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Showing posts from May, 2008

Mars Polar Lander: Latest sci-fi blockbuster

If I had the NASA channel, I'd be glued to the screen for the next four hours. In just under two houses, Mars Polar Lander is scheduled to do either do what it is named to do, or it will become another examples of the Mars curse. I am hoping for the first option, so that I may have a few minutes of secular enlightenment. After all, what good is spending billions for these science missions if there's no sense of human accomplishment to show for it? My imagination is sparked, as I try to explain to my four and a half year old son what Mars is, and why this is exciting. I just tried to demonstrate using some Play-Doh, but I couldn't get the landing gear right. I would like to think these missions were the pinnacle of our society's interest. I'd love in 50 years for people to remember these obscure landings and where they were when they happened. I can remember where I was when the fate of at least some of the Mars missions were known. I was bartending in Nashua, New Ha

Home that isn't home but is forever home

I'm finishing up my second can of Foster's Bitter, purchased at the JPA Mart on the corner of Fontaine and JPA and JPA Extended and Maury Avenue, yet another of those weird dances that navigational channels in Charlottesville tend to do. I envision that Literary Charlottesville will be built on a firm sense of the geographical curiosities that are embedded in our cultural geology. I'm in an odd paradox. I am sitting in the same house where I have written much of the last three and a half years of my life. This is likely my last night here in this capacity, or at least, one of a very few. There's no net connection at the new house yet, and I needed to post some things to some places so that I can help pay for our new house. Yet, I'm tired, and it's time to go to bed. I have a 15 minute walk ahead of me, and it's already getting late. So, I'd like to go to sleep here, because, in the back of my head, this is still my home. So much happened here. Two kids

New house, new bus route

The new house means a new way to work. We're closer to my office, and walking is now within distance. There is no Internet at the house as of yet, so I had not properly investigated to see what the schedules are. I had noticed that the nearest stop is only about a two minute walk from my front door, but hadn't closely studied the timetable. At 7:30, as I was having my first cup of tea in the new house, I saw the Route 4A head straight down the road. I knew I had 30 minutes to try to catch it, so I raced through the morning preparation to get ready. As I finished up my tea, I noticed children on the sidewalk across from me, about to go to school. And there's me, programmed now to catch the bus, just like I might have when I was a kid. With that in mind, I was able to just relax and enjoy all the little details of the morning. The birds tweeting. The temperature. The architecture of the "new" houses. I even left my iPod off so I could just experience this new route

Also: The dog comes with us!

We're not getting rid of the dog, as previously suggested. It was a possibility. I will say, it's been stressful with the whole transition to a new house thing, as well as a transition to me being the primary source of income in the family. I can't imagine me being that, but here I am! So, Billy comes with us to the new place. We'll even patch up the fence so he doesn't get out. We're on a busier road, so that may affect things a bit. Right now, he's safe if he escapes. Not so much in the new place. Though, I know Billy is street smart, and know he seeks wild spaces and not roads. Or, so I hope! Still, we'll make new dog tags for him. He has been with me since he was a puppy, as a friend of mine pointed out today. I was wrong to consider it. But, sometimes, life piles up on you and there's not much you can do but look for ways to relieve stress.

Now, a homeowner!

It is official. I am now a member of the middle class. There's no other way to say it, really. For my whole adult life, I've figured I was just some schmo who muddled his way through life paycheck to paycheck. Of course, that hasn't changed. Now I have to live paycheck to paycheck with style . So yes, we took possession of our house in the City of Charlottesville today. We're about a mile closer in to downtown, and about a mile away from Grounds, or so, and it's amazing how it will change my conception of the place where we've now chosen to buy into. Going through the process has certainly been assisted by my work at Charlottesville Tomorrow. I have a much better understanding of how the economy works, and what mysterious things like title insurance actually do. But still, the sheer enormity of deciding this... I may be overdoing it, but I can't believe I now own a house. First time in my life. How will it change me? Will I get more serious? Of course, I wri

Wanted: New home for awesome dog

Let me start by saying I love my dog. I think he's awesome. He is a little guy, less than twenty pounds, and he's not very well-trained. At obedience classes, the trainer just gave up because he is so cute. But, our children are also cute, and they're getting older all the time. They don't understand that he's not a toy, and despite our best efforts, our daughter won't learn. We're also about to move to a street with more traffic, and are concerned that he will run out and get hit by a car. I'm also concerned with me working every waking minute, I no longer have the time to walk him. He's 7 this year, and has a lot of life left him in him. He's a great companion, a great friend, and I'm afraid he's not getting the attention he deserves. So, before I post pictures, I thought I would see if I could start a conversation about finding him a new home. Has anyone else been to this point before? If so, how did you handle it?