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Today was the first day that we went over to work on the booth that we are setting up for a convention in the Hawaiian Convention Center. All went well (they’re looking for one of our boxes) and we were soon back out exploring Oahu. We wanted to go to Pearl Harbor today to visit both the Arizona as well as the Missouri (or Big Mo as it’s affectionately known as here). So we did both.
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Travel – There’s always something exciting about travel for me. I enjoy going somewhere I haven’t been before. And today I got up early to get on a plane and travel farther west than I’ve traveled before. Today I’m headed to Hawaii.
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Ninzin and I drug the kids to the Iowa State Fair today. The weather was perfect in the morning (low 70′s) and the clouds kept the sun at bay. Parking there has gotten bad recently, and so we parked downtown and took the MTA to the fair. Parking and shuttle for 50 cents a head. Can’t beat it. The kids liked walking throughout the 4H buildings and checking out the sheep, pigs, and horses. I enjoy looking at the photography exhibit, and this year (as always) there were some great pictures taken by locals and non-locals alike. The fair this year had the usual fair food staples; fruit smoothies, Salt water taffy, Corn dogs, lemonade, gyros, funnel cakes, pizza, pork chops, as well as some new less heart healthy fare; deep fried twinkies ( I could hear peoples arteries hardening as I passed the stand) and deep fried candy bars (disturbing).
The highlight this year was the chance to sit and listen to a GREAT bluegrass band The Mike & Amy Finder Band. Wow. It was a great show and I really enjoyed their sound and stage presence. I’ll be eagerly awaiting their CD all wrapped up for my birthday next month.
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My cousin Micah has been in my thoughts a lot lately. It’s hard because we’re on different paths and I love him like a brother. His mother passed last week and I wanted to be out there to support him. It would have been hard logistically for me to get out there, and there were a lot of people there supporting him, and I didn’t want to be in the way. I do plan to fly out in a month or so, so that we can spend some time together, and I can lend a hand doing whatever needs to be done. It’s hard being an only child, something Micah and I share. He’s a strong person though, and he was there for me when I needed him when our grandfather passed. I can’t imagine what he’s going through, I can only be there to listen. The unexpected loss of a parent is a frightening and terrible thing to think about. We talked the other night and I could hear the emotion just under the surface, like a thin layer of ice across a lake. I hope that he knows I’m here for him, and that he feels my support and love in my prayers.

I was sitting at home relaxing this weekend when out of the blue I got a call from a friend from High School. It was odd, interesting, and slightly surreal all at once. It was nice hearing from Jeremy after all this time. As our ten year class reunion is approaching, I was also thinking about old friends and where they’re at now. Jeremy is seems is doing well and is embarking on a new career path, the path of the underpaid federal worker bee. Good luck man. I asked about another friend we both shared in High School and it seems that he’s working/living in the Ames area, but is in Des Moines often. It’s odd. 10 years have passed and I can only count on one hand the friends that I’d like to talk to again. I envy my brother-in-law, a much more skilled socialite, and his large blanket of friends. These types of phone calls always spark a flood of emotion and I wonder how other people that I haven’t talked to are doing.

I miss my cousin Micah. We never talked much while I was growing up, but I always felt close to him. He was an only child also and we are the only two grandchildren to my mother’s parents. We both had a different childhood than our parent’s would have wished, and I always felt he was close. I wish we talked more……

So, either I wasn’t quick enough to explain how this works or she’s striking it out on her own, either way Ninzin has started a blog over at Xanga. Now if they start charging her in the future, or putting up ads, I’ll try to pull her back here, but until then I wish her the best.

Update: She’s gone incogneto so if you’re looking for her, send her (or myself) an email.

It’s been a while since I’ve wrote here. Not too odd as I’ve been buckled down at work, working like mad. As projects settle and minds calm, I find myself wondering what’s going on out east today. I wonder what I’m missing. I think about Panna II and naan, I think about my friends in Eatontown, and my last trip to the Museum of Natural History. I think about the smells of the city (both good and bad), but most of all I think about the energy, the feel of the place. I think about the music, the rhythm of the trains. I miss El Salvadoreno, talking with a good friend over a plate of warm papusas. Sometimes my heart aches to be there. Today is one of those days. Then I get to go home and see scenes like I saw yesterday. The weather here was perfect, dogs running in the yard and Ninzin watching Elijah rollerblade (well trying). I need to call my friends more, and get my mind unwrapped from my work. It’s good to be here in Des Moines.

Last night I helped a friend, Joel, with a great project that he’s supporting at our church. Anchor House Coffeehouse is a great forum to give musicians a stage, and all of us a seat to listen to some great music. Last night Natalia Zuckerman dropped by and played a great set. It was a fun night I only wish that Ninzin could have been there. She was home with our daughter, who was ill.

Past the holiday season and everyone made it out ok. It was nice seeing family and even nicer being able to see some of our family that has fled the state. Family from AK and from TN came to visit. My aunt and uncle are co-owners of a hotel in AK that sits on Lake Lucille. Of course he brought along pics so we got a chance to look um over. Lo and behold there is a webcam that sits on thier hotel and overlooks the lake. My uncle tells me that the cam is operated by the local chamber of commerce and so I, avid explorer that I am, went to go take a peek. The location of the webcam on the site does NOT jump out at you. So, for those of us whose hearts and minds drift to Alaska, here’s a view of Lake Lucille, from the webcam on the side of a Best Western.

Lake Lucille – Matanuska Valley, Alaska from the Best Western