Happy Thanksgiving 2014

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

For "turkey day" today, here's a picture of a beautiful bird I took in Peru a couple years ago...

2012 Thankful List

With Thanksgiving 2012 upon us, below is a list of 10 things I'm truly thankful for. You can also see another expression of things I'm thankful for in pictures on my Flickr Photostream HERE.

Thankful List 2012

• My wife Diane - this year we celebrated 15 years of marriage. I love Diane and being with her is the best and most important thing in my life.
• My health and Diane's - this year offered a reminder that one's health is oh so important and can be a fragile thing. I'll spare you the details other than to say: 1) both of us are just fine and healthy, but 2) you should listen to/observe your body...and if something seems "off" go have it checked out.
• Family - family is family and I'm thankful to have them.
• Friends - old and new. Once again, our year was enriched by both continuing our cherished relationships with friends and by meeting new ones we hope we can stay in touch with and enjoy for years to come.
• Where we live - Seattle is awesome. What's not to like? Sea, mountains, great food scene, great music scene, mild weather compared to 90% of the rest of the country, Canada nearby, WA and OR wine country nearby, San Juan Islands nearby, etc., etc., etc.
• Our cat. That's right. Our cat...Josie P. Jones. She's 12 years old now and a central part of our everyday life at home. We love you Josie P.
• That we have the interest, means and health to travel. We went to Peru this year and had a wonderful time, learned new things and saw spectacular sights. Check it all out HERE.
• The fact that the 2012 elections are over - seriously. Regardless of which side any of us fall on (Republicans and Democrats, Obama and Romney, etc.) I am just glad that damn thing is over. It got pretty annoying and tedious...all too often showcasing the worst of our political system and media. 
• New things. Nostalgia has its place, and like most people I enjoy things I am used to or that bring back good memories. BUT, I am thankful for new ideas, new music, new art, new places to visit, etc. It keeps you alive and in the moment. After all, if you're not looking forward people, you're just living in the past and that's pretty dang limiting.
• Great work colleagues. Work is hard enough as it is, so I am thankful that the people I work directly with every day are so good at what they do, dedicated and willing to collaborate. Together, we might just get through this thing! 

Something Not to be Thankful For

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving yesterday.

There are many things to be thankful for. Republican and conservative stewardship of the U.S. economy over the majority of the last 30 years, however, is not one of them.

A must read that provides the calculated distruction conservative economic theory has had on the U.S. economy is here: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/how-the-gop-became-the-party-of-the-rich-20111109

It's a bit of a long article, but well worth you time in my opinion. Besides, you have some extra time on your hands this holiday weekend anyway, right?

What I Am Thankful For 2010

Here are the things I am thankful for:

1. My wife Diane - simply said, my life. I lover her the whole world.
2. My health and that of Diane - no substitute for being healthy. So far so good!
3. Family - immediate and extended family bring us a lot of joy every year.
4. Friends - all friends old and new add so much to our lives.
5. Employment - hey, having a paycheck any time is good, but especially in these times!
6. Travel - it gives us a new perspective no matter where we go - in the U.S. or overseas.
7. Art - music, film, paintings, photography, sculpture or other forms of artistic expression are wonderful...either indulging us in something we already know and love or challenging us to think differently.
8. Our cat Josie P. Jones - yes, she has her own full name. The "P" stands for "Pussycat."
9. Good peripheral vision and quick reflexes - click HERE to read why.
10. Humor - imagine trying to get through life without having a sense of humor yourself or being around people who didn't have one.

Hawaii 4-0

This past Thanksgiving week, Diane and I bugged out of rainy Seattle and barreled over to Hawaii to celebrate my 40^th birthday. My own “Hawaii 4-0” if you will. For safe measure, a pack of our great friends came along to share the cheer.

For those of you who’ve never been to Hawaii, well, you’re missing out. Lets see…tropical island beach paradise, slowed down relaxing culture, great local and Asian food, easy to get around, surfing, snorkeling, laying the beach, topical breeze. What’s there not to love? Well, maybe a six hour flight from Seattle, but that’s worth it once you’re there.

At least it did for us, and the destination of Maui seem a fitting place for us to ring in the fourth decade of my time on the planet – a place to relax, enjoy, run around and play like a kid while still taking in the finer points of the islands’ culture.

With seven full days and parts of two more at our disposal, I think we made the most of our time. For those interested, I’m going to lay out a few highlights of our trip over several posts going over a variety of things including our eating, outdoor activities and the big b-day celebration.

Before diving in, I’ll simply say thanks to my wife, Diane, for planning such a wonderful trip and celebration, and a thanks to all our friends who came along for the ride. We really are so glad you were there.

OK, to start things off, I’ll go with this…

Part I – "It’s Out of My Hands"

After a long flight over from Seattle, Diane and I were giddy to be on the island of Maui. Even the first few moments out in the warm sun and breeze made us feel better. You knew this was going to be a good week.

After picking up our car, donning our sunglasses and relaxing even more, we struck out immediately for Kaanapali – the area of the island where our condo we were staying in is. On our way, we stopped to have lunch at the “feet in the sand” restaurant on the shore called Hulas. Some icy Longboard lagers, fish tacos and sandwiches later we were really feeling the Aloha. But, the condo awaited and there also was the little matter (at least to me) of getting checked in and in front of at TV to catch the big Oregon Duck football game vs. Arizona. Win and Duckies likely go to the Rose Bowl. Lose and not likely. Big game.

So on our way we went. Pulling in to the lot at the Papakea Resort, all was good. Until we tried to check in. (Below: view from our balcony at the Papakea Resort.)

To our horror, we learned that the room we had booked directly from the condo unit owner had been given out to someone else. Further, there were apparently no rooms they would or could move us to. To make matters worse, we didn’t have any verification info in our possession since we had made these arrangements with the condo owner herself.

And the condo staff could not have been less helpful. The big comeback from the guy behind the desk was, “I can’t do anything, it’s out of my hands.” My stress level went up pretty high as I feared we be stuck without a room – crashing on some of our friends’ hotel room floors – AND given that the ball game was starting. What were we going to do? Both Diane and I were pretty distressed. Only she didn’t show it and I did. While I was stressing out and starting to call hotels to see about availability, Diane calmly remembered three phone numbers for our condo owner friend out of thin air and called her in a desperate attempt to try and circumvent this tragedy.

To make a long story short…the condo management canceled our reservation because they mistakenly believed that the OTHER reservation in our name (the one we made for family and friends coming) was ours. As in, how could they possibly have two reservations? And, the guy at the desk was either unwilling or unable to make any decisions to resolve the problem…and he was the only one there. Our friend did eventually call and things were straightened out after some heated discussion and the intervention of the condo manager at long last.

I caught the second half of the football game at the Maui Brewing Company Pub (Ducks won in double overtime) and we spent our first night of the trip in a different unit than we’d arranged for. Drama over, we met up with our good friends Matt and Kristine (who had already been on Maui for a week!) for a drink and then we headed out for dinner…but more on our eating exploits in a future post.

The next day we moved into the unit we were supposed to be staying. I can only imagine the condo people had to give the other people who mistakenly were in our unit another to stay in.

On to the rest of our vacation!

What I'm Thankful For - 2009

Well, Thanksgiving is nearly upon us once again. Can you believe it?

In a moment of reflection, I wanted to share the things I'm most thankful for this year. Below is my list. Some of these items may ring a little familiar and certainly my "Top 5" are the viturally the same as last year - click here to see my list from 2008 - but I'm sticking to them.

So, with no further adeu, here are the things I am most thankful for in this, the 2009 Thanksgiving season...

My Wife - simply put, my everything. I always joke that I don't push my luck on everyday matters because I spent all my luck in meeting and marrying Diane. I love you Diane.

Our Health - we both made it through the year healthy and in good shape. The cliche is, "without your health you have nothing." Well, mabye not nothing, but for sure we're both thankful to have our health. Here's to another year of that!

Our Families - on both sides. Our familieis are wonderful and we share good times with them. Mothers, fathers, siblings, nieces, nefews, cousins and in-laws...we love 'em all and are thankful they are in our lives.

Having a Job - all jobs have their stresses and 2009 certainly was a challenging year in many ways at work. But, in this economy I am thankful for the job and pleased to work with good people. Going on 3.5 years now at my current gig.

Our Friends - Diane and I have a great group of friends that we've met in so many different ways - from childhood, from school, from work, from travel, from mutual interests and from other places. In their great diversity, this group of friends adds so much to our lives and our perspective on the world. Thanks everybody!

Our Cat Josie - even cat lovers will admit that cats can be impersonal at times and some even avoid people or are perpetually "scaredy cats." Well, not our cat. Nope, Josie is a sweet natured and great "friend" for Diane and me. Mark me down as thankful.

Where We Live - I've said it before and I'll say it again...I don't think you can beat Seattle as a place to live. Sure, Portland and maybe even San Francisco would be right up their, but for the combination of mountains, sea, lakes, desert, mild weather (compared to most places in the U.S.), skiing, biking, hiking, proximity to Canada, a great wine region, sports teams (admittedly most not doing too good right now) and much more...you can't really beat Seattle in my book. And then, I am thankful for living in the Ballard neighborhood. We're close to all the good stuff Ballard has, and just a few minutes to downtown Seattle.

Live Music - there's nothing like seeing a band live. If it can be done in a small club right up close, that's even better. The vibe, energy and thrill of rock and roll delivers every time. Here in Seattle we're blessed with a number of great clubs that attract top notch rock bands. In 2009 I was able to catch a number of shows in places like this. Bands seen include Glasvegas, Manic Street Preachers and The English Beat. Of course, the big spectacle type of shows are fun too for different reasons. In this vein, Diane and I saw U2 and Pet Shop Boys in 2009.

Completing the Seattle Rock n' Roll Half Marathon - we did it! 13.1 miles is a long way to run and I'm pround of both Diane and myself for getting it done. I did it in my personal best time of 1 hr. 43 min.

New Restaurant Discoveries - every year we find new places that we like to eat. Sometimes they're only new to us. Here are some highlights of places we at for the first time and will go back to: Chez Shea, Medina Cafe (Vancouver, BC), Moshi Moshi Sushi, Delancey's Pizza, a whole host of restaurants in Charleston, SC (click here), John's Pizza of Bleeker Street (NYC), Plaka and Frank's Oyster House.

The Hot Summer We Had This Year - yep, I liked it...a lot. Sure, there were a couple 100+ days that were not great, but overall I LOVED how warm our summer was. Growing up around here, we would normally have temps in the 70s, 80s, and 90s in the summer. Over the past 5-10 years, however, it seems like our summers have become cooler with fewer days in that temperature range with more rain. Last year, for example, I declared the summer a "bust" the second week of July. Not this year though! It was hot and I loved it.

Our Trip to the South - instead of going overseas this year, we visited a few places on southeast coast of the United States. We had a real good time seeing a part of our country we've never been to before. Click here for a review of our vacation.

Sounders FC - I'm really pleased that Seattle has an entertaining MLS soccer team to root for. The Sounders are also the only major Seattle-based pro team that's performing well - they made the playoffs! Ms and Seahawks can't say that. I've gotten into "footie" more than ever by following them this season.

I made 40 - yes, this year (on Thanksgiving Day no less) I turn 40 years old. It's been a good run so far, and in those four decades I've been able to do so many wonderful things...things that I've always wanted to do. Here's to more fun ahead!

Thanksgiving 2008 - 20 Things I Am Thankful For

It's Thanksgiving week so here are 20 things I am thankful for:

1. My wife Diane - she is my life, my one true love, partner, best friend and...well, really, everything to me. I'm very lucky to be with someone so smart, adventerous, funny and beautiful.
2. My health - 39 years and so far, so good. Being mobile, agile, in shape and unsick are a huge boost to everyday life. I'm also thankful for Diane's good health.
3. My parents - they made me into who I am today.
4. Our friends - too many to name off individually, but Diane and I are thankful we have so many great freinds old and new. They add so much to our lives.
5. Our families - what a great, whacky and loving bunch.
6. Our cat Josie - the nicest, most well behaved cat in the history of the world ever.
7. The education I received - it's helped me get to where I am today...and to experience some of the other things below this point on the list.
8. Food - in all of its glorious diversity.
9. Good wine - enough said.
10. Travel - getting out to see the world or even different parts of one's own state or country is, in my opinion, a truly invaluable way to view things through other people's eyes and come to understand that not everything is the way you experience it every day or week. Plus, it's really fun and educational.
11. Barack Obama - change had to come and I think he is the man to do it.
12. Clean air - compared to parts of China (see posts here and here for more) I am grateful for the relatviely clean air we breath here in Seattle.
13. The band Glasvegas - this year they renewed my belief that new bands can produce great music.
14. That cup of beer I had at the Seahawks game on Nov. 16 - see here for why.
15. The relatviely robust and diverse economy of the Seattle area. Seriously, I'm really pleased we live in an area that's not as hard hit by the recession (famous last words) and has a diversity of businesses and industries.
16. My job - yep, I'm glad to have one, glad to enjoy it, glad I've had good supervisor and colleagues.
17. Those who fight on our behalf - without agreeing with why our armed forces are in certain engagements around the world, I can without hesitation say that I am thankful for the soldiers, sailors, airmen and women, Marines and others in the militaty forces who fight and too often die on our behalf.
18. New York City - Uptown, Downtown, the Village, Chelsea, Meatpacking District, SoHo, Midtown, the Park...it doesn't matter. I love going there (especially with Diane), and am lucky to get there 2-3 times a year because of my job. Next trip is in February.
19. The natural beauty of the area we live in here in Washington state - sure, it rains a lot in the fall and winter...and increasingly in the summer. But hey, when it's all said and done, you cannot beat the combination of moutains (real ones, not the puny fakes they have back east), ocean, islands, desert, vineyards, gorges, rivers and more. Throw in our proximity to Candada to the north and Oregon and California to the south and it's a UNBEATABLE place to live.
20. The Oregon Ducks sports teams - OK, you might think this is a silly one, but in a year of dismal Seattle-based sports (Sonics gone, Ms horrible, Seahawks horible, UW football horrible) I'm thankful that my alma mater's football, basketball and track teams have had or are having successful seasons. And, unlike pro sports or other schools, win or lose, I have a personal invesntment in the Ducks as an alum. That adds a lot too.