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On my flight back to Grand Rapids from from Dallas last night, my little commuter plane came directly upon Lake Michigan from the south at dusk. First I noticed the lake, then that I could see both its west and east coasts, then that I could see South Bend, then that I could see the Chicago grid, then that I could see both St. Joe & BHarbs with the St. Joseph river squiggling between 'em and sidewinding way down through south Berrien, and then that I could see all these things at once. Finally I noted Lake Saugatuck (Douglas?) & the Kalamazoo river before drifting back to US Weekly or whatever. Pretty!

i'm blaming my 06.15 - 07.15 240 kwh use on my new/temporary roommate matt (who moved in right around mid-june), but wonder if this is excessively high for a one-bedroom apartment without air conditioning and whose occupants usually leave over the weekend. i'm thinking my refrigerator might be the biggest culprit. pls advise.

Currently enjoying the Gorillaz'szsz "Plastic Beach" while editing. Holla.

It does NOT look like this from my window anymore, and thank goodness for that.

Dear friends,

I took a job in bHarbs and will be moving there in approx. 2 weeks. I don't know anyone within an approximate 30-mile radius, which is a bummer, so I've made some plans to keep things awesome on the glistening beaches of SW Michigan. One involves compiling a list of 52ish week-long goals/tasks/occupations that will keep me busy through October 2010. So far I have 3/52 = (1) finish painting/reassembling my bike, (2) watch all of The West Wing, and (3) travel to either Shanghai or Buenos for a couple weeks once I've accrued some vacation time. I've also got some more long-term plans, i.e. (1) take guitar lessons, and (2) join a beach volleyball team. Any additions to either of these lists will be wildly appreciated. Pls contribute. Cheers.

Lately I've been vlogging, but I decided to remove the link. Try to find it if you cannnnnn.

Things I have blended in my new blender:

(1) smoothie upon smoothie
(2) iced coffee
(3) garlicky hummus

A set of friends (Nathan, Caitlin, Patrick) and I have started documenting our respective/collective job searches on our homemade whiteboard. Called "The [ ]hiteboard" or "Wall of Rejection", it displays lists of places we've applied; documents interviews, fade-outs/no-responses/empty sets; and acts as a gallery for tangbile rejection letters (so far we have only two--email seems to be the rejection m.o. in these economic times). So far I feel good about it. Maybe we'll have a party when we hit a big figure, i.e. 30 rejections (so far we're at 16) or 75 applications (currently at 45). So far I've applied to the fewest jobs, but have the highest interview:application ratio (3:8), so I'm feeling good(ish) about things. There are planning jobs out there, I swear it--we'll all be gainfully employed, or at least close to it, by the end of August.

I took Mao to the groomer's for a Lion Cut on Monday (see it here!). He's so far garnered at least four new nicknames: Muskrat, Brook Trout, Tiny Lion, Possum. I expect more to develop.

Once, in early June of '09, I junketed to the west coast. With Sacramento as a home base, Nathan, Patrick, sundry others (we kept trading off respective sets of friends), and I blitzed up to Portland, back down to San Fran through Davis, up to Berkeley, over to Oakland, and then finally through Santa Cruz before returning to Sac and ending our travels. Each city was unique, but I think I got a decent sense of a general west-coast ethos/lifestyle/whatnot: (somewhat) relaxed, chosen, and relatively independent of the other 49 estados. Some superlatives: I most liked meeting Portlanders, watching San Franciscans, enjoying the arid sunny climes of Sacramento, admiring the gardens in Berkeley, and feeling the morning haze burn off into a glorious, mild afternoon in Santa Cruz. Take me back!

The pickled beets (last post) were delicious, but too sweet.

Lately, the architecture/urban planning listserv has been peppered with emails about the program's newly acquired laser cutters. I can't imagine having to use one myself, but due to frequent stream of emails I now feel pretty knowledgeable about their quirks (overheating, shorting out, etc.). A word cloud and some facts:




* total emails about laser cutters (past 30 days): 8
* email frequency rate (average days between emails): 3.75
* total instances of 'laser(s)': 21
* average 'laser(s)' per email: 2.63
* total instances of 'tutorial(s)': 13
* total instances of 'sign-up/out': 13
* total instances of 'fablab' (administrative entity sending emails): 8

In an attempt to get rid of a head of red cabbage I [accidentally?] purchased last week, I've been eating a lot of ad hoc stir fries lately. Tonight's was especially delicious: onion, garlic, pickled ginger, cabbage, carrots, beets, tomatoes, tofu & rice. Victorious (the cabbage is almost gond!), I've found myself with about five lbs of beets to dispose of; no idearrrr how that's gonna happen. Maybe I'll pickle some of 'em (I didn't realize it was so easy!).

I've been reading HTWFAIP for a policy class, and it's a pretty entertaining go-round: lots of common sense instructions, advice on how to treat my wife, and quaint anecdotes. Bonus: my book was published in 1936, weighs about 0.0037 oz, and every page tears immediately upon use.