March 2003
Plans
Seattle
Sunday March 30, 2003
Every few months or so I try and reconcile our calendars for the coming
months. As it stands, we a have mere eleven trips currently planned for
the rest of the year, the latest info is reflected in the sidebar.
Sprung
Seattle
Sunday March 30, 2003
This has been one of those weekends you can only have in a place with
seasons. Yesterday the Market was bustling, flowers were out, and we enjoyed
an al fresco breakfast on Post
Alley (a bit north of this link). There was something in the air that
I believe is referred to as spring. Today we read reams of Sunday newspaper
on the deck, drinking coffee and eating grapefruit and continued the outdoor
theme into the afternoon with vigorous weed pulling and plant trimming.
A walk to the grocery
store revealed neighbors mowing lawns and sitting on porches. Spring
is showing up and it seems to make everyone feel good.
Memory
Hole
Seattle
Thursday March 27, 2003
The memory hole "exists to preserve and spread material that is in
danger of being lost, is hard to find, or is not widely known." You
know, things like maps
or websites that sell bongs.
They are also tracking
the war.
Phone
Call from Iraq
Seattle
Thursday March 27, 2003
I did not receive one, but my friend Christine did. Her ex is in Kuwait,
preparing--presumably, but this sort of info is not allowed to be conveyed--for
deployment in Iraq and she IM'd me last night indicating she'd received
a late night, 30 second phone call from him. "Weird" was her
summation. Yes indeed.
"No
Roaming for You, Frenchy!"
Seattle
Thursday March 27, 2003
I didn't think that the war in Iraq would touch upon my work world, but
I was obviously wrong. A congressman from San Diego (home of Qualcomm)
has
introduced a bill requiring that the post-war Iraqi mobile phone infrastructure
be based on CDMA technology invented by, yes, Qualcomm
and not the GSM standard
that already exists in Iraq and most of the developed world. Apart from
the perversion of pre-packaged post-war pork before the war has even really
gotten going, it's also an asinine technology proposal since it would
make it impossible for people from neighboring countries (or those Europeans
who passed on "the coalition") to use this as-yet-unbuilt phone
system. Retribution at its oddest.
On the
Mend
Seattle
Wednesday March 26, 2003
This
icky sickiness (not to be confused with Ishy Fishyness) seems to be abating.
Which is a good thing as I realize that I have very little slack in my
life. Like a finally tuned Japanese factory, everything runs just-in-time.
I'm not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, it's just my thing.
And really, when I step back for a moment I realize I'm completely exaggerating.
Yes the email has piled up, yes the household chores have not been done,
but there is no trainwreck to witness, which I take as a sign of personal
progress. The lack of slack really corresponds not to an assembly line,
but to a calendar filled with work and fun. So I guess I've had a break
from work which I'll jump back into soon enough, and the fun, well I'll
just reschedule.
Itis
Seattle
Tuesday March 25, 2003
Crusty, itchy, goopy eye . . . all signs point to conjunctivitis,
the doctor agrees, and now I'm just waiting for my industrial strength
eyedrops to do their work. While I'm waiting, I think I'll go back to
sleep.
Sicky
Seattle
Monday March 24, 2003
Blah. Home sick. Sleeping a lot. Dia seems to be a day behind me with
the symptoms.
Des Amis
Seattle
Sunday March 23, 2003
These friends. We hadn't seen Gretchen since she left for an extended
stint in Germany three years ago. It was wonderful to catch up but a bit
sad to be the one who had to break the news that the X-Files
were no longer on TV. Trevor and Sara joined our lounging at the fabulous
Des Amis. This little bar at 11th and Pike draws an awesomely diverse
crowd which when teamed with the stunning pair of bartenders makes it
hard to want to go anywhere else these days. Initial Burning Man listmaking
and costume/art sketching has begun.
The Results
Are In
Seattle
Saturday March 22, 2003
Mom's voicemail let's me know that her periodic tests once more show her
cancer-free. While obviously a good thing, it's hard to describe exactly
how good a thing this is . . .
Back
from NOLA
Seattle
Saturday March 22, 2003
This week constitutes my biggest writing drought since I rebooted the
weblog in December. (Though I expect to back post just so I can keep track
of my chronological adventures.) I blame it all on New Orleans. This was
fourth tradeshow in 90 days and frankly my tank was on empty. That and
plenty of distractions. Undisputable highlight was dinner at Jacques
Imos. The link makes it sound a bit hoity toity, but in fact none
of the china matched (it wasn't even china) and the food came out of the
kitchen regularly, but with no clear sense of order, and that was just
fine. It was the culinary equivalent of going to hear a DJ spin--all sorts
of sounds blast over the speakers, but there's no clear sense of where
they are coming from unlike, say, watching a rock n' roll band make noise.
I have no idea where all the flavor came from, but the kitchen put out
an irresistable groove. I was completely unable to identify spices or
ingredients, but every thing I put in my mouth just tingled with flavor.
Speaking of DJs, tomorrow night we're going to be treated to my favorites:
Thievery
Corporation.
Ishy
Squishy Fishy
Seattle
Friday March 21, 2003
Me: What's that you're writing? "Wishy Squishy Fishy"?
Rob: "Ishy Squishy Fishy" It's my new 3D animated cartoon--it
is soooo excellent. You'll remember this night--like hooking up with Matt
Groening in, like, 1985!
Me: But it says "Wishy Squishy Fishy"
Rob: That's from the theme song. I just wrote the theme song!
Me: Sing it!
Rob: <sings in a driving baritone, pumping his fist in the air>
Me: That's good. Let me make a note of this . . .
War Drinking
New
Orleans
Monday March17, 2003
As I expected,
Saint Patrick's Day on Bourbon Street was a loud, drunken, sloppy affair.
I did not expect to see much of the relvery halt while George W addressed
the nation with his war speech. If I had then I'm sure I wouldn't have
been quite as taken aback when the clapping started.
Phase
States
Seattle
Thursday March 13, 2003
Not sure if it feels like ice turning to water, or water turning to steam.
Quickly, as always happens, I make the transition from island of tranquility
to invasion force. There is a tradeshow
upon me, replete with the attendent meetings, conversations, logistics,
bad coffee, business card trading, opportunities, annoyances, deals, dial-up
email, plane rides, and exhausted sighs in musty taxi cabs. But at least
my 6am Saturday flight will be taking me here.
Gas
Seattle
Wednesday March 12, 2003
Today I put gas in my car
for the first time since we bought it on December 31st, 2002. True, Dia
did put gas in it once before, but three tanks in 72 days seems like a
good deal. The dashboard tells me I'm getting something like 37mpg for
my stop & go city commute.
Take
it Offline, Mom
Seattle
Tuesday March 11, 2003
I have enjoyed talking to my mom more and more over the years and our
worlds collided, oddly and unexpectedly, on Sunday. If you don't know
my mom, well, you should. She is a dynamic figure now on her fourth? fifth?
sixth? career which makes me think I'm on the right track with my own
zig zagging. On Sunday she expressed amusement at the techy lingo her
younger colleagues bust out with in meetings, most notable the expression
"let's take it offline" when the sensitive/off topic/or otherwise
inappropriate topic emerges in a meeting. Her bemusement was my own. For
three years I have been living in a world in which PowerPoint is king
and conversation is rife with made up words, shorthand code, and cliches:
"at the end of the day"
we need to "take this issue offline in our 1:1" and
make sure we're "focusing on ROI and ARPU," ensuring that the
"UI will drive the right metrics" and that we've "bucketed
the problem in a way that's scalable" and is also "aligned with
the POR"--and if "there is a disconnect" then we'll have
to reevaluate "the IVP and USP" in order to drive "ubiquity
and revenue". and we'll need "a proposal by EOD." There
is utility--and humor in this language of 21st centruy business. But,
regardless of all that, at the end of the day, despite the fact it been
month's since I've had a F2F with her, I love my mom.
Sitting
at a Bar
Seattle
Monday March 10, 2003
Time flies and all that. Sandra and I had drinks tonight, joined later
by Miss Dia. We had not hung out at all in 2003 until tonight; it was
long overdue. Catching up on miscellania and hearing the saga of a housemate
who recently worked for a time in the funeral business. This resonated
given the fact that Six Feet Under accounted for half of the television
I wtched last week. Horrific to hear that said death establishment has
lead generation lists and quota attainment charts in the mortuary lunch
room. An American Way of Death is, I guess still current. Alan Jeffries--remember
that name--joined our conversation and educated us on the ins and outs
of the Longshoreman's Union. He will be president someday, as we were
repeatedly instructed. And I'm willing to believe him. David Olson, founder
is responsible for what limited knowledge of the ILWU I have, and I it's
a gift I'm grateful for. Talked turned to Burning Man (Sandra has made
the mental leap and will be going) and as the evening wound down, we were
treated to gratis relationship counseling that should have cost us several
hundred dollars. All in all an excellent evening, made even more excellent
by the knowledge that Tuesday would be a brutal work day and here I was,
enjoying dinner, drinks, and conversation rather than working or worrying
about work. I take this as a marker of substantial progress on the life:work
balance front.
Joygantic
Update #6
Seattle
Sunday March 9, 2003
Things are busy behind the scenes here at Joygantic. While the fruits
of my labor are not yet visible, here's what's coming down the pike, soonish:
- Making the leap to Moveable Type. There will be trauma associated with this but I need to automate.
- Learning to use Adobe Elements and Adobe Album, both of which should help me get a handle on the thousands of images I've collected and improve the multimedia nature of Joygantic.
- Lists of favorite blogs coming soon.
- Joygantic Labs will be running int the background--some nifty experiments I can't talk about yet.
- Link archive page is being planned.
- Burning Man camp HQ will be developed allowing multiple authoring for campmates--big plans in the works! Only 168 days to go!
Change
of Plans
Seattle
Sunday March 9, 2003
It is looking like we will not take three weeks off to go to Brazil this
spring. How two overeducated, well travelled people could plana trip and
not figure out that it would occur in the rainy season is a mystery, but
we're now looking to reschedule for November, likely joining Margaret's
Bahia Street trip. If Dia's
Cancun trip comes through, we'll do that, if not we'll be looking for
some semi-inexpensive week somewhere where it is very sunny. Given the
way both of our work worlds are slipping into fine grooves, this will
all be for the best.
Leisure
Seattle
Sunday March 9, 2003
What an excellent weekend. The first in weeks that I spent at home with
Dia. We really like each other, which is fortunate given our various legal
entanglements (marriage, mortgage, etc). Vietnamese food with Elaine,
Matt, Quince, Lily, and their airpanel.
Napping on Saturday. Watching an actual DVD
together. Various snuggling and bathing. Buying CDs. Having drinks with
Mark & Mikelle after being shut out of the sold out Royskopp
show. Bacon and eggs. Reading. Being unhurried. Lovely.
Hair
Seattle
Wednesday March 5, 2003
I have always maintained that I would be brave in the face of adversity.
And yet, over the last six month as my hair has mutated into an increasingly
middle-aged mop, I have lost my cool. I called Rudy's
tonight before I left work, parked just up the street, and had a defining
moment (at least as far as hair is concerned). Gewendolyn applied clippers
to my head and we talked about both the latest mobile phone technology
and my increasingingly barren skull. The bushy hair on the side of my
head was no match for her prowess, but the pile of clippling simply stunned
me. I gathered the bits in my hand, unbelieving. The ratio of grey to
brown was stunning. She finished and I requested a bit of DeFi to mess
my mop. And then she dropped the bombshell: the non-water soluable goop,
she argued, was closing my pores. Could this be why my hair loss had so
accelerated in the two years I had stood steadfastly by this product?
(My usual arguments about separating causality and correlation seemed
hopelessly weak.) She recomended water soluable hair goop which would
not clog my head pores and a shampoo with some form of copper enhancing
chemical which, now that I scrutinize the packaging, I cannot pick out
from long list of ingredients (thyme leaves! pananma bark! molassses!)
which decorate the bottle in a very cool font I cannot identify. She says
I must believe for forty-five days. I will get back to you.
Dia Returns
Seattle
Tuesday March 4, 2003
I ducked out of work at noon and greeted Dia at SeaTac
with a simple sign that read "LAUTENSCHLAGER." I was uncertain
she'd remember what I looked like since we hadn't seen each other in over
two weeks and my long-overdue-for-a-haircut shag would make me look like
an emo
rocker were it not for the fact that the sides of my head are steaked
with grey and the top of my head seems incapable of producing enough hair
to give me the proper indie look. No matter. I was recognized and we sped
away from the airport to a nice lunch, hot sex, and ten minute nap before
our schedules once more required us to be in different places. Yay! She's
home.
No Offense
to Philip Glass
Seattle
Monday March 3, 2003
I am fairly certain that it was more than having simply consumed too much
red wine with Sara over dinner and typically wonderful conversation that
has now put me in the position to highly recommend a viewing of Powaqqatsi
with Thievery Corporation's The
Richest Man in Babylon as the alternate soundtrack.
Soundtracks
Seattle
Sunday March 2, 2003
I know this feeling. I'm sitting at the Elysian, having a relaxing Sunday
lunch, reading, doing a bit of writing, and a smile comes over my face
everytime the music changes. Toad
the Wet Sprocket (haven't heard that in a while), Belle & Sebastian
(I really need to buy some of their CDS), Magnetic
Fields (excellent selection!) . . . I realize how little music
I've been listening to lately. I realized it this morning when I finally
listened (twice) to the Thievery Corporation
CD I bought three weeks ago, and I realized it earlier in the week when
I teared up watching Johnny Cash's rendition of Hurt.
I know what this means as well. It's signal that my rhythm is changing
up. If the past is any indication I will likley go through six or so distinct
cycles of listening/nonlistening to music this year. I used to pine for
stability and consistency, but over the last few years I've shifted my
thinking. If I were to describe in detail a day/week/month in my life
it would invariably be a shadow of the life I lead. By which I mean only
that my experience is constantly transected by wave forms, trends, patterns,
preferences, that undulate like a sine wave. So I'm not disappointed that
I haven't been listening to music, simply excited that that tide is rising
again and comforted to recognize a desire as a pattern and not a dysfunction.
Clumsy
Fingers
Seattle
Saturday March 1, 2003
The first part of today was spent aimlessly moving from chore
to chore,
completely none of them and at various times collapsing on the couch to
indulge in the dumbest
TV imaginable. But come afternoon, I perked up. A call from Mark &
Mikelle that beer drinking had ensued prompted a shower and a short drive
over to their apartment where Mark was giving Trevor bass lessons. While
I avoided it at first, after a while, with some prodding, I picked up
a guitar for the first time in maybe two years. Earlier this year I had
placed my Fender strat and amp on
indefinite loan to the house of Rob & Jason, and this act was a difficult
but essential step in erradicating youthful dreams of rockstardom. But
clearly these dreams have not been stamped out. Carressing the neck of
Mark's Ovation acoustic I struggled to remember cords and song fragments
that I played over and over in college and grad school. I was mostly unsuccessful,
but the sensation was intoxicating and when I returned home I eyed my
guitar in the corner thinking that maybe our relationsship wasn't over,
that'd we'd had a temporary misunderstanding, a lovers' quarrel that might
be patched in time.
PLANS
[as of 3.31.03]
Mark
This Week Dallas (maybe)
Las Vegas 4.6-4.9.03
Dia
Los Angeles 4.12-4.19.03
Mark
& Dia
Cancun 6.03
Salt Lake City 7.3-7.6.03
Las Vegas 7.31-8.3.02
Mary & Kerry Visit 8.11-8.13.03
Black Rock City 8.22-9.5.03
Brazil 11.03
CA 12.22-12.31.03
