March 31, 2006 | Filed under: Uncategorized

Walking around Manhattan, I couldn’t help but look up. I am continually amazed at architectural and engineering prowess on display in major cities. And some minor ones, too.

Due to the many years I spent in Madison and DC, I forget that buildings can be taller than a dozen or so stories. I am still awed by the sight of a downtown skyline, in Chicago, New York, San Francisco. I forget what forty- or sixty- or eighty-story buildings look like from afar, their steel and glass framework jutting into the sky. I forget the feelings those same buildings evoke close-up. How they tower over you, casting shadows that prevent the sunlight from filtering down to the sidewalk, creating a wind tunnel that lasts for blocks.

I’m a little bit of a construction junkie. I love the sight of scaffolding. I recognize the smell of oil poured in concrete forms to prevent the concrete from sticking as it cures (the same principle that leads you to grease a cake pan). I love watching a building go up. All a holdover from my civil engineering days, I guess. But I wouldn’t hire me to design anything for you!

As impressive as some of the newer structures are, I’m more amazed by the old ones. For example, Grand Central Terminal. How did people figure out that if you put columns here, here, here and here, and use this kind of beam, you can support an open expanse the size of a city block? How did they craft the architectural details? How did they construct the thing? Today we have computer models to calculate the load weights and spacing of columns and fancy construction equipment and tower cranes. But in 1904??? My god, people still did math on slide rules back then!

I enjoy these buildings for reasons I can’t fully explain. In addition to sheer beauty, there’s something inspiring, hopeful about them. They were built to last in a way that today’s buildings are not. They are a connection between the past and the future. How can you not be impressed?

March 28, 2006 | Filed under: Uncategorized

I’m back in California. And wide awake, which means tomorrow morning is going to SUUUUUUCK.

There are stories and pictures and deep thoughts and more stories to come. But the first order of business is sleep! And maybe unpacking my suitcase. But definitely sleep.

March 23, 2006 | Filed under: Uncategorized

My god, I get worse every time. My trip to New York? The one that’s been planned since January? The one for which I’ve had a plane ticket since January? Yeah, um, that plane leaves at midnight tonight, which means the nice people at SuperShuttle will be here in 23 minutes! I booked my hotel in plenty of time (last week), but that’s the extent of my planning so far. Oh, and tomorrow night’s dinner plans. Yup, pinned those down at about five tonight. Totally ahead of time.

I debated about bringing the laptop with me, but when I remembered that I have no plans, no travel guide and no idea what kind of overly-helpful/not-at-all-helpful concierge I’ll have access to, I decided it was a good idea. And I can’t imagine being away from you for five days. Awwwww.

Here’s what the past few hours looked like:

7:45 Leave work. Attempt to not run over other cars on the freeway, most of which are, for some crazy reason, choosing to go less than 85 mph.

8:12 Walk in house. Throw work stuff in corner. Grab carry-on-able suitcase and start tossing clothes in it.

8:15 Set alarm clock for 9:00 to remind me to wrap this shit up so I’m on time for the SuperShuttle people. Plug in every electronic device known to man - work cell, personal cell, digital camera battery charger, laptop so I can charge the iPod without draining the laptop battery, iPod.

8:19 Continue gathering clothes. How many days am I going to be gone again? What does fifty degrees feel like?

8:20 Worry that I’m not packing stylish enough clothes. This is New York! I can’t be looking like *gasp* some girl from the Midwest!

8:21-8:49 Gym clothes, jeans, bronze going out shirt, black and white going out shirt, blue going out shirt, black pants, 4 sweaters, 2 camis, pajamas, and as many clean socks as I can find.

8:50 Done packing! Go to bank for cash.

8:58 Ok, only sort of done packing. By which I mean I still need underwear, toiletries, and everything that doesn’t fit in my suitcase and therefore goes in my tote.

9:14 Really, did I pack cute enough stuff? I can’t go without a skirt, can I? What if we go out someplace trendy? Are black pants good enough? How can I not bring a skirt?

9:15 Pack skirt. No, not the gold jacquard skirt, the gold raw silk skirt.

9:16 Do I have fun shoes?

9:17 Doesn’t matter, there’s only room for one pair of shoes. Sigh.

9:22 Really done packing this time. Except for the tote. And anything I need to add to my purse.

9:23 Check e-mail and read blogs. Because it’s likely the world has changed dramatically in the last two hours.

9:37 What are the chances I’ll finish this post by the time my driver arrives? Oh right, zero. Shut down the computer and pack tote.

9:40 Where’s my black pashmina? I always take it with me when I travel. Tear through mostly-full suitcase from DC trip in search of pashmina.

9:45 No, really, where the fuck is my black pashmina????

9:51 Touch every single black item visible in my room. None of them are the pashmina.

9:53 Maybe it’s in the car. You know, cuz that’s where I keep all my random articles of clothing.

9:54 Retrieve black pashmina from backseat of car. Vaguely remember it ending up there, but can’t recall the circumstances that led to it.

9:59 SuperShuttle isn’t here yet. Damn them! Go wash dishes so I’ll come home to a halfway clean kitchen.

10:01 Crap, I didn’t send that other work e-mail. Oh well, too late now. I’ll write it up on the plane and send it from the hotel tomorrow.

10:08 Doorbell rings as I’m draining the icky water from the sink. Perfect.

10:25 Arrive at Terminal B, for Northwest Airlines. Approach the lights-off-no-one-behind-the-counter Northwest check-in. The self-check computer tells me it’s closed, but open between 4:15 am and 12:30 am. Um, guys? That would be NOW.

10:26 Very nice (and nice looking) guy at Mexicana Airlines counter next door offers assistance. I might fly to Mexico just for the customer service. He suggests I might have a code-share flight, in which case I need to be at the Continental check-in counter. In Terminal A.

10:27 - 10:36 Walk half a mile to Terminal A. No, I’m not kidding, the two terminals really are a half a mile apart.

10:37 Check in. Curse this code-share thing that means I can’t see my seat for the Northwest flight I’m connecting to. Desperately hope that it’s not a middle seat in row 26 or something.

10:42 Holy mother of all that is holy, there is WIRELESS ACCESS at the Sacramento Airport. Or at least in Terminal A. Woo-hoo! I love this place.

10:43 Oooh, Starbucks is still open! NO. No caffeine; you need to sleep on the plane.

10:47 Damn. That wireless access sign was missing the operative word “free.” Hmmm. Maybe if I’m done writing this by the time I get to Houston, I’ll spring for it.

11:35 Have successfully entertained myself at the gate. Five minutes until we begin boarding and I can go to sleep. Now if you’ll excuse me, my iPod and I have some quality time to spend together. But first, I must proofread this post.

11:39 Are you fucking kidding me? Stevie Wonder’s I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever) is playing on the terminal music soundtrack and I managed to hear it in the two seconds between songs being piped into my ears from iTunes and my headphones. Sonofabitch. I have one and only one association with that song, as I’d never heard it until someone put it on a CD he made for me. Back when we still spoke to each other. And provided each other with important information like, “I’m currently dating someone so maybe this spending the night thing isn’t the world’s best idea.” Clearly we will not be falling in love and this time it will not last forever. FUCK, UNIVERSE, WHY DO YOU DO SUCH THINGS TO ME????

(Even more ironic is that on the way to the airport, I thought I heard a different song on the radio from that same CD, and I was relieved to discover I was wrong. Payback is a bitch.)

11:44 Yeah, great, I’m no longer ready to fall asleep, as my heart rate is approximately 160 bpm. “Fight or flight” adrenaline rush, I hate you! Because there’s currently no one to fight with and nowhere to run. Damn it.

11:55 Boarding now. Will fall asleep, even if it kills me.

March 21, 2006 | Filed under: Uncategorized

One year ago today I started my new job in California.

Ten days before that, I did something I hadn’t expected to do. Ever. I left DC, with an uncertain return date. I left behind some of my closest friends, some of my most wonderful memories (and some of my worst), and I deferred progress on achieving some of my most cherished hopes and dreams. There is a DC-shaped hole in my heart, and some days it eats through me with Agent Orange-like efficiency. (Ohmygod, what have I done?!?!?!)

*Breathe.*

I gained a lot, too. I’m doing a job that I love. I’m experiencing a part of the world I never expected to. I’m learning things about myself that I wouldn’t have noticed in my go-go-faster-faster! DC life. I’m writing a frickin’ blog!

A lot happened in the past year. Steve graduated from college. Liz left for Africa. Grandma died. Liz came home from Africa. Numerous friends got married and/or had children. Most of these events required a plane ticket, which I gladly sprung for, when my schedule allowed.

At work, change was just as prevalent. I’m on my third boss since taking this job. One of my two California-based colleagues took a new job. Several DC colleagues are no longer involved with my project. They’ve either left the organization or taken on new challenges internally. Project timelines and benchmarks and deadlines shift faster than the oddsmakers can keep up with. Same thing at Banana. I’m on my third Head of Store in a year, we’ve had numerous other managerial changes, and my two closest BR friends no longer work there.

All of this serves as a reminder that nothing endures but change. (You can thank Heraclitus for that little gem. I probably need to tattoo it on me somewhere I see daily. Or eighty-five times a day.)

This year has just flown by, and I anticipate that trend will continue, and I’ll be back home in no time. Yes, DC is my home. I just happen to live here, for the time being. It’s a strange existence, having lives on both coasts. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Unless you’re some kind of masochist, in which case I think wearing pointy-toed 3-inch heels on a daily basis ought to do the trick.

My relationships with my high school and college friends haven’t really changed, as I’ve lived far away from them since graduation. And at graduation, people expect to go their separate ways and keep in touch the best they can, and we have.

Leaving the DC crew, though, has been a different experience. These are people I used to see every day, or every week, or run into randomly on the street. Since I left, people have moved out of DC, gotten married, had a kid, and changed jobs. And that’s just Jon! We’ve all had to adjust to this new arrangement, the three-hour time difference, the sporadic visits, my crazy schedule even when I am in town. Some relationships have fared better than others. For those that are surviving, I’m thankful. For those that aren’t…well, we’ll see. Nothing lasts forever. (No, DeBeers, not even diamonds, so eff you.)

The question of the day is, How much longer will you be in California? And the short answer is: I have no idea. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this whole experience, it’s that one can’t plan anything. Or maybe you can; I can’t. Moving to California certainly wasn’t part of The Plan, but here I am! My new approach: There’s always A Plan; but The Plan is always subject to change.

Helen Keller said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. To keep our faces toward change and behave like free spirits in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable.”

I intend to do just that.

Filed under: Uncategorized

A sure sign that it’s spring: I painted my toenails for the first time this year.

I actually thought that as I painted my toenails last night, in anticipation of christening my peep-toe pumps. Imagine my surprise this morning when NPR informed me it was, in fact, the first day of spring!

I know, you’re thinking that the prevalence of blooming plants would have tipped me off to spring’s arrival, or maybe the close of basketball season, or perhaps even that line on the calendar that reads “Spring Begins.”

(Do you like how I take more pictures of things near my office than near my home? That’s because I’m never home when the sun is up.)

But no. The toenail-painting extravaganza was entirely practical: I wanted to wear my peep-toe shoes and I sure couldn’t let my ugly toe be seen by the general public. I wasn’t even convinced that nail polish would cover the ugly, but thankfully it did.

(Because it’s been awhile since I regaled you with shoe pictures.)

So, either I’m completely oblivious to my surroundings and focus only on beautifying myself, or I’m strangely in tune with the changing of the seasons. Just send some Birkenstocks, in care of Moonbeam.

NCAA TOURNEY UPDATE: There’s a tear in my beer over Wisconsin’s first-round loss to Arizona Friday. But, take heart, Badgers! You’re in good company.

CENSURE UPDATE: Oh, Russ, how could I have doubted you? Tom Harkin has come out in support of your resolution. Sort of. And maybe one other person. Please forgive my errant ways.