THOK! (in the Northern Hemisphere)

Dislocated my pinkie finger again. This time, the other hand, actually.

Over the weekend, Sharon was having a momma-daughter day with Lucy, and I was having a daddy-daughter day with Rose. Things were going famously. I was in the midst of teaching Rosie to ice skate, when I went down fast and hard, right onto my pinkie finger.

However hard it was, two years ago, when I had to get Lucy out of the house, into the car, and with me to the Urgent Care Clinic; consider that this time, I had to get a bundled-up Rose off of an ice-skating rink (along with a little chair she was using for balance), into a warming house, and actually change out of my ice skates and into shoes, one-handed. Then out, across the snow and to my car with Rose, buckling her up and getting on the road.

A sickening feeling, having my finger in this crumpled and distorted state for a long period of time. Rose was about as helpful as she could be:

Dan: "Rosie - daddy needs you to go AsFastAsYouCan!"
Rosie: "I AM going FastAsCan!"

We got to the hospital and the wait wasn't all that long. I did having the passing thought, right before the doctor reset the finger, "Hmm...didn't they give me something to deaden the pain last time?" The, Pop! And I let out an unexpected howl. Sonofabitch. That hurts. That and rolling an ankle. The lingering effects seem to have gotten generally better through the years, but the inital pain never does.

Anyway, so much for my new jazz piano hobby for at least a couple of weeks. And - oh - yeah, this was also quite certainly not the best week to start my new wakeup league basketball season.

Ex-CI-ted!!!

We're having a bit of a blizzard in these parts today, so I headed home early to avoid the evening commute. And what did I find a-waiting me in the mailbox, special delivery from Methuen MA?

ONLY THE MOCKAPALOOZA, THAT'S WHAT!!!

Seriously, folks. I cannot remember a time when I've been looking forward to something coming in the mail quite so much. This is what it's all about. Tomfoolery, created out of pure love of the sport of it all, and sent out for enjoyment amongst friends.

Mixx, I appreciate the re-mastering of the T.T. mock. I could be proven way, way wrong here, but I did feel like there was a lot of funny stuff in there that was just a little too inscrutable as a result of the background dialog being so high, last time around.

Anyway - I've got a busy-ish schedule going on these days (evenings), so I'm not sure how much time I have to set aside for it all, but MAN - I can't imagine I will not pop one of the suckers in tonight, if just for a little while.

On an aside...FAR be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I was just a teeny bit let down that P.M.; above all of us a master of Photoshop, did not include j-cards. But I know a lot of work goes into getting things to this point (for something that is ultimately going to be enjoyed a number of people that can be counted on one hand of Bart Simpson), and I totally know the feeling of, "Jesus Christ! Enough of this!!!"

In One Word

1. Where is your cell phone? elsewhere
2. Your significant other? smart
3. Your job? maps
4. Shoes you are wearing? frayed
5. Your father? patriarch
6. Your favorite thing? daughters
7. Your dream last night? gone
8. Your favorite drink? Bender
9. Your dream/goal? un-working?
10. Room you're in now? computer
11. Your fear? vasectomies
12. Where you want to be in 6 years? Minneapolis
13. Where you were last night? piano
14. What you are not? snivelling
15. Muffins? yup
16. One of wish list items? iPod
17. Where did you grow up? Minneapolis
18. The last thing you did? bedtime(s)
19. What you are wearing? p.j.s
20. Your TV? flat
21. Your pet? Rocky
22. Your computer? stationary
23. Your life? blessed
24. Your mood? anticipatory
25. Missing someone? nope
26. Your car? '98
27. Something you are not wearing? Sketchers
28. Favorite store? HUB
29. Favorite color? green
30. Favorite place? boreal
31. Last time you laughed? Recently
32. Last time you cried? December?
33. Who will/would repost this? Stephen
34. Four places I go over and over again? (a) cubicle (b) Steamworks (c) TheOnion.com (d) Iowa
35. Four people who email me? (a) mom (b) Howard Dean (not so much now) (c) Luitpold Tarwater (d) Pat
36. Four favorite foods?(a) donuts (b) pbj (c) strawberries (d) pie
37. Four places I would rather be right now?(a) Dakota (b) hoopin' (c) England (d) Hyland
38. Four people you think will respond?(a) Stephen (b) Pat (c) Aaron (d) Clogger

Merry Christmas from Waterloo (a little after the fact)

GroundDan Looks Out of His Burrow, Sees Ice, and Forecasts Three More Months of Craptastic Running

It's really the perfect storm of precipitation (so to speak) and a series freeze-thaw cycles that have contributed to the worst layer of ice over Minnesota paths, fields, and roadways that I have seen in my time here. Worthy of Iowa, really.

The condition of things was evident over the week and a half preceding Christmas, which saw the largest number of consecutive terrible commute times I can remember. There was a particular two-day stretch in which we got about three inches of rain, followed by temperatures that dropped to about minus-11. So, obviously, we have a thick layer of ice covering all open, previously melted areas. Then it was followed by a greasy layer of frozen exhaust ("black ice," they call it). Followed by another couple of snows and drizzles, a fog, and another freeze.

The amount of salt Minneapolis uses on its roadways is crazy - crazy-bad for cars and nearby flora. Although I gotta say, under normal conditions, it ends up clearing out the roads and paths; these are not normal conditions, and there's been just no keeping up. And once you get outside the boundaries of Minneapolis, proper (say, for a run from work), things really get dicey. And likely won't clear up till March. Worse, are trails through the woods, which remain snowy and slippery through March under normal conditions. But again, these are not normal conditions. I could be doing snowy trail runs in mid-April, which is when the snow-breast hung around til.

I've made the decision to use a recently-purchased pair of trail running shoes that were intended to be used as my everyday-shoes for only running in snow/ice and/or on trails. Armed with those and a new pair of running gloves I got for Christmas, I did a noontime run from work today. It's sunny and 33 - which made a slippery situation even more slippery. I spent much more time high-stepping it through the slushy snow than I did on roads & paths, but - on the bright side - that makes for a tremendous, if quite different, workout.

That's about all I have to say about that.

Just a Quick Rumination on the Bailing Out of Big Industry

...from automakers to financial institutions to retail developers...and not that I'm even necessarily against the bailouts, but...

I wonder how often these CEOs, have, in their entire personal lives until this point in history, decried the bailing out of ANYBODY by the government.

The Flagging Economy Meets "The Seven Year Itch"

For those of you who aren't in the know, this economic crisis has hit "the retail sector" about as hard as any industry outside of housing and, maybe, automobiles. The company I work for, having beaten back every competitor in sight, has finally come up against a foe which is its match; and the worst two months of retail in recorded history has taken its toll. The great Big Buy is cutting labor.

To its credit - an offer has been made to every one of the four and a half thousand employees in the corporate office in which I work, giving us the chance to take a voluntary severance package which is nearly unheard of in any company, anywhere. In my position, at my pay grade, this would mean seven and a half months of salary, in addition to a year's worth of benefits continuation. Amazing, and - a couple of years ago - a possible no-brainer.

Unfortunately, were I to take the offer now, it would be into what kind of job climate, with what sort of prospects? In a good economy, I fear my ability to make a lateral move and make a salary anywhere near what I have labored over building up over my past seven years at my current place of work. While I have not gotten well-to-do (by U.S. standards), it has allowed Sharon to stay at home with Rose and for us to have a general expectation of being able to meet our financial obligations, month-to-month. At present, my plan is to sit tight and not opt for the vluntary termination; and to desperately hope that enough others do in order to avoid the following eventuality of the involuntary round of layoffs. Things working in my favor is my - by all reasonable estimation - unique function and role of support in the company, as well as the relative pittance I am paid, compared to the innumerable "directors" and "project managers" that have been aquired and shuffled around in this extremely top-heavy building in my time here.

So - if things go well for me and I'm here in another two months, then what? It's no secret that - comfortable as I am - corporate culture is just something to which I'm not hard-wired to assimilate. In addition, though I love geography and - indeed - a large part of what I do, day to day; I fear a future in which my career path is inextricably bound to my ablility to seek out and master new technologies. What I have come to understand about GIS over time is that my love leans about 90% towards the first letter of that acronym, and about 10% towards the second two. I am, at heart, an old-fashioned academic, who would much rather be reading in an old, leather-bound chair, than walking about with a bluetooth headset sticking out of my ear discussion with a regional sales rep the extensions for the latest service pack of ArcGIS 9.6. That's no way for a man - a man like me - to enter the second half of his working adult life.

If I get involuntarily laid off, my severance package comes with an extensive set of services with an outplacement firm; one that specializes in putting you on the fast track to something-or-rather and all kinds of buzzwords that ordinarily make my skin craw. But a firm of which I will totally avail myself in order to get some type of GIS job that will get me back in the ranks of the employed.

In the meantime - this was a bonfire under my ass (where, earlier this year, there was but a spark). Volumes of research support the theory that the notorious "seven-year itch" is not mere cockahooery, but an actual, verifiable rhythm to our lives. I got out of college at 23. At around 30, I made a career change into the GIS field. Now, at 37, that may be about to run its course. In looking at where my life may go from here, Sharon advises me that when I start exploring my options, I need to start by thinking about what I really want to do, not what I reasonably think I could get. And then take the steps I need to get there. As opposed to, say, when I went back to graduate school to get an MGIS because I happened to be in the GIS field and was feeling inadequate because I didn't have a degree to prove I belonged.

I spoke for awhile today with a career coach, and will be meeting with her on January 8 for the first of what will probably be a number of sessions. More to follow, undoubtedly.

More to Follow, at Some Point

Near-Perfect Christmas Weekend

It began Friday night with the annual neighborhood "Holiday on 44th" celebration which is, like, the biggest thing in Camden.

Sharon & I were both actually involved in the festival, as I was performing a 15-minute show each hour on the hour at The Warren (actually "borrowed" from a Round Town Players company-developed piece from 22 years ago, if you can believe it), and Sharon was performing in neighborhood choir.

(me, 2nd from right, in the role of "Dad")

Lucy and Rose were with an aunt, though, and got to enjoy themselves up and down the street, which was, appropriately receiving a gentle Christmassy snowfall. One of the attractions I would have made it to, had I not been engaged in my performance, was Steamworks, where father Christmas was making one of his many December appearances.

During the course of the rest of the weekend, we managed to get our tree up (where my task is similar to that of Rudoph's "Bumble:" simply putting the highest ornaments up there), listened to a lot of Christmas music, including a rebroadcast of the St. Olaf Christmas festival, and watching the Bing Crosby/Danny Kaye musical, "White Christmas."

Good times.

The Smooch Project

The girls and I (sans Sharon, who was visiting relatives in St. Cloud) stopped over at the Warren after having coffee this morning, to check out a Holiday art fair.

Set up at the event were a couple of photographers from The Smooch Project, who were looking for prospective subjects. If you have a heart at all, you'll probably get a kick by checking out the site; some 18 thousand skilled photographers are trying to capture gallery-quality images of people with genuine affection for one another (or their pets) in the act of smooching, in an effort to (in a small way) combat the "cynicism & terror" that abounds in the world. The photos are all kissing on the cheek, which is pretty much only a sweet act; as opposed to full mouth-on-mouth kissing, which has the potential to put-off folks with midwestern sensibilities.

Anyway, Lucy & Rose & I went up to take part in a 10-minute session which was apparently so cute that the entire staff & patronage of the art fair was looking over and "ahhh"-ing each time a shot was taken (particularly once I was out of the picture and the girls were just smooching each other over and over).

Looking forward to the results of the session and to see if we make the final cut, which is extremely selective: only 10 thousand photos will be in the final cut; which is less than one per photographer. Anyway - I do recommend checking out the site. I can't look at the photos in those existing galleries without smiling. I check back there from time to time, when I'm feeling down.

National Day of Listening

National Public Radio recently made a push for establishing a National Day of Listening, November 28, as part of their StoryCorps project; attempting to create an audio archive of people's oral histories and stories at the Library of Congress.

Knowing that my dad had some pretty amazing experiences in his younger years; athletically, in the army during the Korean War, and then living overseas; I proposed to him the idea of an interview on my trip down to Waterloo this past Friday.

Surprisingly, he accepted.

So, I brought down the recording gear and, with Lucy falling asleep in a sleeping bag, and my mom listening on the couch, I began a conversation with my dad. My "live interview" skills are certainly not in practice, and things were a little shaky near the very beginning, but we soon got into the flow and before we knew it, the session had stretched to about 90 minutes - and he had only gotten through his army service (about age 22 or 23).

Not sure if you can make it through all, much, or even some of these audio streams; but I do find them to be pretty facsinating. My dad, once you get past the quirks in his style of speech and some of his Kansas-isms, has a really nice speaking voice and is a pretty good storyteller. A few things in here I'd never heard; and some moments surprised me (overcome by emotion for a couple of seconds when telling of a friend that was killed by a land mine in Korea); and a lot of it is damned good classic history - how town-based baseball teams were structured as opposed to today's farm system; life in the Army in 1951; etc.

Anyway - if and when you have the chance, plug in the phones and have a spin.

Jack Hylton: Part 1

Jack Hylton: Part 2

Trimming Off the Loose Ends

For years, I'd been slowly working away at, but mostly fretting about, the archiving of old 35mm negatives. Using a backlighted negative viewer, and with a set of negative sleeves I'd bought, I was slowly trying to get the shoebox full of them in chronological order, same as the actual photos that were in my photo albums.

Then, one day, I took the whole shoebox and threw it in the trash.

One project out of the way.

Similiarly, for many years, I'd had this dream/plan of recreating an Advent calendar my mom had made for us in my youth. With a multi-windowed house made out of different pieces of decorated felt, with pictures cut out from Christmas cards behind each window, it was a source of great thrill and anticipation, come each December. With Lucy now up to age five, and Rose at two; time was really getting on when I had to fish or cut bait.

I opted for the latter, finally taking the file folder of Christmas cards I'd been saving for years and dumping them right in the recycling bin. I found an awesome advent calendar (see below), with a set of 24 wooden doors containing magnetic figures of Jesus' family, stars, barn animals, wise men, etc. etc. to equip a full-fledged nativity on a metal background. It's wonderful.

Ah, it's nice to finally get some long-standing projects out of the way.

Johnny Seedcorn

thoughts? impressions?

Mid-Life Crisis...Over?

Thank God...some men do some pretty crazy shit that they probably spend the rest of their lives regretting.

Now - I don't want to say my theatre (or performance, in general) career is over, but I am sitting here (Sat. Nov. 22, 2008) realizing that I may have spent the last couple of years of my life in pursuit of something that is ultimately a lot less fulfilling than the time I spend at home, with my family and personal pursuits that can be indulged within the four walls of my own home (e.g. music listening and - hopefully - making, movie watching, crazy little projects ala "Johnny Seedcorn," etc.).

This all came about quite recently. I was actually in the weekend prior to the auditions for our spring show (which I was planning on being in), when there was a malfunction with the regulator on my dad's oxygen unit. Ultimately false alarm, but for a short bit there, I was faced with the reality that I could be put in an extremely difficult position, were he to take a serious turn for the worse in the middle of my production or performance schedule. A risk that suddenly seemed not at all worth taking. I need to be subject to head out of town at any given moment, were I to be needed in Iowa over the next couple of years.

But, upon pulling out of the commitment for the upcoming show, I felt a great weight lifted from my heart. I'd been subconsciously dreading the time away from my family and actually feeling some premature guilt in anticipation of the busy schedule that would be pulling me away. Since then, I've been enjoying time with my kids about as much as I can remember, and spending a lot of time doing whatever the hell strikes my fancy, for entertainment, after the kids go to bed; not feeling all stressed out about cramming "responsible things" or "making progress" on some home improvement project into every second of my free time. Weird - not all that long ago, I'd been torturing myself with thoughts of "When am I going to have the chance to get on stage again?!" Now, I'm seeing that way of thinking almost like it was some kind of stranger. What was I trying to prove, and to whom? Ah, well, such is the roller coaster of hot & cold that is Dan.

All I know is that the past two weeks have been like a like a friggin vacation (including the T-Clog visit which - by the way - may have been about my favorite Cory visit ever - thanks, Clog!!!), and I don't want it to end.

Sitting here, at 5:50 pm, having spent the majority of the day with my kids preparing for Sharon's birthday celebration tomorrow, and finally having been given an hour to hole myself up in the computer room, listening to iTunes shuffle with headphones, blogging, and stealing a few games of FreeCell; sipping a Summit Winter Ale.

Cheers!

Nearest Book Thing

(with thanks to Facebook)
Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence in a comment, here.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

I'll go first with the one I needed to use when posed this question in Facebook, moments ago, though it's not too exciting.

The Year of the Podcast

Just as 1999 was my Year of Basketball and 2001 was probably The Year of Baldur's Gate.

Crazy levels of wonkery. Sharon & I listening to political podcasts while doing household chores and/or putting Rose down for the night, then discussing what we've heard. I'll miss the late night Sarah Palin "jam sessions," but the wonkery will continue as the Obama cabinet fills up and legislation is initated.

On a side note - if any of you do get regular podcasts, and political ones at that, if you get a single one, make sure it is NPR's "It's all Politics" with Ken Rudin and Ron Elving. You don't learn a ton, if you've been paying attention for the week, but they ARE the CarTalk guys of politics.

Second favorite political podcast: Slate's Political Gabfest.

Other oft-listened to casts: NPR's "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me" and "Radio Lab," as well as MPR midmorning shows that I've missed (which are few). And "The Economist" magazine's look at the week ahead.

All on a little $25 Sansa Express mp3 player.

Did this year kick off a lifestyle I will keep for all time? Hard telling. Probably in some fashion or another. It's just crazy that my five year old daughter asks if my "podcaster is charging?" Sounds insanely 21st century (from a 20th century perspective). But little did I know in my youth about DVDs, digital file sharing, or using computers to look up everything. It is what it is and that is a brave new world.

Forthcoming

Another Year...

Another toast to the man (or woman) who invented the mulching mower.

Wow. What would have been about as six hour leaf-raking job that would have used rarely-used muscles resulting in a half week of soreness was a two hour mowing job over the weekend. Plus, we have a nice layer of mulch on our grass, some extra mulch for the garden and our new alfalfa & oat patch (back where the gravel used to be), and contribute nothing to the Minneapolis Munincipal Waste process.

The Visit...

It looks like T-Clog has picked up the torch of Official Recounter (it seems to be the mode for the visitor to recount the trip, and not the visitee), so I won't spend a lot of time here, in this forum.

Not worrying about that, also, has freed me up to do some video editing. As soon as Amish Internet Boy can find a way to send me two 10-second video clips to use for special features, I will be ready to burn and send out a feature-length movie we made Saturday night.

I don't want to set the bar too high, but I'm just going to say it: "BETTER THAN MOSSYBACK!"

urp...

I’ve been eating so much Halloween candy that people brought into the office that I’ve actually taken to sprinkling the wrappers into various trash cans that are not my own, in order to minimize the evidence of my own horrifying crapulence.

Of course, I do not forsee doing my body too many favors this coming weekend, either.

Let's see: 4:54. About one hour till supper. And about five hours till a second, larger supper of pizza and (Crazy Bread Equivalent).