Winter Walk

brittle morning cold
breaks, refreezes with each step
frost on my front yard

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neglected pumpkins
sunken in in the sunshine
Christmas lights blinking

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what does winnie the
pooh have to do with Christmas?
strangest flag i've seen.

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Put it back.

I found out today that someone has stolen my debit card number. Again.

I don't know anything about them except that they love GAP.com and Amazon.com.

They love those sites a lot. Or as much as my limited bank account allowed them.

My credit union is closed today, so I haven't gotten to do anything about it except:

1. Be mad
2. Cancel the card on an emergency number
3. Be super mad

To the person out there pretending to be me:

1. I don't have much money
2. You're an $@%$#&%^$!
3. Put it back

I hope everyone is well.
Peace,
Joe

Sunday Ride

During my blogging hiatus I've taken up cycling. Nick gave me his old mountain bike (thanks dude), and I've spent the last few months fixing it up for a commuter / mid-length riding application. I've been mixing running with cycling, and getting better distance in each than I ever have before. So, using Jamie as an example (thanks Jamie), I'm going to occasionally post good runs /rides. I do use this mountain bike mostly for road riding, which I understand is not ideal, but it was a free bike and I really enjoy it. I have no idea what good cycling benchmarks are, so these stats might be slightly embarrassing... but it is something good to write about, so here we go:

Date: Sunday, 2008.11.09

Start Time: 3:00 PM
End Time: 3:45 PM

Type: Mix of road and grass track

Length: 10 miles

This is my "regular ride." I've spent a good bit of my time in this pursuit trying to figure out a bike-friendly route around town. Campus has some good commuter lanes now, and the River Walk has a bike path as well. The problem is first getting to campus, then getting to the river, then connecting the two portions of the river walk. Folks in Tuscaloosa aren't used to cyclists actually riding in the road (or wearing a helmet for that matter, but thats another post), so I often get funny looks in the transition areas... especially when I get on Jack Warner Parkway for about a half mile in between the two sections of the River Walk path. One day they will be connected, but for now I have to get off on a grass track for about a half mile, then weave my way onto Jack Warner Parkway for another half. This is not as stupid as it sounds, I promise. It is not a busy section of the parkway, and I make sure to go biking during slow times traffic-wise, like early in the morning or on Saturday or Sunday afternoons.

Anyway, today was a great ride. The temp was perfect (about 60 degrees), there was little wind, and the roads were all but deserted. The river looked amazing, too: no clouds in the sky, so the turning leaves reflected crisp and clear in the water. In fact, it was so nice I nearly ran into a tree. But that was my only close call, and considering how long I've been doing this (about 3 months now), thats not too bad for me.

Now its off to the grocery store, Mass, and then thank you notes from the wedding. A thoroughly quiet and enjoyable day.

I hope everyone is well!

Peace,
Joe

Short Goals List

In November of last year I wrote myself a short goals list to be completed by November of this year:

1) Marry Tonya

2) Help elect Barack Obama

3) Get job*

*Tenure-track position at small liberal arts college preferable.

So here we are in November of 2008, and I've hit 2 out of 3. I have an awesome wife and our nation now has an awesome President-elect. I cried in both instances, and am proud of that fact.

Number three is still up in the air. The job market is, to put it lightly, total crap right now. I have one promising prospect, and that is Spring Hill College in Mobile, Al. In all honesty, it is a dream position for me. Small, jesuit, liberal arts college in a cool town with an amazing educational tradition. I would get to continue my training blend of social psychology and gerontology, and the college is right across the street from a retirement community where I could continue my research and intervention work. Finally, they have a nursing program with a certificate in gero, so I could fulfill my dream of being on the ground floor of educating medical professionals who dominate patient contact time with older adults.

For points 1 and 2 on the list, I had a 90 / 10 mix of confidence to nervousness. Confidence of the sort that tells you "this is right, this is true, this is awesome." Confidence of the sort that speaks to you from your core, like it has been sleeping there for your whole life and just woke up. The 10% nervousness should be familiar to anyone who has ever wanted something so great. That tiny voice asks, "Can this actually happen to me? Do I deserve this?" And then it happens, and you cry. Partially for the confirmation of the 90%, and partially for the death of that 10%.

I am struggling to find the mix for point #3, my dream job. This time the nervous component is higher, I think. But that has a lot to do with the aspirational aspect of it compared to marriage and a new president: it is a mandate on the last 5 and a half years of work; it is the test by which spending my 20s still in school can be proven worthwhile.

I dreamt of my perfect partner, and I got her. I hoped for a transformational president, and we got him. I want a job where I can help others learn to think critically, live in a community where service is king, and use my energy to improve the lives of older adults. We'll find out about that one soon.

Also, if it helps, you can imagine a little slow strings music to go along with this post, since I just wrote something that could have been the "on screen journal" section of a TV melodrama. You know, whatever facilitates the mood :)

I hope everyone is well!

Peace,
Joe