Looking Ahead

I don't know if I'm ready for a Bizmo in Winter chapter, but the thought of driving south to LA appeals, much as Tara is pining for a snowed in Xmas (an infrequent occurrence in our rain forest economy).

Given my big five oh in calendar year 2008, I've already made plans to pace myself, such as by signing a contract that'll have me teaching that day. Lots of class prep is good exercise for me, and staying in shape is good for morale when crossing one of those gridiron milestones.

You might suppose my calendar was thick with data points, and that may well be, but how much do I see of my calendar? They used to tell us in est that we'd die if we saw Werner's calendar (something of a truism, as one can't be two people at once). But I know what they meant: sign up for great adventures and you'll get them, just not the ones you signed up for necessarily.

Portland is quite the little destination (people compare it to Austin a lot), so I shouldn't always reflexively think of me going places, to meet some of the wonderful people I've met, would like to meet with again (plus new people). We've got McMenamins, other hotels.

Speaking of hotels, one of the coolest we stayed in was the Horton Grand in downtown San Diego. That was for the Fuller Centennial and my network had gifted us with the presidential suite or one of those, very over the top posh by our Middle Earth standards. Tara was just learning to walk.