Remiss and Good People

As of late, I’ve been feeling remiss about not writing more than I have. I don’t know that I can articulate very well my feelings of neglect on posting to my blog, but I suppose I’ll take a stab.

If you read this very often, you know that I just joined facebook this last weekend. In doing so, I’ve been rewarded with a compliment on this blog by my dear friend Wendy. Wendy is a wonderful and quite down-to-earth woman, for those of you that do not know her. Receiving a compliment on my postings was both flattering, and for me, it highlighted that it has been a bit since I last posted. On that note, I should dedicate this blog to my dear friend Wendy. To further that, I should note, Wendy, Idaho is full of people from Wisconsin.

The bar near where I currently live, it flies a Packer flag on Sundays. In addition, there is a great young family at my church, both the mother and father are officers in the Air Force, and are around our age. Anyway, they have two children, one of whom is a little girl between three-and-four. The little lady came to church a few weeks ago in a dress modeled after a Green Bay Packers’ Cheerleader’s outfit. It was undoubtedly precious. The father is serving off in the Middle East, which must be so challenging to care for the two kids with her husband being far off; nevertheless, like a good Wisconsin woman, the mother brings those two kids to church every Sunday.

In addition to that, another means of motivation for writing today was the pleasure that I had in running with my friend Jenny Stinson last night. You can see Jenny’s blog up, just to the right of this posting “Runny4yourlife.” Jenny and I ran the trails by where I live, which are a lot of fun, but they are continuously challenging. I admitted to Jenny last night, the trail I run for my Wednesday 8-miler, “Lower Hull’s Gulch,” has two-and-a-half miles of substantial uphill. That uphill is marked with rocks, and it definitely builds up one’s soleus muscles, ankles, and gastrocnemius. In any event, it’s a great run, which always reminds me that no matter how much I run, or how strong I am, challenges are always out there, and I can always improve my running.

I guess that’s the sort-of-meta thing I think about running, right? It’s a sport in which progress is so immediately quantifiable. I suppose one could say the same thing about swimming, cycling or golf, but the act of running is something so minimalist, it is ultimately reduced to two areas: physicality and mentality. The simplicity and determination of the sport are two things I absolutely adore about it.

I digress. Running with my friend Jenny was a terrific Wednesday-night run, and Jenny, right now, is training for a 50k. A 50K is thirty miles, which is four more than a marathon—err, 3.8. Anyway, it’s a 50k trail run, which is why Jenny thought of being a rare improvement on the enjoyment of my Wednesday night run. Beyond that, Jenny flattered me by noting things I had said in my blog.

It’s tough to express just how flattering it is to speak with a friend about something random, like having met a lovely woman in a coffee shop, by the coffee shop’s specific name, and for the friend to ask a question citing a past blog post. In this case, Jenny was spot on, which was quite flattering. My friend Jenny, a fellow Chicago transplant, is a dear friend of mine to have here in Boise. Not only are Jenny’s daughter, son-in-law and Grandson Marshall terrific people, but she has lovely friends, current Chicagoland residents, with whom I had the pleasure of dining before the City of Trees Marathon, and her beautiful golden Fremont. In short, Jenny keeps great company, has a wonderful family, and a great puppy dog.

Lastly, I should conclude with what a pleasure it is to have my friend Ben in town this week. Ben was in Eastern Idaho with other friends for the end of last week and beginning of this week; they were there hunting elk. Ben is here in my place until Sunday, about which I couldn’t be happier. In coming days, I’ll probably post something, which will further indicate why it is all the more fun and important to have a dear friend in town.

I guess on that note, I should be off to take care of some things for the remainder of the working week. In any event, I wanted to ensure I put up a good post, and noted some of the most immediate joys around this week.

Facebook and Detachment

I love writing for my blog, if for no other reason than expressing that which I’ve felt over a given period. One cannot deny the experience is not quite like a journal, which I’ve never been as good at keeping as corresponding with friends. As I am writing that, I am thinking of what had me write the above title. At the prompting of several friends over the past year, I’ve finally joined Facebook. Having done so, I am experiencing this incredible sensation predicated on my geographic and lifestyle changes.

Before I write further, I should preface this by saying I’m not regretting my move, nor am I regretting my aforesaid lifestyle changes. Of course, if you don’t know me well, the move was from Chicago to Boise, Idaho. From the lifestyle change perspective, we are speaking of my having traded working hard/playing hard for working well/living well, including doing a lot of running, all of that post-trauma.

Back to my point, joining Facebook has provided me a reconnection to many with whom I’ve not kept in touch. In so doing, I am realizing just how dynamic my friends’ lives have been. Being a human, like many of us, I tend to be rather self-centered. With that self-investment, it’s too easy to lost track of time and years gone by.

A few examples, browsing the page of one lady I knew, back at Illinois, I saw pictures of a friend of mine who went to Iowa. My friend, I’ve known him for twenty-plus years, and the girl, I knew as a younger classmate who worked at a sister bar to the one at which I bartended. Seeing the two of them in pictures, I asked my friend Paul if they were or had been dating. It turns out they have been dating for approximately four months. That’s a rather small example, but the point is that the little city of Chicago I left behind didn’t keep people from intermingling and meeting one another.

Of course, steps taken even further have been to see another woman, whom I one knew well, now married, looking as lovely as ever. In short, I always had a crush on this woman, and to see that she is now married, it leaves one thinking of years past. Of course, the last time I saw her was at Oasis playing UIC Pavilion back in 2005, when I had a girlfriend with whom I was enamored. The point is to say though that seeing these progressions leaves me feeling a bit intimidated about how fast life moves not just for me individually, but for everyone else. It’s the feeling that one doesn’t disagree with, hearing someone speak about it. Rather, it is all too easy right now to say, “No kidding, Sherlock? Everyone’s lives change? Surprise!”

With all of that said, however, it does not keep one from noticing it more vibrantly with this new medium through which it comes. It’s rather surreal, to say the least. It makes one miss those who are back in places of yore, be it Sherrard, Champaign, Memphis, or Chicago. Nevertheless, I do love having moved to Boise, the natural wonders are too nice to refuse.

Owyhee Lake - close to Boise

PS - I don't think I can / I am making it a rule to not access Facebook at work. If you send me a friend connection, and I don't confirm straight away, it's because of that. It will be later in the day.

"Joe the Plumber" the Poor Man Is Frought with Issues

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/16/joe-the-plumber-is-it-see_n_135211.html

Long and short, Joe would receive a tax cut under Obama, as his business makes lees than $250,000 per year. Moreover, Joe has tax paying issues. In short, Senator McCain, your utilization of this man was poor judgement. Perhaps not as poor as picking Sarah Palin, but your consistency gives reason to fear your success in the coming election.

Pictures, Songs, Haircuts and Fashion, How They Evoke bygone Times

This morning, I was visiting http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/, reading about one of my favorite band’s album’s reissues being postponed. In doing that, I see this picture—the one off to the right, and am struck with this wave of nostalgia and passed time. For me, it’s quite amazing to see haircuts, colors, and photo components none of which would be considered part of contemporary fashion. At the same time, because of what has since occurred, those items seem all the more out of time.

Since this photo was taken, for bands in Pavement’s genre, recollection of 60’s and 70’s garage rock meeting dive bar aesthetics has been dominant. Beyond that the styles of college-aged kids, even those revolting against their contemporaries’ affluent aesthetic, have changed substantially. I realize this is a bit meandering, but in how cyclical fashion aesthetics are, it’s hard to write about it without a flow chart. The ebb and flow are interesting.

I digress. Seeing this photo brought me back to thinking of just how much time has passed since this photo was taken for this no broken-up band, at the same time, how much time has since passed for me. The year this photo was taken, I was either concluding my freshman year at Illinois or starting my sophomore year. I was quite into being a fraternity boy, and working on enjoying the fruits of my labor during pledgeship. It all seems quite long ago, and evokes this time about which I seldom think. I think about later years in University, but seldom back specifically to the year of 1997.

Of course, sometimes I wonder if that is because 1997 was one of the easy and comfortable years of Clinton pax-Americana. Because the events of the Balkans and Africa were quite far removed from college students out having a good time, and none of my friends were subject to having their reserve duty called up, thinking about the world stage at that point wasn’t a question. I wonder now how nineteen-year-olds find themselves in those similar circumstances.

I guess that begs a great question: is it better to live in days of Halcyon or days of concern, which keeps one focused on the world’s events?

Sarah First

Governor Palin, are “pro-America” places just like the place in your home where a member of the Alaskan Independence Party lives?

Everybody’s Gotta Make a Living – Vanity Redux and Old Folks

Are we a culture obsessed with Vanity and Desperation?
You’ve probably seen me write about SPAM before, and read my thoughts about “Truth to Market.” To sum it up, we see spam about erectile dysfunction, male organ size, pharmaceuticals and clothing all the time. Spammers have one clear objective, of course, which is to make money. As such, they spam on the aforementioned topics with the hope that will grab as many desperate folks as possible. By the same token, the one liners, as here demonstrated, are overly pervasive on the Internet. It’s as though late night/early morning ad buyers have found they can penetrate a broader demographic via the Internet than through their former medium.

What does this say about our culture? Again, I think I am only stating something at which we all nod our heads, but it’s probably one of the greater flaws of our culture. By that I mean the guise of “having it all.” We are a nation that has waged a war, at the same time telling people to “spend, spend and spend,” does our Government sell the same delusions? Clearly, in the process both the citizens and the Government of the United States have run up a bundle of credit card debt.

My point is simply that we have cultural issues that we need to repair from our grassroots. It’s evident by what is marketed to us. I could probably spend more time writing on this, but for now, work is more of a priority.

Good News in the Morning

I woke up this morning, and was delighted to hear Colin Powell endorsing my candidate for President. Powell is a respected and intelligent man; moreover, he was betrayed by the current administration, which gives him all the more cause to fight for Obama’s campaign. Let’s be frank about something, John McCain, while he is angered at the allegation, does not represent a shift in policy from the current administration—probably the worst President in our history.

I digress. I was delighted to see one more component fall to Obama’s favor, and glad to see it was someone whose support could silence one of the many attempted criticisms of Obama. Over the next few weeks, we’ll see McCain and his surrogates clutching at straws, attempting to find something that works against Obama. It will be obnoxious and annoying, but it’s the cost of doing business.

Out of respect for John McCain, after he hopefully loses, I hope he returns to the Senate, and will end his campaign. McCain’s campaign and his erratic behavior in it have changed my opinion of the man and his faculties. It’s too bad, but he doesn’t care what I think, so it simply is what it is.