POST-ITS FROM PLAN B

Dominique Dalia Lincoln

2011-05-06T11:29:00.000-06:00

I was going to post this photo a month ago and talk about baby preparations, my thoughts on pregnancy, and my fears of being responsible for a tiny human.

I never got to write that post. My daughter is apparently as impatient as I am. She was born on April 8th, just over three weeks early. Since she measured small in the ultrasounds indicating a later due date, and most first time moms go past their due dates, I was planning for a May baby and concerned that I would actually be carrying her until mid-May. I still had long lists of things I needed to get done before the baby came.

So, when I went into labor on the 8th, I was in denial. I was in denial when I went to the doctor’s office, to see if it really was my water that broke in the middle of the night, or if my pregnant body had finally lost bladder control. I planned to drive myself there and called B to simply let him know I was going. He was in the middle of getting his hair cut, and left right then to drive me. He pulled up with the hair trimmed on only half his head, like he was going back to a bad 80s look. I nearly lost bladder control laughing at the sight of him.

I was still in denial when we were sent to the hospital. I thought the doctor would tell me it was not actual labor, that I would have contractions for weeks to come, and simply send me home. I was still in denial when I was admitted to the hospital, thinking they would simply monitor me for a few hours and send me home. I even left clothes on under my hospital gown, convinced I’d be sent home. Good thing B insisted on taking the car seat, and the hospital bag he forced me to pack over the weekend.

Labor was surprisingly quick: 26 minutes of active labor, and 24 minutes of pushing. All natural. I did ask for an epidural, thinking that the excruciating pain I was suddenly in would last for hours and hours to come. The nurses and doctor thought I would be laboring for much longer and were just as surprised as I was when it was time to push just as the anesthesiologist got the catheter in my spine. Our impatient little girl was born red and screaming at 6:10 pm.

And now she's here. She weighed 5 lbs, 15 oz at birth, and got down to 5 lbs 5 oz. I never knew how people could hold such tiny babies; the youngest child I’d ever held before her was a 7 month old. But there I was in the hospital holding, feeding, and burping a tiny baby. Now that she’s over 7 lbs I find her easier to hold and work with. Although, it might simply be because I am used to her.

I was in awe of the tiny clothes we had, but she swam in even the smallest clothes we had. I didn’t think they could make clothes any smaller. They do.

Here she is at two weeks, looking cuter and cuter.

And sleeping at three weeks - notice how her arms are starting to get chubbier.

Spring!

2011-03-25T06:57:00.001-06:00

The first signs of spring in our front yard. The lilac bushes are also starting to bud, and the tulip greens are peaking through. Yay!!

Café Ardour

2011-03-21T06:46:00.001-06:00

It's important to me to live in a city where I can walk from my house to a local coffee shop, breakfast restaurant, and bar (or two) in 20 minutes or less. It's best if there are several to choose from; it doesn't take long for me to find my favorite.

Fort Collins, like any good college town, has many coffee shops, each with a different atmosphere. I tend to shy away from the brainy ones, where I feel like I might need to be a pretentious student of the Beat generation to sit and sip my coffee. Or the celebrity ones where everyone goes to be seen, and where the coffee usually tastes burnt, and there is nowhere to sit.

Café Ardour is my favorite in Fort Collins, and not just because of their sour cream coffee cake (the best EVER - and if you ask nicely, they'll even give you the recipe). It is slightly off the regular Old Town path near the corner of Linden and Jefferson. It has a relaxed and comfortable feel and friendly staff - both key to a good coffee place. Like many other businesses in town, local art decorates the walls, and regularly rotates to feature new artists. There is also a wall of post cards received from various parts of the world. If I can't sit outside, I like to look at the post card wall and dream up trips, or remember places and people I've known.

Café Ardour makes some of the best coffee in town (another necessity in a coffee place). Since I can't enjoy a good espresso or cappuccino right now (and decaf is just a poor replacement), I've been drinking unsweetened Bhakti Chai lattes. I won't drink any other chai beverage since I tried the Bhakti Chai. Usually chai lattes are so sweet I feel like I might fall into a diabetic coma once I've finished my drink; but the Bhakti Chai is well spiced without the sweetness.

All the baked goods are made in-house daily, and they use local and organic ingredients for everything. They serve breakfast and lunch as well, but I've never eaten anything other than the coffee cake. Brad is a huge fan of their ginger cookies, and more recently their granola cookies. One of these days I'll make my way down there for a quick lunch.

Sláinte

2011-03-17T12:27:00.001-06:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day Parade

2011-03-14T16:41:00.002-06:00

I don't particularly like parades - standing smooshed on the sidewalk trying not to push people out of the way so I can get a glimpse of something. But, I do like watching people prepare for parades. They're excited, spraying colors into their hair, and thinking that no one is watching them.

I took a few pictures before the parade downtown this weekend. Check them out on my flickr page.

Three Months and a Beer Dinner

2011-03-10T12:06:00.007-07:00

Last night was Funkwerks' first beer dinner at Choice City Butcher & Deli. Seven courses and seven beers. This is the kind of thing we were all excited about when we started down this road. It was fantastic to be able to enjoy the night with friends!

It was also our quarter anniversary - well, three months to the day since we opened the tap room. We're a bit conflicted as to which anniversary to celebrate: The day we got our alcohol licenses? The day we brewed our first 1 bbl batch? Our first 15 bbl batch? The day we sold our first beer? I say we celebrate them all!

The picture above is the remnants of the dinner with the last course having just been served. I failed once again to bring a real camera with me, even though I'd been reminding myself all day to do so. And, I failed to take any other pictures than the one above.

On the menu:

Caspar paired with buffalo carpaccio, capers, and a horseradish mustard

White paired with dolmas in a light tomato sauce

Saison paired with spinach and pine nut empanadas

Māori King paired with matambre - flank steak stuffed with carrots, hard boiled egg, and

herbs

Belgian Resistance paired with wild boar tenderloin and a little salad

French Resistance paired with truffeilo mac & cheese

This was my favorite pairing. The sweetness of our French Resistance really complimented the cheese - and, of course, I love pasta.

Barrel Aged Saison paired with a cabernet cupcake

Our Saison aged in 2008 American oak chardonnay barrels from Rombauer Vineyards in Napa - a rich Saison with oak and vanilla aromas and a hint of tangerine.

Time

2011-03-07T09:58:00.002-07:00

Time seems to speed up as I get older. It's a conspiracy; I'm just not sure who the conspirators are.

I realized recently that we've lived in our house for a year now. A lot has changed in that year: the brewery is up and running, we have two cats, a baby on the way, I've been writing for other publications, we've made good friends and have settled into life in Fort Collins, and the yard is even more out of control than ever.

Just two years ago we were transitioning from living in Chicago to Munich. I wandered around Bavaria and the alps while Brad finished school.

The more things change during a year, the faster time slips by.

Kittens

2011-02-24T05:29:00.000-07:00

Meet Penelope.

She is almost 4 months old, and weighs about the same.

She's a trouble maker. Thankfully, she sleeps a lot.

She loves Sam. Sam is still a bit reluctant.

Tulips

2011-02-21T06:04:00.002-07:00

... because they make me smile and it feels like spring outside

Funkwerks Parties

2011-02-17T05:29:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned last time, I've been busy. One of the things consuming my time on top of my regular work load was planning an opening party for Funkwerks. We have been open for a couple of months now, but waited until January to have an opening party. Planning a party for over 200 people was more work than I anticipated. For years I mocked party planners, now I appreciate the amount of work that goes into these things.

Here are some pictures from the event. They were all taken by other people, since I was too tired or lazy to bring my camera out that night.

In case anyone was wondering.

Walnut Street Gallery provided artwork for the event to make the brewery look prettier. We had art from Jeffrey Berryman and Rod Johnson.

Barrels make a nice backdrop to the food.

Choice City Butcher provided the appetizers: crudités, hummus made with our White and nita crisps (generously donated by the good people at Nita Crisp), Saison Sausage en croûte, Southwest Sushi made with our Māori King, and BBQ sliders with sauce made with our Belgian Resistance. We also had truffles made with our Belgian Resistance from Cafe Vino.

The Nu Classics provided the entertainment in the brewery. And, Dave Hill played guitar in the tap room.

Jean and Ted served beer in the brewery.

Laura and Nicole were serving in the tap room. This is Laura filling a growler for someone that night.

Jean and Laura who make the tap room a fun place on a daily basis.

We had a great turn out from the Fort Collins community, about 250 people, if not a little more over the course of the night.

Everyone had a great time - there was even a robot dance off towards the end of the night.

And, finally, the current Funkwerks spokesbaby, Isaac Shambo looking adorable.

Portlandia

2011-02-15T16:31:00.005-07:00

I have not disappeared, I have just been extremely busy. I'll add several posts in the coming days on what I've been up to, and I promise to be more consistent with future posts.

I went to Portland for several days in January to visit friends. I hadn't been there in nearly three years, and I missed the city and my friends. But, I did a terrible job with the pictures on this trip, so there isn't much to see.

I mostly spent time hanging out with friends. I doubled my shameful bowling score. I ate good food. Although I missed Voodoo Doughnuts, I had tacos at ¿Por Que No? twice, to satisfy my craving for the now closed Taqueria Nueve. I walked around the city and my old neighborhoods. I looked at cute shops and debated whether I really needed another cute winter hat. I did.

The city is full of shops with, well, junk. Stuff that is cute, but that no one actually needs. Fossil candle holders? Another bag with a bird on it? My friends bought me the cutest diaper bag (more on that later) with, of course, birds on it from Queen Bee. I actually bought another bag there as well, but with a flower on it. Just for the record, I am not a bag hoarder (I now have a total of four purses, and this was the first one I bought in six years... just for the record).

This is a clip from the IFC's Portlandia show about the birds on everything.

And another clip. The show is dead on.

Portland, where you can shop for dresses in a mobile double decker bus, eat at a different food cart for months straight, and eves drop on conversations about someone's friend Phoenix's daughter Asia. I wonder if Phoenix changed her name, or if it's a generational thing in her family.

Funkwerks, finally!!

2010-12-15T14:39:00.004-07:00

A little over a year ago we moved to Fort Collins to start a brewery. B and I had been researching and planning a brewery for a long time before that. Now, after all that work, we are open!

Funkwerks opened its doors to the public last week, pouring Saison, White, Cherry Saison, and Casper (our light saison). We will have more beer on tap this week and more next week.

Here's a progression of the brewery from the time we moved to town:

Brad and Gordon brewed initial test batches in the kitchen of Gordon's rental....

and in the back yard.

We lived in two industrial spaces, and the guys brewed beer on a 1 barrel system before the first batches on the 15bbl.

Almost exactly one year after the three of us moved to town, we served beer at the Great American Beer Festival to rave reviews!

We bought more and more equipment for the brewery. B is loading spent grain into the Funkwerks van to take it to the chicken farm.

More new equipment....

The tap room being completed....

And the first patrons of Funkwerks.

G giving a tour.

Now we just have to sell all the beer we'll be making!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T06:51:00.002-07:00

I'm busy making a feast.... more pictures to come.

Sunrise

2010-11-19T11:59:00.001-07:00

Sunrise this morning. One of the perks of getting up at 6.

This time two years ago: Vermont

2010-11-10T16:48:00.003-07:00

Two years ago we were living in Vermont in a town of 7,700 people.

Downtown Montpelier from across the river.

We drank our way around the state, collecting stamps in our beer passports as if it was an excuse to drink. We were on a mission: visit every Vermont brewery. We even drank at one brewery on the last day they were open. Just to be clear, no DUI laws were broken on this trip: beer tasting should not lead to inebriation. There was usually some food involved as well. And, laughs.

I love the glowing eyes on this sign.

My favorite places were Bobcat Cafe in Bristol, McNeill's in Brattleboro, and Trout River in Lyndonville. Bobcat Cafe is a brewpub with an excellent locally sourced menu, and good beer, of course. At McNeill's we felt like we were in a bierstube - everyone sits around large picnic tables, encouraging neighbors to talk to each other and share the evening. The hardest of the Vermont breweries to visit is Lawson's Finest Liquid. It's not open to the public, but, if you are lucky, you can find some bottles for sale at the Warren General Store.

One of the best parts of the beer tour was driving around Vermont. Exploring the back roads, dirt roads, covered bridges, and the small towns. Vermont has a certain charm not found anywhere else in the US.

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T09:36:00.002-06:00

Cat themed pumpkins this year... surprise, surprise.

Samantha helped too.

We're hoping for more trick-or-treaters than last year since there are tons of kids in the neighborhood. But, we'll be passing out candy from last year (don't tell them) - lemonheads never go bad, right?

In Pictures

2010-10-13T17:47:00.002-06:00

What we've been up to in pictures....

Enjoying fall with fires in the back yard. It's beautiful with some leaves on the ground. There are few things better than sitting around a fire with good friends and good drinks.

I have also been harvesting the rest of the veggies from the garden. Chili with fresh tomatoes, vodka sauce with fresh tomatoes, silly amounts of salsa with... I may have over planted with 6 tomato plants. I'm planning on making this with the butternut squash, the sage will also be from the yard.

Being silly at the brewery.

Pouring beer at the Fall Harvest Brew Festival in Fort Collins. Another great beer event for Funkwerks.

The tap room is in the middle of its makeover.

And, of course, we've been busy with Samantha.

She seems to prefer drinking the water out of the tub after we've showered rather than the fresh water out of her bowl.

She's chewed through some expensive phone cords, broken one phone, and required a late night visit to the vet emergency room. Kitty ate a large amount of nylon string, was drugged and forced to vomit. Rough night for her, but the next morning she was back to biting our toes at 6:30.

Fall in Rocky Mountain National Park

2010-09-27T20:32:00.000-06:00

We headed to Rocky Mountain National park over the weekend for some hiking and to see the fall leaves, which were nearly at peak in the park. While it's not like New England this time of year, golden aspens are striking against the green blanket of pines.

A few aspens hanging off a ledge near the tree line.

Denver

2010-09-24T06:03:00.002-06:00

I love the bear at the Denver Convention Center. But he's a little too big to squeeze...

Funkwerks and the Great American Beer Festival

2010-09-20T15:30:00.002-06:00

We were down in Denver for the Great American Beer Festival last week and weekend. Like any other industry, there are meetings to go to, and things to learn. It’s just better with beer and good people involved.

Funkwerks poured its Saison and White at the festival, along with 461 other breweries. The beers were well received and we got a lot of good press. Head over to the Facebook page for more.

This is the type of festival where it's best to have a plan. There were well over 2000 beers on tap (36,000 gallons). One ounce pours can very quickly add up. This year there were also 55 new breweries.

Funkwerks Update

It's been one year since we moved to Colorado and started working to get Funkwerks up and running. And, we made it to GABF! It's great to see all the hard work we put in pay off and people really enjoy the beer.

Funkwerks has moved into its new location in the old Fort Collins Brewery space, and the guys are busy painting, sanding, and getting the place ready for the public. The location and tap room are licensed, the labels have been approved, and the big equipment is slowly rolling in.

The new website is up at funkwerks.com. Things are coming along nicely now that some of the governmental and administrative headaches have been dealt with. Not that there won't be more...

Farms and Raccoons

2010-09-16T06:19:00.002-06:00

Squirrels are eating my tomatoes. Raccoons are jumping on and off of my roof at night playing in the bushes near the bedroom. If not there, they are in the side yard talking their gibberish. They act as if we are the intruders daring to disturb their play by shining lights at them or rapping on the window. And, if the raccoons aren’t around, then it’s the foxes creeping around the back yard. I hear a rooster every morning down the block. It’s almost like I live on a farm, not in the middle of the city.

I am missing downtown loft living. I miss yard work free weekends. And, I am not even keeping up a great yard. It’s always in a state of slightly out of control. The grass in the back is full of weeds, and partly dead in the front. I am hoping for an early snow fall again this year, and trying to figure out what I can take out to make it easier next year.

The picture is from Grant Family Farms, a real farm where we get our organic CSA from. No matter how I feel about my yard, I would definitely not want to take care of that!

Fall

2010-09-10T05:00:00.001-06:00

While the official season change may not be here yet, the days are shorter and the mornings are crisp. I try to convince myself that I love the seasons equally, logically listing great qualities of each, but, that only works when it’s not fall.

It’s time to get long sleeves out, time to have fires in the back yard.

It's time for roasted chiles and apples at the market.

Fall is dahlia bouquets and farm festivals. Kicking through fallen leaves and searching for a sweater in the perfect shade of orange/red.

I also have a particular seasonal neurosis…. candles. The house would be a fire hazard lit only by candles if I had my way. I didn't quite get the same effect in Phoenix as in Portland, or as I anticipate here in the mountains. But, even there, I bought candles. This year, I said I would make some. I even bought supplies! Although, B is still asking: “so, when are you going to make those candles?” Hopefully before the season is up.

This time, last year...

2010-09-07T14:42:00.002-06:00

We were moving to Fort Collins. We have been here one year already. It has also been one year since we finally got all of our stuff out of storage - it's still nice to sleep in my own bed!

How to See a Movie in Fort Collins

2010-09-01T06:14:00.001-06:00

I am a huge fan of movies, and have been known to see three or four movies in one weekend. Although, it's been a while since I was that much of a movie glutton. One of my favorite things to do is to see an early movie alone in the middle of the week. I started doing this during law school (it was a great refresher when I was spending hours studying), and try to do it at least once or twice a year. I justify seeing more movies by going to the early shows - I can't remember the last time I paid full evening prices for a movie. Besides, I have other things to do with my nights.

We've been going to New Belgium's bike-in movies on Thursday nights. Two dollars gets you in and three more gets you a pint of beer. If you are hungry, there is pizza and popcorn for sale, and I think burritos too. Many people also bring their own snacks. It's a little like the McMenamins theatres in Portland, except for the lack of an actual theatre and seats. Really it's just the ability to enjoy a good beer with my movie.

We bring our camp chairs and set up with everyone else. Although, we walk down there instead of bike. It's still in the spirit of the evening - leaving our car at home. I'm more likely to get a DUI on a bike than a car (yes, that's right, a DUI on a bike - I actually know someone who got pulled over on her bike here), so we just don't drink and bike.

The bike-in movies might not be the best setting for someone who usually wants to beat movie talkers with a steel bat. I saw Caddyshack for the first time a couple weeks ago (man, were people ugly in the 80s!!) - lucky for me everyone was able to call out characters' lines as they were being spoken. But, it is a fantastic way to watch previously watched movies. The movies tend to be ones that people watch over and over - tomorrow is Easy Rider, next week are the Clips of Faith (shorts made by NB's fans), and the last one this year is The Hangover.

Also, since we're on the topic of New Belgium, this weekend is Tour de Fat. We already have some wigs... stay tuned for pictures.

Samantha Too

2010-08-30T19:09:00.000-06:00

I promise to stop posting cat pictures after this... at least for a while. My little halloween kitty with the orange eyes captured by my iPhone - and annoyed that I woke her up for a picture.

Samantha

2010-08-24T16:58:00.003-06:00

Meet Samantha. She's not a fan of staying still for a photo.

She's meeting the neighbors slowly. Tony is the larger cat on the other side of the glass. I'm pretty sure he fights with the neighborhood raccoons at night.

Sam is about a year old and pretty much full grown at 6 lbs. We took her to the vet today for some tests torture. It took three people to hold her down to draw some blood. She's healthy, and pretty scrappy it turns out. Maybe she can stand up to one raccoon? At this point, we're just hoping she doesn't take revenge on us for the vet trip by peeing on our pillows.

Mt Hood

2010-08-20T06:48:00.002-06:00

I took this photo hiking in Oregon in 2003 or 2004. Probably one of the rare-ish summer weekends when our hiking plans were not thwarted by rain. Hiking in CO is much more predictable, as long as you go in the morning.

On another note, it's starting to feel like fall here in the early mornings. I love fall, and am looking forward to cold crisp days in the mountains.

Loot!

2010-08-13T06:01:00.002-06:00

loot from the garden

31 Things...

2010-08-11T06:03:00.003-06:00

I turn 31 today. I wish I could go kayaking on the ocean like last year, instead I will go for a quick hike, see a movie, maybe get a pedicure, and spend the evening with B and some friends (B is making desert, it’s apparently still a secret though). Not a bad way to start a new year.

Every year on my birthday I used to write in my journal about the previous year, things I wanted to change or do in the coming year, or just what was on my mind after another year. I don’t remember when I stopped doing that each year. I like to think I do it on a more regular basis now, but that’s not always true.

This year, since I’m a list freak anyway, I decided to borrow an idea from other blogs and make a list of things I’ve learned. Here they are in no particular order. It’s nothing mind blowing, or particularly important to anyone but me (and maybe those who have to live with me).

1 - Plans change. It’s easier to go with the flow than fight it. You can also spot interesting opportunities if you are not glued to a pre-set path.

2 - Learn to quit, and quit often. Try new things, test ideas. Sometimes they’re shit; the key is recognizing the shit ideas sooner and moving on.

3 - You can’t please everyone. Someone will always hate you no matter what you do. I struggle less and less with this every year.

4 - Community does matter. It’s important to have a support network of people who inspire and encourage you.

5 - I don’t need as much money as I thought I did to be happy.

6 - Experiences and relationships are more valuable and fulfilling than possessions.

7 - Sometimes all you can do is laugh. Shit happens, it’s no one’s fault, and there is nothing you can do about it.

8 - It’s OK to accept your fears. In fact, it helps me feel more comfortable with taking risks. If I can come up with solutions to the worst possible scenarios, there is no longer a reason not to take the risk.

9 - The risks I’ve taken have made me happier than following the more practical path.

10 - Trust people to be who they are, but also give them the chance to fail - they might surprise you.

11 - Walk away from a problem, for a little while. Some distance, some focus on something else, will often reveal the solution. And, there is usually more than one good solution to a problem.

12 - Perfection does not exist and searching for it will only slow you down.

13 - Don’t go into debt for school, or if you do, pay it off quickly. Too many people get stuck in jobs they hate because of crippling school debt. I have the freedom to do what I want now because I paid off my law school loans quickly and saved as much as I could.

14 - Listen to your critics. They might just be right, at least consider the possibility.

15 - But also evaluate your critics and their advice. Their motivation might not be your best interest, or they might not have all the information to accurately call bullshit.

16 - Stop complaining and do something about it. Stop blaming someone else for your problems. Sure, you might be a certain way because your mommy didn’t love you enough, but, at some point, it’s your choice. You are in control of your life, not something that happened 15 years ago.

17 - Spend time alone. Have your own life, interests, and friends separate from your spouse or partner.

18 - Ask. Otherwise, the answer will always be no. If you never ask for what you want, you’ll never get it. Most people are not mind readers.

19 - Don’t overanalyze or research something to death. Learn as much as you can, test the theory, and move on.

20 - Eat real food.

21 - Thank people for the small things, the things you take for granted.

22 - Learn how to make budgets, realistic budgets that account for all of your expenses (including coffees out and fun money as well as insurance and monthly bills). And, stick to the budget.

23 - Shoot for the stars first, and then get practical about it.

24 - Learn how to meet people outside of school or work. It will make relocating your life easier and less scary.

25 - Don’t wait for anyone to make you happy - it’s your responsibility.

26 - It’s OK to say no, even if they hate your for it.

27 - It’s OK to ask for help. I am still quite bad at admitting that I need help, and still horrible at asking. But, I'm working on it.

28 - Pay to get a skill in school. Like many liberal arts majors, I went to law school because it was the practical thing to do after I graduated.

29 - Don’t overload expectations - it usually only leads to disappointment.

30 - Focus on creating new habits instead of eliminating the old. It’s easier to work something good into your life than trying to quit something.

31 - Throw out assumptions. I’ve never been a beach person, so I never wanted to travel to islands. Turns out, I love island culture, kayaking, and the sea. I’m ready to move to the Caribbean tomorrow (but only if I can still go skiing every year).

Key limes for key lime pie, of course.

2010-08-06T08:21:00.012-06:00

August 3rd usually means key lime pie in our house. It's B's birthday. Sometimes he requests a different birthday treat (tres leches layer cake with a spicy Meixcan chocolate frosting, or German chocolate cake), but most years are key lime pie years. Not a bad way to start a new year.

I make it with fresh key lime juice (not the bottled stuff), a regular pie crust (they didn't have graham crackers in the Keys back in the day), and a meringue topping (so much better than whipped cream).

Have you seen Dexter's search for the perfect key lime pie for Camilla? This is it:

Key Lime Pie

pre-bake a 9 inch pie crust

whisk together:

1 14oz can of sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks

1/2 cup key lime juice

the grated rind of a few key limes

pour into the pie shell and bake at 350 for 10 minutes, let it rest for 10 minutes, then chill it for a few hours or overnight

for the meringue topping:

whisk 3 egg whites, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of cream of tartar until soft peaks form

whisk in 6 tbsp of powdered sugar until stiff peaks form

bake at 400 for 10 minutes until well browned

in sliced form

On a side note, Dexter has quickly become our new obsession.

A Great Bartender is Hard to Find

2010-08-02T11:58:00.003-06:00

I have not found a great bartender in Fort Collins. Maybe one or two decent ones - maybe. While I may have been spoiled with great bartenders in Key West, I don’t think my standards are too high. It’s more than simply making drinks and collecting money.

The best bartenders like to drink a lot of different things. They know their alcohol. If the bar stocks something, they know the story behind it, the flavor profile, and how to coax the most flavor out of it. They can recommend wines and beers intelligently - more than just saying it’s light, hoppy, or fruity.

A great bartender plays host, makes eye contact, and can talk intelligently on a lot of different topics. The best bartenders also facilitate conversations among the rest of the bar. They ask questions and are good story tellers - all while still being fast and efficient.

Great bartenders always anticipate an empty glass and take orders in rotation, never leaving anyone waiting. They know the regulars by name and have their drink ready by the time they sit down.

Seriously, it’s not asking too much. On the other hand, since we haven’t found great bartenders here in town, we’re going out less frequently than in Key West (which turned into every night for at least a pint) saving our livers and waist lines.

Sunset Sailing

2010-07-30T06:30:00.002-06:00

in Key West - free champagne, margaritas, and Yuengling on board

Summer

2010-07-23T11:45:00.002-06:00

Derrynane Beach in County Kerry, Ireland.

Tomatoes!

2010-07-19T11:29:00.001-06:00

I have six tomato plants growing: three grape, a roma, a beef steak, and a mid-sized slicing plant. I can't wait until we can eat these. I might pickle some of the green ones for the winter too.

Perfection is Overrated

2010-07-16T19:21:00.003-06:00

When I came back from Ireland, the yards were out of control. Two weeks of wet and warm weather was just enough for everything to mutiny. Twelve hours later, and there are still weeds to pull, plants to prune, and other various yarding to do. Leading me to wonder why I actually want a yard, and thinking that good enough is, well, good enough.

I’ve never been a true perfectionist, but I come closer than others. Perfection is an unattainable target - a target that drives people insane. At some point, the weed bucket, pen, whatever needs to be put down. Sure, there are more tweaks that could be made, but the project needs to be finished.

This attitude towards perfection is something I’ve learned to embrace over the past year in starting our own businesses. You can’t make money unless you have something to sell. Just do the best you can and get something to market. The product will evolve from there. I’m not advocating cutting corners, or producing something that is not quality. The goal should still be to produce the very best you can.

At some point, though, analyzing the smallest details is no longer productive. It will slow you down, inhibit you from acting, and even prevent you from entertaining new opportunities. You can get more done, if you do the best you can, and leave the small stuff alone. It’s important to understand when attention to detail is critical, and when it’s not. Most of the time it’s not.

Fear of failure, or worrying about perfect results also keeps people from acting. We learn from failure, but if you never try because you can’t get it perfect, you’ll never know if the idea would have worked or not.

We struggled with the marketing of our starting a brewery books, and realized that we needed to take action faster rather than sitting around theorizing about ways to market the books. By trying out more of our ideas, we learned quickly what would work and what would not. We’ve gotten better at it, not perfect, but, we have accomplished something that we wouldn’t have if we had kept concentrating on finding the perfect methods.

Practice makes perfect, right? But, to practice you actually have to do something, and forget about getting it perfect. Learn from the failures, and move on. Goals should propel you forward, not keep you back as you figure out the perfect way to attain them. My goals are things I strive to do well and that I can get a sense of satisfaction from.

from the back yard - looks pretty good to me!

Maine

2010-07-12T20:27:00.001-06:00

This time two years ago, we took a trip around New England: mostly Vermont, but also New Hampshire, Maine, and Boston. The picture above is from Stonington, Maine, where B spent some summers.

I was surprised by the heat. Heavy oppressive heat that gave way into thunderstorms every three or so days. But, I also loved the towns we visited - and the fresh fruit and lobster weren't bad either.

Happy Fourth

2010-07-04T08:34:00.001-06:00

This time last year we were in Key West. We watched the fireworks over the Atlantic from the beach. Tonight we're heading to the city park to watch the fireworks. We could climb onto our roof to watch them, but that would require me getting over my irrational fear of ladders (at least temporarily). So, we'll walk to the park to see what it's all about here in Fort Collins. In the mean time... here are some things I miss about Key West, the best place I've lived.

I saw this every morning running along Smather's Beach

we dodged the chickens everywhere we went

and we saw these guys every day too - so painfully cute I can't believe we didn't leave with one

I miss kayaking on Sundays, quick access to Eastern European food, getting great sandwiches at the laundromat..... I miss Key West.

County Kerry, Ireland

2010-06-29T16:55:00.006-06:00

There is something about Ireland, the people, and the history that's mesmerizing. Once I am there, I never want to leave. If I were the bumper sticker type, mine would say "I'd rather be in Ireland." I would move there tomorrow if I could work it out.

So, finally, after 10 years, we went back. We've been wanting to do a long distance walk for a while, and Ireland was perfect since we could walk town to town, shower every night, and get hot meals cooked by someone else! We chose the Kerry Way because very little of it was on road, and it's one of the most beautiful areas in Ireland (we hiked in Connemara 10 years ago).

This is us 10 years ago on our honeymoon to Ireland. Another hiking trip.

All said and done, including walking around towns, we walked slightly more than 150 miles. The trail was harder than we anticipated, and after four days of carrying our own luggage on our backs, we arranged to have it sent ahead of us. We should have done this from the beginning - our feet would have thanked us.

We got lucky again and had mostly sunny weather. The food was fantastic and the people wonderful. We heard some excellent music, both traditional and contemporary (with an Irish twist).

Trips like this hypnotize you. We moved to Portland, OR after spending a sunny afternoon in the city - everyone was in a good mood, out, laughing, drinking, enjoying life. So, before moving, we'll be going back to Ireland sometime in the winter just to see if everyone is in such high spirits then.

Here are some pictures from this trip:

This is us after three days of walking on Rossbeigh beach near Glenbeigh.

Ross Castle near Killarney.

The lakes near Killarney - and the mountains we have to walk across in the distance.

old abbey ruins

jaunty cars lined up outside of Muckross House. We mocked and mocked people riding them....and then took one for the last 5 miles... But, in our defense, we had already walked that part of the trail three times. It was the most expensive form of transportation I have ever paid for - the horses must be fed on muesli (and have personal assistants to pick out each raisin).

the trail signs, and walking (before we got smart and shipped our bags ahead)

B made a new friend. She came galloping (if cats could gallop) up to him, and followed us for a bit - I was worried we'd have to bring her home with us.

We took a detour on a shorter walking day to visit Derrynane beach. The water was Caribbean-like in color (but much colder), making us wonder, again, why we don't live on an island. Ireland, like other islands, has its own time. Nothing happens before 10 or 11 in the morning, and everything is a little slower.

Sneem and Kenmare.

Kenmare was my favorite village on the walk. It was colorful, alive, and not for the tourists. We also had the best meal of the trip there at Mulcahy's Restaurant - the seafood was unbelievably fresh (the last time I had such fresh fish was straight off the boat in Key West), and everything was prepared beautifully.

One advantage of walking so much is that we ate whatever we wanted. We may have eaten our weights in full Irish breakfasts each morning. I opted for a lighter breakfast one morning and was sorry just a few hours later. After 5 hours of walking, the pub that was supposed to have food turned out to be under new ownership. The soup and brown bread I was planning for lunch turned into small packages of peanuts and some biscuits. At least there was beer.

Rainbow over Cahersiveen. We took our rest day here. There were lots of things to see in the area, but we could not make ourselves walk the extra miles to go visit any of them. So, we enjoyed the town, and spent the afternoon reading.

And this was the typical beer situation in most pubs. Sad. We usually drank wine with dinner. Even the nicest restaurants had excellent wine selections from all over the world, and lots of choices at reasonable prices. There are some craft brewpubs in Ireland, and at some point, sooner than 10 years from now, we will be going back and touring all of them.

Grey Rock

2010-06-26T16:42:00.002-06:00

Part of my busy spring was spending most weekends at Grey Rock training for the Kerry Way walk.

B and I decided to celebrate our 10th anniversary by doing a long distance walk in Ireland. Since we were there 10 years ago, I've been wanting to go back. We actually almost moved there at one point. Like I said, I have a fascination with Ireland, and I did not want to come home (more on that later).

To train for the walk, we would do the loop at Grey Rock twice for a total of 15 miles, sometimes twice in one weekend. The theory for doing the same trail each time was that we'd know what was coming up, when to push, and when it'd get easier. Not a bad plan when you're doing 30 miles over the weekend. While it's a great trail, moderately difficult, with great views, it will be a long time before I head back again!

snow capped peaks in the background - the phone is not the best camera, but it's all I had

Here I am....

2010-06-24T16:27:00.002-06:00

Wow, it's been nearly a month since I posted. It's been a busy, busy spring.

I went to Seoul to visit my brother in May for a week. I stayed with a friend, and between her, my brother, and their friends, I got a wonderful tour of the city. It's great to have friends in strange lands; I ate things I would not have otherwise eaten, I saw things and places I otherwise would not have seen, and I got more cultural explanations than I otherwise would have gotten. I also went to a traditional Korean sauna.

Here are some pictures:

flying over the rockies

some silliness over cocktails - I wrote about drinking in Korea over at Legal Libations

we went to the park, flew a kite, had some Hoegaarden, and ate shrimp flavored rice cakes (bleh!) because that's what Koreans do at the weekends

we ate some street food, but not this (corndogs covered in fries)

at the markets

oh yeah, I saw some temples and palaces too

Japan

2010-05-07T12:54:00.007-06:00

I am in Seoul this week; so, I thought I'd post some pictures from our trip to Japan in 2005.

Pagodas, palaces, temples, shrines and anime for everything.

Let's travel the world!

2010-05-05T13:05:00.003-06:00

I am on my way to Seoul today for a visit with my brother and a friend. It is the first trip I’ve taken out of the country since last year, and it comes just in time - I have itchy feet after being in one place for nearly eight months.

Part of our constantly evolving Plan B is travel, enough so that we always have something to look forward to. One of my mistakes when I started on this alternate path was assuming we could see it all, and that I would want to.

When we first started making office escape plans, we planned to travel around the world for a year - something we started talking about before I graduated from law school. After years of making excuses, we sat down in front of a map, each making a list of our top places and how long we realistically wanted to spend there. Then we tried to figure out how to do it all - which involved slowly deleting places from the RTW list. Even so, the abbreviated plan would take us two years of constant travel to complete. That’s when things got depressing. No matter how much travel we did, we’d always want more. Going back to the same types of jobs, with very limited travel abilities became even more depressing. And the plans changed.

The real end of my desire for a RTW trip came in Steamboat Springs. On our road trip around the western US and Canada, we were almost constantly on the move - one night here, next night there, a week here, and then off to the next place. By the time we got to Steamboat Springs, I didn’t even want to go out and explore. I was burnt out on travel. Yes, it can happen.

Turns out, I don’t like constant travel like that. I like to meet other people, to see places that are not on the tourist path, and to take time to appreciate the culture of a place. You can’t do that when you’re constantly moving. There is not enough time to make lasting connections. I’ve learned that I prefer spending longer periods of time in smaller areas, where I can meet locals, shop at the markets, and see places most visitors never even hear about.

I don’t need to see six countries in two weeks; I’d rather spend that time really exploring one region. I might never be able to see everything on my list, and that's fine (the list is prioritized now). I’ll go back to favorite places before heading to another destination on my list. Yes, I might have already been to that state or country, but not a particular area - it’s a completely different adventure each time. Travel is not about checking off locations, it’s about the experience.

This time, last year

2010-04-30T07:54:00.002-06:00

Most of us are getting ready to leave Europe - some are staying a few more weeks to travel with their girlfriends. I had just arrived back in Munich from Romania, and Brad and the guys had just gotten back from their brewery tours in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. The guys have all graduated from their brewing program, and we're all at the experimental brewery celebrating.

Motivation without External Deadlines

2010-04-28T08:30:00.002-06:00

I have never asked for an extension on a paper, nor from a client. No matter how unrealistic, I have always met deadlines. But, I am also a huge procrastinator. I’ve gotten up at 3:30 a.m. to finish projects due that same morning (I’m a morning person).

The problem now that I work for myself is that I also usually set my own deadlines. Deadlines that are more flexible than external deadlines. Deadlines that I can rationalize away. And, this is the problem.

When you don’t have external deadlines, how do you stay motivated to work rather than spend the day skiing, kayaking, or otherwise having more fun (work is work after all)?

I have had to redefine what work is and how I get it done. I used to have to be at the office most of the day - whether I came in later or earlier, I had to be there. Now, I make my own hours. Like many people newly freed from their corporate desks, I abused my schedule and didn’t quite get much done at first. It was a lot of "I'll just do that later and go kayaking now."

What I’ve learned is that I need a schedule, and I need to keep to a routine. I still get up at 6 every morning, and am usually working by 8:30. I set a schedule and stick to it... most days. The schedule and routine makes me more motivated to get through the work I have to do. I am not putting off a task until later only to dread it, not get it done, and then dread it some more.

I’ve also adopted the critical task approach. I make sure that I do two or three tasks each day that will either make me money, or will lead to me making money. Once I have completed those tasks, the day is mine. While I keep a constant to-do list, I am realistic about what I can get done in a day.

Another motivating factor is staying in contact with friends and family, and telling them of progress with various projects. There has to be some progress in order to talk about it.

Of course the biggest motivator is reminding myself why I am doing this. The threat of having to go back to work for someone else to pay the bills helps with motivation. The freedom and flexibility I have now is worth the extra work I might have to put in to complete projects, or to start new projects and build additional income streams.

The Start of Summer Beer Fest Season

2010-04-22T12:28:00.003-06:00

I should really run my photos through Photoshop before posting... but, you get the idea.

We headed down to Trinity Brewing Co, in Colorado Springs, over the weekend for the Saison and Farmhouse Ale festival. We had some great, some OK, and some bad beer. Next year, the FunkWerks will be pouring as well. Here are a few pictures from the trip:

A rainy day makes for a crowded bar

Der biermeister giving a lecture on.... beer, what else?!

He was pretending for the camera, actually.

I'm guessing this was one of the bad ones... One was so bad it incited threats of cutting tongues out. Of course, it's all subjective, most of us liked that particular beer made with hemp seed.

Last call

And this is what happens after the festival is over...

See the rest of the pictures here.

The Three Month Agony

2010-04-16T08:02:00.001-06:00

I recently gave a friend moving in with her fiance the same advice I give everyone in that situation: the first few months are wonderful, then just push through the next three months. The love of your life will turn into everything you hate, then he or she will turn into everything you didn’t know you hated. Then, somehow, it passes.

B and I have lived together a long time. Even before we officially moved in together, one of us spent most nights at the other’s place. It wasn’t until both of our names were on the lease that we experienced the Three Month Agony. This is the period a few months after you’ve consolidated furnishings and CDs - a few months after the ga-ga-we’re-so-happy phase. It usually lasts about three months (I am basing this on elaborate sociological studies of friends and friends of friends).

All of a sudden you bicker about everything: socks on the floor, open tooth-paste caps, unmade beds, loud nose blowing, shoe piles, how the towels need to be folded, which direction the mugs should face… When did I become the fucking maid? When did he turn into a fog horn? Why the hell didn’t you get chopped walnuts, you should have known? You clearly don’t care about me. Some of these are our examples, some from friends; but they are all real examples.

Little habits and idiosyncrasies start looking like insurmountable cliffs. It all starts to feel like a colossal mistake. This is no longer a roommate. You can’t simply close the door to your room, shutting out the housemates. Your space suddenly gets smaller, much much smaller. And, because you’ve been in a little love cocoon, you’re only now suffering the lingering effects of too little alone time. It’s even worse when two introverts move in together.

And then, it passes. The trick is to push through it.** Part of it is settling into routines as a couple, tackling problems as partners. But, I think most of it is taking some time for yourself, alone, without feeling guilty. Do something you love, alone.

I require a lot of alone time. Without it everyone gets on my nerves from the kid screaming in the grocery store (let's be honest, everyone wants to smack that kid) to the guy chewing too loudly at the next table; I get crabby, and I overreact at the slightest offense. It took me a while to truly figure out that all I needed was some time alone. Now I take my time, no apologies. I’m happier; we’re happier.

**Assuming you actually want the relationship to work, that there are good reasons to continue a life with this newly uncaring, fog horning, shoe pilling, sock throwing person.

Finally!

2010-04-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

First signs of spring!!

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T14:13:00.002-06:00

This was the bunny we got in our room last year in Munich. We ate the bunny.

Easter Sunday, we were in Prague.

And then, for Orthodox Easter, I was in Timisoara.

This year both Easters are on the same day. We're in Fort Collins, having friends over for lunch. It does not look muck like spring here though - I think we've got a few weeks before things start to bloom.

What this really means...

2010-03-21T14:12:00.002-06:00

... is more spring skiing!

This was our yard on Thursday; little signs of spring pushing through the mulch.

And this was Friday afternoon down the street. We woke up to several inches of new snow. I have no problem with it, because it means more perfect spring skiing! There are very few things in life better than spring skiing in the Rockies.

Sláinte!

2010-03-17T11:44:00.003-06:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Here are some photos from the parade this weekend:

1 year ago: Chicago, green river, and green beer

Twilight, Siena, and Smurfs (another explanation)

2010-03-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

I am ashamed to admit (but not ashamed enough not to admit) that I not only read the The Twilight Saga books, but I liked them.

I bought the first one when I was in Romania because I have a teenager’s reading level in Romanian - I needed easy books. I reluctantly bought the book. I saw the movie on a flight to Europe (this was the best option United had for movies, which says everything about the airline, no?), sitting next to two high school girls who watched it three times. Most of the movie, I wanted to scream “would you two just fuck already." It irritated me that much. I bought the book anyway on a friend's recommendation, knowing that movies usually screw books up.

I was surprised I liked the book so much. I finished Twilight quickly, regretting not purchasing all four of them in Romanian. No worries, I bought the other three for my Kindle, and finished them in 2 days. This is my other lame explanation for the absence of posts on this site.

I may have a bit of a compulsive habit when it comes to books. I don’t know what it is about the Twilight books - they are predictable, the characters lack depth, and I never want to read the word “grimace” again - but, I still got sucked in. I must still have the sensibility of a giggling 12 year old. Judge all you want, but I am going to see the next movie too.

What does this have to do with Siena and Papa Smurf? Plenty; in my mind at least. When I was in Italy, B and his friend came to visit. My roommate and I went to Siena and Rome with them. I remembered our trip to Siena while reading New Moon, where Bella goes to Volterra (also in Tuscany) to rescue Edward. And, while we were in Siena, B and his friend spent the better part of the day discussing the communist Smurfs. See, it all fits together.

Like most things I did with B in Italy, I went back later with a friend to actually see Siena. Something of the brick and stone gothic city was lost on me that first time as B and L spent the day arguing the finer points of Smurf episodes from a communist theory perspective.

House

2010-03-09T14:03:00.004-07:00

As explanation for my absence, please accept these pictures of our new house:

front view - the original 100 year old house burned down, this was built on its place in the '40s.

It is "the diner."

back view - garage on the right - I want to plant a sour cherry tree where the clothes drying rack is

living room - corner windows in most of the rooms

kitchen view - notice the mini dishwasher

view from our bedroom into the dining/plant room w/ blooming bougainvillea

dead winter shrubbery in the back yard

and finally, the first sign of spring in our front yard

Oh, and not to be forgotten:

The Penthouse Loving Game

We found this gem under stairs in the basement when we were cleaning. It was unopened.

In our haste to clean and move, we didn't think twice about it, put it into the Goodwill pile, and got rid of it. The next day, we started to regret giving away this historic relic, wondering how much we could have gotten on eBay for it.

Turns out, only about $13-$20. So, not such a loss after all.

Fall in Flagstaff

2010-02-26T08:04:00.003-07:00

Fall is my favorite season. When we lived in Phoenix, we’d go up to Flagstaff every October to see the aspen leaves change colors. We’d look for a trail we’d been on with a friend years ago - up to a cliff that overlooked multiple aspen groves. And, every year we failed to find it. We’d get to the bottom of the cliff, but fail to find a way up it. Every year. Then we’d give up and go hike somewhere else. The slightly over-exposed picture above is near the north side of Humphrey's Peak.

Currency Exchanges

2010-02-24T13:55:00.003-07:00

What exactly does a new TV cost? Or a new car?

I was taught to think about items in terms of how long it took me to earn the money. That thinking got harder the more I made - it got easier to spend more. The time value shrank to quarter hour increments instead of hours. Having stuff, being able to afford all the nicest things, was not making me happy. And then came last year's stuff experiment.

So, I've adopted a new exchange value for the stuff I think I need or want. One that makes more sense to me now. It’s not about how long I have to work to earn it, but what is the item really worth? Do I really want to spend $3000 on a new TV, our would I rather spend a month traveling around the South Island in New Zealand? With the choice in front of me like that, I may not have purchased the pretty TV that is not worth half that today. There is an important exchange value for every penny spent.

I could spend $480 a year for a landline telephone, or I could use that for a flight to Hawaii. I could buy a cute pair of shoes, or I could take tango lessons in Argentina for a week (maybe two). Seriously, I don’t need another pair of wedge sandals. The $30 kitchen gadget (which is good for one thing only) could also be meals for a week in Southeast Asia. Choosing the cheaper dinning table and chairs (saving at least $300) could be a week in Istanbul. By giving up dinner out four times a month, I could have a flight out of town for the weekend, a few nights in the Czech Republic, train and lift tickets to ski in the Alps for 2 days, a week of kayak rentals in Costa Rica, or a sailing trip between Caribbean islands.

When I lay out things like this, the answer is clear. Of course, I love travel, but this little game can work with almost anything.

Look Up, Look Down

2010-02-12T08:57:00.006-07:00

The design detail is amazing in Japan - even the sewer covers.

On Work

2010-02-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

There is a misconception that freelancers and the self-employed hang out in their pajamas and play video games all day - that we don’t have to deal with the shit storm that comes with work.

The prevailing view of work is that it’s not supposed to be fun, that we’re supposed to put our heads down and suck it up, pay our dues. Frankly, that’s like telling a prisoner to just shut his eyes tight and push through it.

The truth is, there is always going to be crap. There will always be things that we hate, but we have to do. Filling out TTB forms, reading laws about alcohol control, and revising something for the tenth time are not what I call fun. My days are not filled with afternoon movies and coffee dates. I do, however, enjoy the flexibility I have now. I enjoy building a business enough that it makes dealing with the crap worth it.

Ideally, you like what you do enough that the shit is worth it. There is no reason to hate every day, no reason to just keep your head down and get through it. Other options exist; you can create another path for yourself.

Ruins

2010-02-04T08:40:00.000-07:00

Stone ruins of a Church in Ireland - another part of my fascination (obsession?) with all things Irish.

Silly Things

2010-01-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

photo from the ABC Network

TV is one of those things you don’t miss once you’ve given it up. I took our old TV to Goodwill when I was studying for the bar exam the first time. For a week (maybe two?) I watched Perry Mason every day, because it was the only thing that happened to be on when I took a break - we’d given up cable years earlier. Then, one day, I watched Oprah for the first time ever (which was on right after Perry Mason). I was clearly developing the study procrastinator’s habit, and once started, I feared it would lead to a failed bar exam. So, out went the TV.

When we moved to Phoenix, tired of getting a crick in my neck every time we watched a movie on the computer, I purchased a very nice flat screen LCD. I do have a movie habit. B mocked my expensive purchase. Then he got used to watching movies on a pretty screen with the ability to sit anywhere on the sofa.

The problem with the nice TV is that it is really just a glorified screen. We do not have cable, and I don’t have an antenna to make the TV work. Usually, this is not a problem - we plug in our computers, or the PS2, and watch movies, or even shows, commercial free. So, why the hell am I telling you about this?

The final season of Lost is upon us. The TV doesn’t work. Lost is another habit...er addiction. Again, B mocked me, until he started watching it… he watched 5 seasons in 3 weeks. Now, who’s mocking?

True, I could wait until the next day and see the show on-line (even on the pretty screen once the computer is plugged in); but the internet connection where we’re renting is a bit slow. You see the dilemma, no? Waiting until it comes out on DVD is not an option I am willing to consider.

It’s ridiculous to get an antenna just for one show, but, at the same time, it’s Lost. It's completely ridiculous that this is any kind of issue at all. Whatever.

I am glad the State of the Union address was rescheduled to not fall on the same night as Lost; I know which one I would have chosen.

Frozen

2010-01-29T08:35:00.001-07:00

Familiarity Makes the World Shrink

2010-01-27T08:40:00.004-07:00

I almost never dread coming home after a trip. Well, to be honest, I do dread the first day back, all that unpacking, laundry, oh, and the huge pain in the ass of mail - when all I want to do is shower, and watch a movie. But, after that, I usually carry the same excitement for exploration I had on my trip back home… for a little while. I seek out festivals, exhibits at the museum or galleries, and other events.

When I first moved to Portland, every week I did something different in the city, checked out a different neighborhood, even went to the “must see spots.” After a while though, that enthusiasm for home faded. It wasn’t until I was about to move away that I began to zealously re-discover Portland.

It’s easy to get stuck in our routines. Having travelled for most of last year, I have done a poor job of really exploring Fort Collins. Part of it has to do with the extreme focus on starting and growing businesses. Part of it is that, since I’ll be living here for a while, I don’t feel the urgency that travel brings to learn a place. Either way, I need to get out of my routine and get to know my home.

So, I am starting to read more about Fort Collins (my parents shouldn’t know more about where I live than I do). I am figuring out what people are saying and what’s going on… and participating.

Telluride

2010-01-22T08:32:00.001-07:00

Telluride is one of my favorite places to ski. I haven’t been yet this season, and will be sticking to Summit County, at least this season. Either way, I am feeling the itch to get out on the slopes. And, after skiing in Vermont last year, I am looking forward to nice powder, and sunny spring skiing.

Ales4Females

2010-01-20T16:20:00.003-07:00

Lefthand Brewing Co.'s Fade to Black label

I went to Ales4Females at Lefthand Brewing in Longmont, CO on Monday. There are now two tastings per month because they were so overwhelmed with would-be attendees. Not a bad place to be.

Ales4Females is a women’s beer tasting club… and one reason to head to Longmont once a month. Cinzia Wallace and Sue Smith-Troy (both intimately involved with the Lefthand brewery) started the club to empower, educate, and embolden women to enjoy beer. The success of the club has led to other clubs forming around the country, using the Ales4Females name and logo.

Each month, a beer style is featured along with a few small bites paired with the beers offered. There is also an education component to each meeting - and Sue does her best to corral 75 women (an accomplishment after we’ve all had a beer or two).

Monday we tasted winter ales:

- Alaskan's Winter Ale (brewed with spruce tips) paired with clementines;

- Deschutes' Jubelale (a “festive winter ale”) paired with goji berry pistachio crackers and a small sliver of blue cheese; and

- Lefthand’s Fade to Black (a foreign export stout) paired with fennel salami.

The Lefthand pairing was the best of the evening, not surprising since the ladies probably know their beer best. The fat mellowed the hops, and the fennel brought out a bit of fruity sweetness. I was not a big fan of Alaskan’s winter ale, but the clementine pairing brought out the citrus in the beer (and made it taste better). The Jubelale was great with the small amount of blue cheese - too much and it would have overpowered the beer.

Differences

2010-01-14T09:59:00.002-07:00

At 600 ft in VT one year ago

At 10,000+ feet in CO; at least it wasn't -10!

New Year

2010-01-05T16:13:00.006-07:00

Gerbera daisies make me happy. I bought a small bouquet to wake up to on the first day of the new year.

Resolutions / Goals

2009-12-31T08:12:00.003-07:00

I typically don’t make resolutions. At first it was a silly I-refuse-to-conform statement, which I continued to follow. That’s not to say I never set goals or led my life with a purpose. I figured I was doing that all year long, so I didn’t need to set resolutions, only to be broken (and make myself feel like shit when I broke the resolution).

This year I discovered the location independent and lifestyle design blogs. So, I’ve decided to set out goals now for 2010 using my variation of the Free Pursuits method. I’ve broken out main areas of my life to focus on: health, work, fun, language, and travel. I’ve set out goals in each area for the next 3 months, next 6 months, next year, and next 3 years. And, I’ve created tasks for each of my goals. There is a spreadsheet (or two) involved.

I’ve never been so anal specific about my goals before. It’s easy when you’re in school or working for someone else to just coast along. I started a variation of this structure two months ago, with excellent results. I’ve been mocked by co-workers for my detailed to-do lists. This is simply a more ambitious version of those. I am looking forward to a more goal oriented and productive year.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge

December 31 Resolution you wish you'd stuck with. (You know, there's always next year...)

Best Ad 2009

2009-12-30T12:09:00.002-07:00

I laughed myself stupid reading Youth in Revolt. And, I giggled at the trailer, remembering scenes from the book.

Loads of Laughs

2009-12-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

I'm a giggler. I'm naturally happy and ready for a laugh. One of the best restaurant experiences this year was more about laughing than the food or drinks. It's no surprise that I had plenty of laughs all year long.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge

December 29 Laugh. What was your biggest belly laugh of the year?

Best Notebook 2009

2009-12-28T09:15:00.002-07:00

I used to fill several journals a year. A gift of a journal was always a safe bet. Over the years, though, I stopped writing in my journal. And then I stopped writing creatively all together; law school and then work always got in the way. If I had something I needed to work out, I spoke to B rather than writing in my journal. If I had an idea, I talked about it and then forgot to write it down.

This year I picked up my journal (started in June 2005) and try to write every day. Sometimes it's just a list of things I need to do, sometimes deep thoughts, poems, or outlines of stories. There is no real rhyme or reason, no threat of structure. I use Moleskin journals and just started my third one this year.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge

December 28 Stationery. When you touch the paper, your heart melts. The ink flows from the pen. What was your stationery find of the year?

Best Social Web Moment 2009

2009-12-27T09:09:00.001-07:00

I discovered Twitter this year, and met some interesting people through it. Facebook, though, was great this year. I have been able to re-connect with family and friends that I have not seen or spoken to in many, many years.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge

December 27 Social web moment. Did you meet someone you used to only know from her blog? Did you discover Twitter?

A Ha!

2009-12-26T09:01:00.002-07:00

As a couple, it's so much easier to meet people if you sit at the bar rather than get a table.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge

December 26 Insight or aha! moment. What was your epiphany of the year?

The Gift of Travel

2009-12-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

It's Not Me

2009-12-24T08:32:00.004-07:00

It's not me, it's them.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge

December 24 Learning experience. What was a lesson you learned this year that changed you?

Best Web Tool 2009

2009-12-23T13:11:00.002-07:00

I read more and more websites and blogs now thanks to Netnewswire. Somehow, with more RSS feed subscriptions than I've ever had, I spend less time reading on the internet. It doesn't seem like much, but not having to load each webpage individually is really helpful. I talked about how much I loved it for days after I downloaded the application. I am, however, easily pleased.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge
December 23 Web tool. It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience.

Best Startup

2009-12-22T13:04:00.004-07:00

kayak.com is one of my favorite business finds this year. It usually finds the most flight options, and more quickly than other travel sites.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge
December 22 Startup. What's a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?

Projects

2009-12-21T12:59:00.003-07:00

Starting my own business has been the most gratifying project this year.

The Best of 2009 Blog Challenge
December 21 Project. What did you start this year that you're proud of?

A New Partnership

2009-12-20T07:43:00.004-07:00

I made new friends this year in various parts of the world. But, the new person in my life is not really a new person to me. B and I have been together 11 years. Aside from some month long trips, we have never spent so much time together. Before we left our jobs, we probably saw each other 5 or 10 minutes a day and at least one day a weekend. Now, we travel together and work together.

I can’t say it’s been easy to transition into all this time together. We work differently, have different schedules and methods. While we have a good balance of strengths and weak areas, it is a work in progress to figure out our working relationship. It’s a new sort of partnership. We’re learning exactly how the other works and what our needs are.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge
December 20 New person. She came into your life and turned it upside down. He went out of his way to provide incredible customer service. Who is your unsung hero of 2009?

Best Car Ride in a Year of Car Rides

2009-12-19T07:38:00.009-07:00

I spent a silly amount of time on road-trips this year. Maybe my word for 2009 should be road-trip instead of change. In fact, we’re on another road trip now - out to Pittsburgh & DC for the holidays.

somewhere in Nebraska / somewhere in Iowa / somewhere in Illinois

My favorite part of all the drives we did was the giddy feeling I got when rounding two corners: the corner before reaching the ponderosa forests near Flagstaff, and the corner right before the bridge from the mainland onto the Keys. I have never been so happy to come back home to any place as I was driving over that bridge. I knew I was leaving behind the maniacs of Miami (where the east coast action and machismo action make driving or simply even interacting a confrontational affair) and heading towards fun people and good attitudes.

One of the best drives of 2009 was back and forth from Munich to Prague - to be clear, I mean the drive after B and I finally got out of Munich and before we got lost in Prague (we won’t talk about those parts). The roads were amazingly smooth, everyone drove quite civilly at 100+ mph. The wildflower meadows between the storybook forests were just beginning to bloom. We stopped on the way back for lunch at a German rest stop: fresh sandwiches with hardy tomatoes, not the mealy styrofoam ones on pre-made sandwiches here.

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge
December 19 Car Ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?

Shopping 2009

2009-12-18T09:33:00.005-07:00

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge
December 18 Shop. Online or offline, where did you spend most of your mad money this year?

Change

2009-12-17T11:17:00.002-07:00

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge:

December 17 Word or phrase. A word that encapsulates your year. "2009 was _______."

Best Tea 2009

2009-12-16T11:13:00.004-07:00

Best of 2009 Blog Challenge:

December 16 Tea of the year. I can taste my favorite tea right now. What's yours?

We're the house to the right of the penis.

2009-12-15T11:45:00.001-07:00

December 15 Best packaging. Did your headphones come in a sweet case? See a bottle of tea in another country that stood off the shelves?

I didn’t buy much this year. So, I will leave you with pictures of our neighbors’ front yard: this is what happens when you live in a college neighborhood. Aside from living next to a snow penis, the guys next door did a surprisingly good job - anatomy wise.

3-In-One Best of 2009

2009-12-14T14:35:00.006-07:00

A bit delayed due to the weekend:

December 12 New food. You're now in love with Lebanese food and you didn't even know what it was in January of this year.

Caribbean. I wondered what I would do without tomatoes, basil, egg plants, cabbage, apples, and pears when the idea of moving to the Caribbean first came up. For a while, we were planning to move to the Virgin Islands, but that wasn’t going to work as a place to open a brewery - turns out, neither would Key West. So, I started to do some research on Caribbean food. I thought it was all mangoes, fish, rice, and bananas. Not that any of those are bad (except bananas, which are simply evil in a skin). But, I don’t like sweet with my savory, and I loath bananas. I won’t even kiss B after he’s had one, the smell alone makes me want to vomit.

I was happy to find out that I could grow tomatoes. I was also happy to discover delicious Caribbean food: fish I had never heard of before, spiny lobsters, jerk spices, conch salad (the fritters too, but, really, anything that fried has to be good). And the avocados, not your average pussy Hass, but large buttery avocados literally falling off the trees. We went through bags and bags of several kinds of limes. I became a huge fan of all the citrus marinades - the only sweet I like with my savory. And I discovered how good fresh mangoes are - a completely different fruit than what I’ve had before. No shit, since my previous mangoe purchases were in Phoenix and Portland.

December 13 What's the best change you made to the place you live?

Doing without all of my crap. I participated in an accidental experiment this year. After traveling around with a carry-on sized duffel bag and backpack, I learned what I really need to feel comfortable and what is just excessive.

Of course, even knowing that, there are a few things that I have attachments to. Some things I have sentimental attachments to; they’re small and I will continue to carry them around (my violin, a stuffed scottie dog - both of which came with me to the US from Romania). Then there are items I can logically see the need to get rid of, but can’t seem to. One of those is my orange Dana Designs backpack.

I bought it 9 years ago for a long trip to New Zealand. I have not used it in 8 years because I have a better backpack for that kind of travel, it is too small for backpacking trips, and too big for day hikes. So, it has sat in closets or in storage for years. Every time I went to get rid of it, I couldn’t; I rationalized keeping it for something. I’m not sure why I have such an unreasonable attachment to it. It’s just so cute, and orange. Either way, succumbing to logic, I recently eBayed it. Someone will get good use out of it, and it will stop collecting dust in my closet. Damn you logic.

December 14 Rush. When did you get your best rush of the year?

I’m not sure what to write for this prompt. I did a lot this year: discovered I love kayaking, and saw sharks while I was out on the water; I moved several times; I skied in negative temperatures; I started a business and sold my writing; and I made new friends; I even held a yoga handstand for more than 30 seconds. I’m not sure I would call anything a “rush moment.” I think of extreme sports as rush moment inducing, and I didn’t do anything like that this year. Perhaps my definition is wrong, or, perhaps, I need to include a rush into next year’s plans. Learning to ride a motorcycle? Sailing solo?

Best Place '09

2009-12-11T11:05:00.002-07:00

Having been deprived of my own bed for a year, I'd say the best place of 2009, is my bed, which, sometime in September, I was finally able to sleep in again.

We left Phoenix at 7 in the morning with a 17 foot Uhaul and arrived in Fort Collins at 11 that night. We stopped for gas and to pee, that's it (my mom made us sandwiches that we ate in the Uhaul for lunch and dinner). Rather than sleep on the floor again, we decided to take out at least the mattress. So, we unloaded everything we needed to just to get to the mattress. At 2 (after unloading and showering) we finally slept in our own bed. I don't remember what we used as sheets (probably our sleeping bags) or pillows, but it didn't matter. It felt so wonderful to sleep on our bed again. Although, we were so exhausted, the floor might have been good enough.

The bed frame was a casualty of the move. It was cheap Ikea that was already being held together by a sock in one part. We don't want to buy another frame until we buy a house, or move into a longer term lease, so, we're sleeping like the college students in our neighborhood: on the mattress on the floor. Our mattress is much nicer, I suspect. Flannel sheets and down comforters make it even nicer. Unlike most other places I slept this year, I look forward to getting into bed and, especially on cold mornings, have a hard time leaving.

Thank you, Satellite Radio!

2009-12-10T10:48:00.007-07:00

This is probably the first year since I started getting an allowance that I haven't bought any music. This might be because of all the traveling, the silly amounts of music we have stored on several hard drives, and because of satellite radio.

We listened to satellite radio a lot this year driving around and across the US. It made it easier to listen to something else without searching for, agreeing on, and putting in a new CD (or shuffling through the iPods). We can simply switch to another song. I listen to island music when it's grey and cold out here, something I might not otherwise pick if I had to shuffle through my own music.

We also discovered the comedy stations. They were such a great distraction on long driving days. On our last cross-country drive, we reserved the comedy stations for the end of the day when we were so tired of driving, we needed something distracting. I just wish the Daily Show were on satellite radio.

*** Today's Best of 2009 prompt: December 10 Album of the year. What's rocking your world?

The Defeatists

2009-12-09T17:37:00.003-07:00

They are the defeatists. Those people that make passive aggressive comments about my choices. They call me unrealistic, think I should get over this phase and get a job, tell me to grow up, to join the real world. They forget that I understand exactly what their “real world” is.

Anyone taking a path that doesn’t have the immediate social currency of a big profession, or a recognizable title within the standard job pool, battles the defeatists. There is loads of advice on how to deal with the defeatists. Most of it can be reduced down to: don’t take it personally, because, the defeatists are unhappy and frustrated with their own lives. Because, the defeatists don’t understand, can’t think outside their box, are too frightened to change their own lives, etc.

Sometimes though, I let the defeatists’ comments matter and I do take it personally. Why? Because the defeatists echo my own self doubt. I left a job that was the ultimate goal for most of us during law school (some of us even admitted it was the goal). I left the security of a predicable income. I want to live my life now, instead of waiting for a vague promise of retirement in 30 years. So, I traded safety and predicability for the opportunity to create something, to be my own boss, and, of course, to travel more.

There is a constant struggle with self doubt when you leave a comfortable life to pursue dreams and take risks. It can be easier to follow societal norms, than to create your own reality. It is easier to find a job than to create a job. To succeed in any alternative path, you need to maintain confidence, confidence that what you are doing is right for you, even if others disagree. But, not blind confidence.

I now keep my dreams and life goals in mind, but constantly question how I get there. It is good to question your ideas. What if they actually are total shit, as the defeatists are very quick to point out? If so, change course, but don't forget your dreams. There is a balance. A certain amount of self doubt is good. It keeps me from continuing to pursue things that I don’t enjoy, or are not good ideas for achieving my larger goals.

I have rarely taken the easy path in my life. The challenge this year has not been so much in dealing with the defeatists (the typical advice does work), but in managing my own self doubt. I have confidence in my dreams and goals. I am also very practical, sometimes to a fault. The trick has been in determining whether I am simply being one of the defeatists, or, if there is a good reason for my doubts. If an idea is shit, then I can work to resolve the issue. It’s been hard to allow myself to doubt my decisions, but not turn into one of the defeatists and just go find a job. I have to constantly remind myself of why I started down this path towards plan b and what makes me really happy with my life.

**** This was written for today's Best of 2009 prompt: December 9 Challenge. Something that really made you grow this year. That made you go to your edge and then some. What made it the best challenge of the year for you?

Day 8 Best '09 Blog Challenge: Moment of Peace

2009-12-08T06:50:00.003-07:00

kayaking around the Conch Republic

I did this often. Alone, with B, with friends. I saw sharks. I watched someone fall out of his kayak. I spent the first day of my 30s kayaking around the island (followed by a lobster dinner prepared by B, a pedicure, and drinks with friends).

Best Blog '09

2009-12-07T15:35:00.004-07:00

I am not sure if I found Lea and Jonathan Woodward in 2009, or slightly before. Either way, the LIP blog (location independent professionals) has been quite a useful resource for me this year, from setting up an online store to managing snide comments from nay-sayers.

The LIP blog led me to the blogs of other people striving to travel more, to build businesses sustainable from anywhere in the world, and, in general, to enjoy life more. I discovered Christine’s journey from corporate manager to location independent writer, John’s plan to find a new country and new career, as well as Chris’ adventures in non-conformity. The LIP blog has morphed into a large community over the past year, and it has been nice to be part of that.

I also discovered Karen at chookooloonks and VoluntarySimplicityJack this year. They are also former lawyers pursuing an alternative path, following their dreams.

It is encouraging to find others that took a leap away from what was expected and from careers they were less than enthusiastic about.

Best Conference '09

2009-12-06T14:14:00.004-07:00

This was a year to get away from conferences. I wish I could say that I went an entire year without going to a conference, but, I did go to the TTB conference in Cincinnati. It was beneficial to get more information on the federal side of alcohol beverage laws. What made it particularly useful though was learning that not all networking has to be with ass-clowns.

Best Night Out '09

2009-12-06T13:55:00.004-07:00

I had quite a few great nights out this year. This, of course, is part of the design of my plan b. One that sticks out was in Munich with a good friend and a new friend. We ate great salads at Nage und Sauge (litterally nibble and suck), we drank caipiroskas, and giggled all the way home.

Best Book(s) '09

2009-12-04T15:57:00.003-07:00

This year I read more non-fiction than I ever have. There is a clear pattern this year to the books that stand out the most for me. It’s been a year of transition, and a year of life designing.

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
by Tim Ferriss

This is the manifesto for the location independent. This is the book that got me thinking about looking for a customer, rather than looking for a job. What I liked about it, over other similar books, is that it gave concrete advice on how to start. It’s not a guide to how not to work; it’s more of a rough guide to working smarter, to creating a product you can sell and manage from anywhere in the world.

Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life
by Neil Strauss

How to survive when the shit hits the fan: natural disasters, financial disasters, riots, governmental collapses. When I started reading this book, I made a list of all the things I needed to do: wilderness survival training, learn how to ride a motorcycle, re-new my CPR license, learn to sail, learn how to pick a lock and hotwire a car, etc. You know, just in case.

I’ve never had much faith in my government. I come from the former Eastern Bloc and was taught that I can rely only on myself. So, the idea of complete self sufficiency is quite appealing. What none of the reviews of Emergency mention, however, is that in attempting to become self sufficient and live off the grid, Neil Strauss became closer to his community. And, this is what I took away from the book: the importance of community. Of course, I still want to learn how to ride a motorcycle, shoot a gun, and sail any boat.

What Should I Do with My Life?: The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question
by Po Bronson

This is not a career advice book. It is a collection of 50+ life stories: people with diverse backgrounds who questioned their lives, and took active roles in creating new paths for themselves. The lawyer turned baker, the investment banker turned farmer, the engineer turned lawyer, the list goes on. There are no answers in the book, but different questions and different ways to look at the problem.

An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude
by Ann Vanderhoof

I discovered the book when I was doing research about living in the Caribbean (at one point this year the plan was to move to the Virgin Islands). It’s about a couple that, literally, sailed away. They quit their jobs and sailed around the Caribbean for two years. It is not the best book I have ever read, and, at times, reads too much like a fluff article in Islands magazine. But, I love the idea of the adventure. The world did not end, their careers were not over, life went on, and they had great experiences in the process.

No best article of '09 - but, this time, last year

2009-12-03T08:12:00.006-07:00

It’s not a good sign that I am already not following the challenge, but, frankly, who cares if I don't follow it to the letter. I can’t come up with an article that blew me away this year. There were probably some, or not.

Instead, I will post some pictures, and do a "this time, last year" post.

We spent the better part of last winter in Vermont. Like all my favorite places in the US, Vermont is almost like a different country. We explored the neighboring New England states, but nothing was quite like Vermont.

Towns with 275 years of history have been preserved and are actually used by the current residents. Old train stations have been re-purposed as coffee shops, rather than torn down. It’s rare to drive more than 30 miles without being able to stop in another town for a coffee or drink. Town centers are often well maintained, and lack the ubiquitous American strip mall. While there is still some “East-coast action,” it is considerably less in Vermont than in the rest of New England.

In our first cross-country drive last year, we entered Vermont from the southwest, after dark and just as it started to snow. Almost immediately after crossing the state line, the road started to climb, twist, and dive into valleys consumed by fog. We were in our own Scooby-Doo witches in the forest adventure. A couple months later we drove the same stretch of road during the day, watching the deciduous forests of norther Massachusetts turn into Vermont’s pine forests. It was a much less creepy drive. And I figured out why I like the Vermont landscape so much better than that of its neighbors: the green and the higher mountains.

And, it was cold. A cold I’ve never experienced before - “Vermont cold.” Deceptive bright sunny days literally took my breath away with highs of -25 (Fahrenheit). We snowshoed in -10 and skied in -1. No wonder Solzhenitsyn felt at home in Vermont. I am really looking forward to skiing and snow shoeing in warm weather this winter.

Best Restaurant Experience '09

2009-12-02T15:54:00.005-07:00

We visited every brewery in Vermont - all of them. What? It was cold, and it’s a small state. The Vermont Brewer’s Association has a passport program. After you collect all the stamps, you send in the passport for some free shit. We haven’s sent ours in; the last thing we need are more beer glasses and brewery t-shirts.

One of the best days on our grand Vermont brewery tour was a visit to Stone Cutters (on the last day it was open - poor location, not terrible beer) followed by dinner and beer at the Trout River Brewery in the Northeast Kingdom (I love that regional name; it reminds me of dragons, witches, and castles. You?)

The beer was some of the best in Vermont, I particularly liked the Scottish Ale. I was driving, so I could still reliably judge the beer. The hand tossed pizzas were also good (B ate two). But, the best part of it came when we left.

We got up from our table, B thanked our waiter, the rest of the wait staff, the bar tender, the hostess, and then the group of people entering the pub. Thank you... thank you... thank you. For the food, for the beer, for making such yummy goodness, for supporting this fine establishment.

It’s good to be in a merry mood. And, I mean merry, not inebriated. Merry is that point when your belly is full, the alcohol has just touched your head, you are smiling, and nothing is wrong in your world. A merry mood is infectious.

The Best of 2009 - Best Trip

2009-12-01T13:03:00.002-07:00

Because I need a good kick in the ass to blog more frequently, because I failed to start blogging at the beginning, and because I want to end this year on a good note, I am going to do @gwenbell’s Best of 2009 Blog Challenge. This means that I will post daily for the next 31 days (notice the lack of a qualifier).

Today is best trip of 2009. This is the hardest category in which to determine a best. The entire year was a big trip. Since April 2008 (until late September when I moved to CO), I have been on the move. I drove across the country twice; visited all the national parks in the West, and a few in Canada; lived in Arizona, Vermont, Chicago, Munich, Key West, and now Colorado; went to Russia, Finland, the Czech Republic, Romania, and then some. It was an amazing year.

The biggest surprise, and the best (since I am choosing to pick one best), was Key West. I could do without the tropical weather, but I love the island. It’s the attitude, the different cultures combining into the Key West culture, the hog fish, kayaking, sunrises over the ocean, weekly festivals, shrimp on the pier, the island kittens, and so much more that I miss.

It was so easy to meet people there. The history is so colorful (to say the least), and it has inspired so many. Chuck Palahniuk described Portland as a place of fugitives and refugees. Key West is also full of fugitives and refugees… and misfits. It’s what makes both cities so fascinating: the people, the stories, the attitudes.

Oh, and did I mention the kayaking?

Give me back my underwear!

2009-11-21T11:31:00.003-07:00

M beat me to it by letting me know on Facebook that he had our laundry. So, we went to the bar to pick up our laundry.

The second place we rented in Key West had an old coin washing machine and dryer, which was often not working. We opted, for $2 a load more, to bring our laundry to someone else, at a well known laundromat that also houses a walk-up sandwich shop. B dropped it off in the morning and picked it up the same afternoon - clean, fresh laundry smell, and already folded. I was quite reluctant to have someone else do my laundry - it seemed so extravagant. I got over that.

The woman who washed everyone’s clothes had accidentally given ours to M. He had thrown it into the back of a friend’s car and forgotten about it, until he went to find something to wear. Luckily he 1) could read B’s handwriting on the bag, and 2) knew who’s laundry he had. He carried our three loads to Finnegan’s that night. I still demanded my underwear back, and the bag sat on a chair next to us for the evening - like our new fresh-smelling sober friend.

This is something I miss about Key West. No, not picking up my laundry at the bar. But, that we knew who had our laundry, and M knew who’s underwear he had. This has happened to other people too, and they always seem to know who has their clothes. And, even with all the underwear mix-ups, we all kept bringing our clothes back. It’s no real hassle when you know who has your clothes, or you know someone, who knows someone who has your clothes. No one is really bothered by it.

This is what I miss: that it is the kind of place you can track down your missing clothes at the local’s bar; that no one is so uptight to get angry that their clothes were given to someone else. And that you can get one of the best Cuban sandwiches on the island at the laundromat.

How to Disintermediate High Leverage Tasks

2009-11-13T16:42:00.004-07:00

What exactly is a message consultant? Or strategic interfacing? What the hell does marketing speak mean?

Do I need a guru to harness my authenticity? What about a holistic approach to my rapid cycle process improvement? Seriously, I’m not making this shit up.

It’s all smoke and mirrors. Good marketing brings ideas and people together. Brings a solution to people with a problem to solve. It does not create neologisms for the sake of… well, I’m not quite sure why. I suppose the need to puff one’s self up crosses all career barriers.

Marketing speak does not translate into anything. How are we going to use key enablers to leverage the new paradigm? Please lay out the steps - in clear concise language. Otherwise, we will not be any closer to getting our product to market.

Identify concrete problems, take out the bullshit, and solve them. Talk about what will and what will not work. Instead of disintermediating high leverage tasks, just say that you will take care of the important task yourself.

This is a funny video of Microsoft re-packaging the iPod. What makes something expressively human?!

Networking Without the Ass-clowns

2009-11-04T18:10:00.005-07:00

I hate networking events. I hate coming home at the end of an evening feeling dirty - not quite sure why, but convinced that I have somehow contributed to evil in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I love meeting new people and hearing their stories - I’m fascinated by other people, their experiences, and ideas.

That is not, however, what I’ve experienced at networking events in the past. My views are no doubt colored by spending too much time at networking events with lawyers - many of whom are missing critical social skills. A legal networking event usually consists of tipsy jackasses trying hard to puff themselves up, rather than making a real connection with someone they might have something in common with. The goals are: to collect as many names and cards as possible, to make at least one person feel inferior, to tell an exaggerated tale of your latest win to as many people as possible, and to set up a lunch with a partner at a bigger and better firm than the one you’re currently at.

You can quickly spot the lawyer that has read books on how to build networking skills: she is shooting off rapid fire questions. Unfortunately, the next question is being fired before the listener even gets a chance to respond to the last question. This is her attempt at showing interest in the person she is talking to. All the time, though, her eyes are darting around the room looking for her next victim.

Most lawyers at these legal networking events don’t seem to understand that the best way to build a beneficial network is not to be manipulative, not to make shameful attempts at humor or wit, not to sell yourself as the master litigator - but to be nice. It’s as simple as that. And, you actually have to be interested in someone other than yourself - hard to pull off for far too many lawyers.

I dreaded my first beer industry event, I assumed that all networking was the same. It’s not. There are people out there interested in other people’s stories, rather than how he or she can be used for career advancement. People who want to create lasting relationships, rather than collect a card. It’s like meeting fellow travelers on the road: the conversation is almost always good, the primary goal is not career advancement, and you go to sleep looking forward to the next meeting.

The goal of creating a network should be to make friends, real friends. Friends with whom you can share your interests. Friends to whom you can reveal something significant about yourself, and who can reveal something significant about themselves to you. Meeting people with these goals doesn’t feel like a networking event, at least not what I associate with networking events.

The thrill that I may never again have to attend a networking event with puffed-up ass-clowns confirms my decisions over the past year to follow my version of Plan B.

Fall or winter?

2009-11-01T11:12:00.003-07:00

and, we're missing Fantasy Fest in Key West. I do love the snow though.

One Way to Annihilate the Material Beast

2009-10-25T13:06:00.003-06:00

I participated in an unintentional experiment this past year: how to tame materialism. We put everything in storage for a year - except what could fit in the back of the Jeep. The brewing equipment, which took up most of the already small space, was apparently a necessity. So, I had very little with me. Four months of the year I lived out of one carry-on duffel bag and a backpack (which really only fit my computer, a book or two, and my camera body and one lens).

Occasionally, I thought back to the storage unit - usually when I was tired of wearing the same outfit for the 5th time in a month. For the most part, though, there was nothing that I really missed. I made due with what was available. I learned what was and was not essential (like a comfortable bed).

Having been living out of what fit in the Jeep, we started to get the idea that we had very little to move. Our house did not need to be de-cluttered to be sold, and being away for so long, we quickly forgot about all the stuff we acquired in our 1800 foot house.

Reality hit us when the two hours we thought we’d spend loading a UHaul turned into the fifth hour. The storage unit employees became more and more obvious about spying on us to see if we could actually fit it all in the truck. This was our worst move ever. Either we have too much shit, or I am getting too old for this shit. Probably a little of both. We have less stuff now than nine years ago when we moved from Phoenix to Portland, but, it still seems like too much.

Certainly, life is slightly more comfortable now. And, I have more outfits to choose from. But, it was nice being able to throw everything into the back of the Jeep and go.

B once suggested driving around the country living out of a Suburban. I hated the idea then - I worried about not having all of my stuff around to make life comfortable. After living out of a duffle bag for a year, I no longer have fear of loosing my comfortable material life. Really, I just don’t need that much stuff to be comfortable and happy. It’s a great thing to have come away with.

I won!

2009-10-08T12:09:00.005-06:00

At the risk of sounding like a small child... I won; I won!

Once in a while I enter contests, or even buy a raffle ticket - assuming I don't have to give up too much personal information. I have never, ever in my life won anything. It might simply be an annoying sense of optimism that propels me to keep entering these things. I usually don’t even listen as raffle numbers are called out, because I know it won’t be my number. I am not a winner.

But, the other day I won a jacket and a hat. Imagine that! It wouldn’t have mattered what I won, I'd still be acting like a child. I'm a winner!

I just hope what they send me is what they told me I won. It is free shit, after all.

here are the jacket and the hat - just in time for the snow

Update: I got it - and it is exactly what's on the website. I got the jacket in the red color, as well as the hat. Yay!

Snow!!

2009-10-08T12:04:00.001-06:00