. A fried egg, prosciutto, caramelized onions, fig jam, and dijon mustard all on a fresh ciabatta roll. I have to recreate this.

Religious Exclusivity

2009-02-05T12:07:00.003-06:00

After that it was not possible for me to think of my own religious tradition in exclusive ways. I just can’t do it. As a human being, I tell you that I can’t think that way. Emotionally, I just don’t have it in me... I don’t care what you think the Bible says or doesn’t say. I’m not going to think like that ever again.

-Real Live Preacher

Instafood

2009-01-21T18:31:00.003-06:00

There is an older man from Bangladesh resting on the couch in my office. As the man watched me prepare my microwave dinner, I became very self conscious of the fact that I was preparing a microwave dinner.

Lost

2008-11-30T12:59:00.002-06:00

I lost my phone. If you call and someone happens to answer, tell them to give it back.

Bacon Bar

2008-10-21T15:54:00.004-05:00

I have tried chocolate mixed with a lot of things. A couple of months ago David and I stopped by Jazz Fest where we got some free Dagoba chocolate bars. We had one with lavender and wild blueberries. I normally don't like fruit in my chocolate bars, but it was surprisingly good. Today I decided to try Mo's Bacon Bar. This is applewood smoke bacon, alder wood smoked salt, and deep milk chocolate. Bacon in a chocolate bar? I think it sounds a little strange. I have to admit I enjoy a little mixing of maple syrup onto my bacon while eating breakfast, but I pretend that it happens by accident. I would never intentionally drizzle syrup over my bacon. And putting chocolate on my bacon has never crossed my mind. I'm willing to try it, though.

And the verdict: Pretty good. It's little bits of bacon mixed throughout the bar kind of like pieces of crisped rice in a Crunch bar. Would I buy one for the disgusting price of $8.99? Probably not. Would I take one from a vegetarian who happened to win it in a gift bag? Definitely.

Chairman Miaow

2008-10-21T15:02:00.005-05:00

"I just...like...want someone who gets me, ya know?"

Someone gets me. And that someone is a coworker who brought me this wonderful book of cat faces photoshopped over Communist propoganda posters from Mao's China.

Torturous Christians

2008-09-24T13:17:00.000-05:00

From The Daily Dish:

A reader writes:
I just finished reading "The Dark Side" and one of the things that struck me the most was the fact that so many of the people involved in condoning and justifying torture in the administration were devout Christians. And yet few if any of these people, up to and including the Christian-in-Chief, seem to have had any hesitation or misgivings about these practices. Correct me if I am wrong; but these are the same people who claim that the example of this 1st Century Pacifist who was himself tortured to death is the guiding lite in their lives. I don't get it.

Which Tax Plan Benefits You?

2008-09-16T17:27:00.002-05:00

This is an informing chart. If you click the link, you will see it in several forms. From reading more about it, I understand that McCain is trying to even out the already heavier tax burden that the rich bear. Obama will attempt to give us a more progressive income tax by shifting more of the burden to the richest people in the country. I would like to think that even if I were in the top 1% of the wealthiest Americans that I would still prefer Obama's plan. I guess I'll never know.

2008-09-14T14:19:00.002-05:00

I can't stop reading blogs and watching news coverage of the presidential campaign. I realize that I am partisan, but I also hope that I am not partisan to the point of labeling my side as good and the other side as evil. I'm finding that this is really hard not to do. Its so easy to fall into the trap of making everything an argument about personality. I could easily say "Sarah Palin is just like George W. Bush. She's never traveled abroad and uses her religion to justify her personal opinions." There is so much there to attack, that it's hard not to focus on those things. But then the republicans win because Americans vote for the person they'd most like to have a beer with instead of the person with the positions that will most benefit their lives in the next 4 years. So, I can say that what McCain/Palin are calling change is essentially a continuation of the Bush years. And I can say that McCain chose her as a tool to energize the religious right (which so far has been successful). But that doesn't tell you why Obama would be a good president.

Speaking of the religious right... It bugs the hell out of me that they've gotten so excited about Palin before really knowing anything about her. She's Pro-life/Anti-gay/Evangelical therefore she'll be a great potential president. Do they not remember that they are voting for John McCain, for whom James Dobson said he would not vote under any circumstances. She says the right evangelical key-words so conservative Christians love her. But morality encompasses more than just a couple of issues. What about lying? She and John McCain have been putting out so many dishonest claims. Do any of them care how honest their Christian candidate is?

Of course, none of what I have said above will change any minds. For most people, the line is drawn and their heels are dug in. Palin could maul a baby like the pit-bull she claims to be, and they would find a way to justify it. I do understand that voters on both sides are this way but my personal view is that one side is putting out a lot more lies than the other. So, I'm including 3 videos. The first one is all about facts. It comes from the nonpartison factcheck.org. The next two are from The Daily Show. I still don't understand why John Stewart does such a better job at pointing out political bullshit than real news outlets do.

If you are still undecided, there is no excuse. Do a little research. Think about how you want this country to look in 4 years. Do you want things to be the same? Or should we take a chance on a change in policy? And remember: Abortion is legal and that won't likely change no matter who the president is. And, thankfully, gay marriage will be here in a few years whether you like it or not. So why make a decision based on these two wedge issues? If you do, then you are letting yourself be a puppet of a political tactic perfected by a man who isn't even a believer himself (think Karl Rove).

The Palin Speech

2008-09-03T22:38:00.001-05:00

I was willing to give her a chance. I'm trying very hard to be even handed and not over partisan. I can admit that John McCain is probably a good man, and probably wouldn't be bad president (unless he really does believe that the Bush years have been good). But I just couldn't sustain it while watching Palin speak tonight.

It started well. She looks like Tina Fey, so she gets a pass in the beginning. But all I saw when the camera panned the audience was a bunch of smug assholes. The young ones especially. Young Republicans drain all hope from inside of me.

I guess I just hold out hope that a politician that wears their religion on their sleeve might have a bit more integrity. Of course why would I still believe this after Bush? According to the right-wing, evangelical Christian voting block, the only thing required to prove you're a Christian is a Pro-Life, Anti-Gay, Pro-War platform. Who cares about saying things you know aren't true about your opponent just for political gain. I realize both sides do it, but for some reason it's way more frustrating when the side with all of the Christian cheerleaders does it.

She also lost me when she made fun of Barack Obama for wanting to restore Habeus Corpus for prisoners held in U.S. detention centers. The terrorists are so scary. They want to kill you. Vote for McCain and me. This sums up the latter half of her acceptance speech.

I dedicate this diatribe to Liza. You asked for more posts :)

Officer Bobby

2008-07-28T22:33:00.006-05:00

My favorite Dutch volunteer likes to donate things to our office that she is getting rid of. Sometimes we can give things to refugees, or kids hanging out in the office can play with the toys. Today she brought us a real gem. This police officer action figure looks a lot like the Department of Aviation Police that roam the airport. I'm wondering if maybe this is just one in a collection of Village People dolls. We're calling him Bobby.

This is Bobby sitting atop my computer.

This is Bobby watching over my inbox with a nice split.

Bobby, wielding only a pen-sword, tamed the wild pencil sharpener.

Whoa, Bobby. No need for that. You're making me uncomfortable.

Bobby carries a really big beeper. Only really important police officers carry beepers. I was forced to hide him behind this letter tray because my supervisor thought Bobby might intimidate passengers that walk by the window.

Are You Alright?

2008-07-22T21:58:00.006-05:00

I wish I was here
Listening to her
With the one who introduced us

Japanese to English

2008-07-22T15:39:00.002-05:00

GraphJam

2008-07-21T09:30:00.001-05:00

Entertain yourself.

A Bike Ride

2008-07-20T23:38:00.006-05:00

I was scheduled to work today from 10-9. My supervisor called me around 3 and said that he was coming by the office to pick something up. He got there around 4:30 and said "happy late birthday, now go home". What a nice surprise. He finished the day for me, and I came home and took a really nice ride on my bike to the lake front.

This is my bike. It's pretty.

These are my feet. They pedal my bike.

This is a shot as I got closer into downtown.

I've never been down the lake path this far. I guess they bring these palm trees in every summer. They definitely wouldn't make it through the winter.

And when you turn around from the palm trees, there is the Hancock building sticking out between some other buildings.

Sometimes I just can't be in my apartment by myself. I'm glad I have a bike now.

I'm wearying. I'm selfish. Have I always been that way? This isn't what I want to be. I've hoped you would forgive me.

Connecting

2008-07-18T11:11:00.002-05:00

Say hello to my new best friends from China. This was maybe the shortest meet I have ever done (about 10 minutes), but was the only one that ever ended in a picture. They emailed me the picture a few days later. Don't we look like a nice family?

I just came back from meeting some arriving refugees. They were such a happy family. Meeting refugees who are just coming to America always cheers me up and makes my petty problems feel smaller. Good luck with your new life in America.

Nuclear Holocaust

2008-07-17T13:09:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I have terrible thoughts like:
"What if the only people left on Earth were guys like the one I just saw at the airport wearing the 'Can you beer me now tank top'"
It sends shivers down my spine.

Step into my Office

2008-07-16T13:13:00.003-05:00

I really like my job. I am grateful because that isn't true for a lot of people. But what I can't understand is why I still have this feeling in my stomach that says I need to be doing something different within a year. What is wrong with me?

Some Pictures and My Birthday

2008-07-11T15:47:00.017-05:00

The month of June breezed by with no blogs. It was a good month. I had a birthday, a visitor, and some great live events. We started out the month seeing James Taylor at the Ravinia Festival. Ravinia is one of those things that everyone in Chicago says you must go to. It's a series of concerts held at an outdoor venue all summer long. There is always a great lineup, but I learned that its really not about the music. It's about seeing who can have the most elaborate picnic. Wine, fancy cheeses, beautiful blankets and candelabras. We happened to pick a spot beside a fun group of Lesbians that were more than impressed with the story of my Leisha Haley encounter. David kind of made them believe that she and I are good friends. My new friend Lori from the group promises to invite us to her big summer house party in the suburbs. Thats nice, but since I sold my car I have no way to get to the suburbs.

Did I mention that I sold my car? This is the first time since I was 15 years old that I have not owned some sort of motor vehicle. I bought a bicycle though. A 1970 baby blue Schwinn. I like it. It gets me where I need to go. I've started biking to the train in the mornings instead of taking the bus. It feels good not to have a car.

Marty came to visit the week of my birthday. We had a lot of fun and ate lots of food.

This is a shot of the ferris wheel at Navy Pier.

Marty didn't really understand why, but I insisted that you can't visit "the bean" without taking a self-portrait.

Marty among some creepy headless sculptures.

Breakfast at Yolk, a great breakfast place in South Loop. I love breakfast restaurants. Of course nothing compares to "Mama's Pancake Breakfast" at Cracker Barrel, but I don't really like Cracker Barrel that much unless I'm there with my Granddaddy.

This may not have been in June, but one night while I was waiting at the bus stop, someone drove by and threw a water balloon at me. It's kind of funny now, but it was a little upsetting at the time. It took me a minute to even realize what happened. A loud car drove by, I heard a funny noise and then the ground in front of me was wet. I wasn't hit, but it was a close call.

This is a picture I took while waiting in line for the Death Cab for Cutie concert. I forgot to get these people to sign a photo release, but I don't think they will mind.

This is my car...driving away for the last time. I was watching out the window with a tear in my eye.

I dragged Marty To Beograd, a Serbian restaurant near my house that I have wanted to try since I moved in. I think it must be a Serbians only kind of place. The waitress' limited English combined with Marty's innate need to ask questions about menu items made for a few awkward moments. That is one of the things I like about Marty, though. He is never shy about asking questions.

Marty's "hey, that hamburger is bigger than your head" Serbian Hamburger.

The marquee outside of Broadway United Methodist Church never disappoints. Marty, David, and I went to the Pride Sunday service. That event deserves a blog of its own.

This truck was stuck under the overpass where I catch the train each morning. "The Careful Movers". How embarrassing.

On the 3rd of July, all of my Chicago dreams came true and I was invited to go out on the yacht of a friend's friend. No one on the boat really knew anyone else there, but that's a small price to pay to spend an evening on a yacht watching the fireworks show.

I live in a predominately Hispanic area. Fireworks are a bigger part of the culture. On my walk home the night of the 4th there were fireworks going off in all directions. The possession of fireworks in the city of Chicago is illegal, however families gathered around impromptu fireworks shows in several of the city parks that I passed on my 2 mile walk.

Last night I ate with Raquel at Dharma Garden, a Thai restaurant a few blocks from my house. I thought these spring rolls were beautiful. They were tasty too.

If you notice that my pictures lack a certain luster, it's because I never take my camera anywhere anymore, so all of these photos are from my cell phone.

Depression and You

2008-06-11T18:08:00.003-05:00

I got on the bus the other day during my morning commute worrying about various things in my life. I looked across the aisle and saw a middle aged man in old jeans and a worn out polo flipping through a pamphlet he'd probably just been given after a visit to the hospital. It was one of those staple bound booklets with the pastel covers that you see at the doctor's or Department of Human Services office with 3rd grade illustrations demonstrating the effects of depression, anemia, having your children taken away by the state, or the many other tragedies may strike you or your family. This particular one was titled "Contrast Radiation Has Many Benefits". It changed my attitude for the day. There is something very public about public transit.