December 2007

Good things that I thought would happen but did not:
That my doctorate would be official. That I would be working for a non-profit or for Baltimore City. That I would be thinner. That I would have done more traveling. That I would have more money and more free time. That some extended family issues and drama might not have gotten worse.

Good things that I did not think would happen but did:
Cycling in Baltimore has gotten a bit easier. Cycling for me has gotten a hundred fold easier. Dan and Kate got pregnant. I wrote a draft of a novel and finished my dissertation draft; I can sorta say that I wrote two books this year. I read a lot of good books I never thought I would pick up. I heard a lot of good music. Started playing music with Dan and Paulie again and started doing some writing. I learned to make a popular pasta salad and a downright famous chili — both vegetarian. Discovered hot sauce.

I will forget about bad things that did or did not happen. Hemingway’s character in True At First Light (I think) talks with another aging man about regret. He says that he never regrets things he did, only things he did not do. I’m not sure how that is related, but there you go.

I never know how I will view a year until later. I hated 2005, but that year brought the decision to leave Carbondale, to sell the car, to buy bikes, hints of leaving academia. I hated that car accident in 2004, but it got us out of a rut that has us where we are (literally) today.

I hope 2008 rocks.

It does start with the best holiday commute home ever. I get to load up my bike rack, F’s bike rack and pedal home. Awesome.

So the couch/loveseat we wanted was gone. The man at Ikea said it might not show up until at least March. Screw that. We panicked, decided we didn’t like the other couches and did not have the room for the rest of them or could not afford them. Decided to get some chairs. Settled on two of these, one of these, some new pillows, blankets and a new rug. A new computer desk and other goodies. The Salvation Army is not picking our couch up until Friday, and we won’t be home until Tuesday night anyway. Our apartment is always cozy, no matter what state (as in MA, IL, MD) it is in. It always smells like incense and coffee and on the best dinner days, like my famous chili.

We are off to Ikea today to spend some gifted cash and replace the couch/loveseat. Have a list. Having lunch there, too. I’m peeing my pants with excitement. Totally.

I should write more about my holiday haul, but I’ve been spending my online time reading camera reviews. Yeah, I’m biting the bullet and just getting a new one. My spare camera is a piece of crap and only takes bright shots and flash shots, and I hate doing both of those things. I’ve been due for a new camera for a while anyway. I’ll try not to continually drop this one.

My camera pooped out on me. I was taking photos of our decorations after we spent all day cleaning today. And I noticed a bum pixel. Then two. It happened sometime between the Monument lighting two weeks ago and today. Probably the last time I dropped it off the couch. If you could see the full sized version of this, you would notice, too. Damn it.

I had that problem with this model before and went to exchange it, wound up buying another camera. This was back when I lived in Carbondale, when I had a car, when I made money. I started using the original again and sorta let my cheaper one sit around. Good thing, too, else I would be without a camera, after I have really really really gotten used to having one whenever I want. I have never really been satisfied with the picture quality on Mr. Bum Camera, especially macros. My cheaper Canon, though, has a super macro setting and that cool “My Colors” thing. It does not have quite the amount of manual options, though, and the resolution is wanting. But, like I said, I’m happy to have it. That color dealy and the super macro are a lot of fun to play with.

What I’d really like is the Canon G9, but alas, no job to make that happen. What? You wanna buy it for me? Sure. Please.

We did a lot of cleaning, moving, organizing today. Some family members are coming over for dinner tomorrow, and then we are off to the parents’ house in Hampden for some holiday fun. For once, all the presents I bought my wife are on time, early even. My youngest brother and I watch Christmas TV all day on Christmas Eve. This year, we’re adding some new ones and keeping up with our bestest most favoritest show ever, “The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.” If you have not seen it, you probably didn’t have the best childhood you could have. I’m sorry, I really am. You should watch it this year.

In other apartment news, our freakin couch wore out after a year and four months. It hurts my butt now. So we get to blow some Christmas money at Ikea very soon. I’m stoked about that. I never liked that couch anyway. We’ll probably just get a loveseat to save space. The one we had was technically for two people, and it’s not like people really come over very often. And when they do, we have more fun than sitting on the couch. We also need a smaller computer desk, since we went LCD. And some other sundry goodies.

So my wife has been thinking of riding to work, rather than walking. One of her Christmas gifts is a bike helmet she picked out, so I encouraged her to ride today, her last day before Christmas. I rode in with her because traffic makes her a bit nervous, because she never learned to drive a car and is not used to it. We had a very nice and very cold ride in today. I came home and was hot from the layers.

This afternoon, the North Baltimore Bike Brigade Bus picked her up, which is to say, Dan and I. On University Parkway, a cabbie blew his horn at me a dozen times because he wanted me to actually stop and let him pull in front of me to stop. I know; it was better than him running me over, but come on. I was not stopping when he could just go around me or stop behind me. So when he kept blowing it and started coming over, I saluted him with the middle of my bike gloved hand. I also yelled the two words that went with it and made two yuppies gasp. Oh. Well. I didn’t mean to yell, but whatever.

Then we rode down to see the lights on 34th Street. I got ahead of Dan and F, and two Hampden thugs blew the horn and yelled at them on Chestnut. I joked that if it were the three of us, they would not have. Hampden thugs are reticent when they are outnumbered. Usually. Morons.

But still, it’s nice to brave the winter and get out on the bikes. We had Coke Zero and cookies for a bit afterward.

Oh, yeah. When I was stopped at a red light, a RED light, on my way home tonight, a tight pants stopped next to me. Looked both ways. And ran the red light. Jackass. I waited for the green and still caught up in my dork bike, jeans and Chucks.

(And I’m glad I’m not the only Baltimore cyclist who braves the cold.)

[Larger.]

It’s difficult to pick a “best” photo of 2007, especially when I don’t want to repeat myself. I’ll pick this one because the Sierra Club asked if they could use it for the “Daily Ray of Hope” emails they send out. It was taken on a walk in early October.

Some other “best” of 2007 shots.

Subway in Washington.
Self Portrait.
Iced Coffee.
Tire Skulls.
Moleskine.
End of NaNoWriMo.

Photo Friday: Best of 2007.

If you have decent taste* in music, then you like Collective Soul. So you’ve likely heard their latest, Afterwords. No? Did you like Dosage but not care for their 2004 release, Youth? Well. You should check it out. Send me an email, and I’ll send you a song. And not the one from the “American Idol” commercial.

Two of our three wedding songs were from Ed Roland and the gang. “Heaven’s Already Here” and “Needs.” The first time Dan and Paulie and I met, we jammed on Collective Soul. “Gel” I think. I don’t recommend music very often, but I think I should start.

*[Mine is objectively good.]

As if with a sling blade. Best viewed larger on Flickr. Gee. Whiz. We broke into a song we hadn’t played since my last year of college, in 2001. One of my favorites from when we used to play clubs like the Ottobar. I don’t think that was when the pick got shredded last night though. I think that was when we jammed on something new. Dan wrecks them on a regular basis. The red stuff used to be that pick. This is what happens when you rock hard.

Me, being a bass player, I shred my fingers.

Yesterday, a pre-sale of the new yellow recycling bins took place in various locations in Baltimore City. Starting in January, cool yellow bins with the Baltimore City logo on them will display Baltimoreans giving a crap. I think it’s awesome. While the ridiculous lines and empty-handedness yesterday were unpleasant, and while it was galling that people bought ten for their neighbors while people who got off their asses and showed up left sans bins, it was nice to see that so many people not only showed up but were willing to wait in lines in the cold for the purpose of recycling. Even though a lot of people were pissed or annoyed (like me), it’s nice to know that so many more people are going to get on board with the new recycling program. Sheila’s spokes-person said that the bins were based on current recycling rates. Masses larger several times over showed up yesterday, and it’s a good sign that Baltimore is moving in a greener direction.

And those bins are pretty. I can’t wait to finally get one.

Even if you’re not a fan of Martin and Sheila, you have to admit that people have been displaying pride in our city under their tenures. Maybe it’s unrelated to them and is a coincidence. I don’t know. Or care. I’m just happy that people care about Baltimore again, even with our sad crime statistics.

[Larger.]

The tiny kitchen in my apartment one summer morning when I woke up at sunrise. I love having East facing windows. Excuse my clutter; I was not expecting to take photos that morning.

Photo Friday: Sunrise.

The city notebook for Boston (where I used to live), New York, a red silk address book for me, a first Moleskine for a friend of mine, an info book for two other friends who are travelers. Two bucks a piece. Expensive shipping, though. But it turned out to be like getting free city notebooks. The sale’s over, though. Dang.

On the bottom, the manuscript from my NaNoWriMo novel for this year. It’s in a binder I found in my closet now. I’m working on editing it. So much red ink!

Apologies for sparse posting. Been a weird week. A weird two years, truth be told.

Bit of a health scare with two friends of mine this week, but all’s well. Thirtieth birthday party for my friend Dan Saturday, for which I am spending tomorrow making my increasingly famous vegetarian chili. I know some people might contend that chili is not chili without meat, but, well, whatever. Taste the gorgeousness of my chili and tell me that. I have some Habanera peppers I’ve been saving, along with two other kinds of chili pepper. It’s got more flavor than meat based chili I’ve had. Though, to be honest, I didn’t really like chili very much until the trip I took to the mountains in October. A hot meal after twenty miles of walking will do that to you. Anyway, if you need meat for the base flavor of your chili, your chili sucks. I said it.

Anyway, unless you live under a rock (or just don’t live in Baltimore, and that sucks for you, lol), we are getting a new single-stream recycling program. Best of all, all plastics are being accepted now, not just numbers one and two. On that, the new recycle bins are being sold at places like Poly this Saturday, the large ones for half price. I’ll be there strapping the smaller (but still pretty large) one onto my bike rack. You should come by and see me and the cool new German bread bag on my rack. What? Yeah, you’ll have to see it. It’s awesome.

Especially with my little snowflake pin.

[Larger.]

The first Washington Monument in the United States, i.e., the one in Baltimore, got lit up last night amidst fireworks and hot chocolate.

For Photo Friday: Primitive. What? I know there’s nothing primitive about modern pyrotechnics. But our fascination with the bangs, the pops, the brightness, well, that’s pretty caveman-esque.

In Hampden, the former parking meter posts have been put to good use, as attractive bike posts. But damn it, I wanted to take my own photos and blog about these, even lock my steep up to one for a shot. But someone beat me to it. On the bright side, it’s on the illustrious Tree Hugger, so everyone can see the steps Baltimore is making toward being more bike friendly and “green.” Clicky. And getting the word out is more important than my own infatuation with them.

Yes, I’m lucky. I’m going to the Ravens vs. Patriots game tonight. Fifty yard line, fifth row. No, I’m not kidding. Got me a hook-up. Look for me on Monday Night Football. I’ve only been to a pre-season game there, in 2003. This is going to be awesome. Even with the wind advisory and freezing temperatures. Like Danny Boy says, the colder the better for a football game.

I did it. I wrote a 50,000 word novel during November. I’m fully aware that being unemployed made that much easier than it was for some people. I’d only respond that the vocation-less-ness kind of sadness is its own obstacle. And I’d leave it at that.

I needed to prove that I could do it one day. Hemingway talks so much about the discipline of writing that I thought I could never write anything not school related, because I’m not exactly a disciplined kind of guy. But I did it. I created a world and people and let them do their thing, then reigned them in to do my thing and explore what I wanted to explore. Now we’ll see if I have the gumption to edit it and try to find a literary agent. And, and if it’s any good at all.

Writing something of that length (officially longer than my dissertation) was a strange experience. I started with the idea of wanting to write about a lot of men I know who wind up with crazy partners, and how they ruin each other’s lives. Yeah. I was going to title it Crazy Bitches. But I really wound up exploring the notion of responsibility. Whether we are responsible for who we wind up with and if everything they do to us really is our fault because of the amount of control we give them. If it is even possible to give someone control over your life, or if that’s just Sartrian bad faith. How much we owe someone to keep them from ruining their life. The nature of “tough love.” And there’s a wedding shooting, so that’s always fun. And two giant helpings of local Baltimore flavor, including a sort of upcoming-utopian version of the city that could totally happen in five or ten years. And a love affair involving the Mayor. The entire book is very dirty. You have no idea. I think it would make a cool movie.

But I’m glad I finished the draft, at any rate. It’s good to finish something hard. And I can always say I have an unpublished novel now.