Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 27

Ms. Boss and I spent this past weekend in an Airbnb apartment. One of the reasons Ms. Boss picked the apartment was a photo she saw of the bedroom. She knew I would be fascinated with the wall full of maps hung by the owner. Of course she was right. It’s no exaggeration to say I spent a good hour or two pouring over the political maps, the maritime charts, and the topographical maps I saw there. While the maps alone were enough to grab my attention, another feature kept it there. The owner placed Post It Notes all over the maps explaining what these places meant to them – it was both informative and personal.

I’ve always been fascinated with maps. I started reading National Geographic in kindergarten. I asked for a Rand McNally Atlas almost every Christmas. My parents bought me a pull-down classroom maps of the United States for my bedroom. I played travel agent growing up to the point where I told the AAA office that a TripTik would not be necessary for our next trip. I kept a World Atlas on my coffee table while I watched television to find places until it was replaced by my iPhone. To say that I love maps is an understatement.

What’s actually difficult to believe is that I never once thought about pursuing maps as a career growing up – I was supposed to be the lawyer. While I had many changes of heart about what I should do with my life (please read the previous phrase as ‘crises’), maps never crossed my radar until well into my forties.

To provide clarity to my previous thought, I now have a GIS expert on my staff at work. He deals with maps all day. I am insanely jealous.

Here’s a new idea for a blog – a map-driven blog that attaches meaning to different locations from my perspective. A good idea, yes, but this information is a little to personal for me to put on the interwebs. Besides, Google can probably already do that with the information they collect on me.

Ms. Boss is a big fan of tattoos. While her story about this topic is hers to tell, I probably wouldn’t be too far out of bounds to say she likes to collect them when she can on trips we take. While I truly appreciate the artwork she is curating on herself, I’ve never had the desire (please read ‘guts’) to get any of my own. The one idea that has even gotten consideration is a list of map coordinates of many of the significant events of my life – this speaks to me and who I am. If this were to happen, you’d find all the entries on my leg but one. That particular one would be the place where Ms. Boss said ‘I do’. It would go right over my heart.

As you might imagine, I have this habit of memorizing where I am when certain things happen. While many of you know where you were when things like 9/11 happened (it was my day off, I was home in my office), my list is much more exhaustive. Sometimes, it’s what I remember most. It can be a burden at times. I was just thinking fondly of the place I decided that I was going to marry Ms. Boss until I remembered it was also where one of the worst episodes of our marriage happened – something that I did that I truly, truly regret. For better or worse, that place doesn’t exist anymore – they built a large building over it.

I started off this post by saying I had stayed in an Airbnb. I was pretty leery about the prospect of staying in someone else’s apartment, but Ms. Boss persisted. As usual, she was right. She has a knack for picking the right places far from where normal out-of-towners stay. This past weekend we stayed in a residential neighborhood in a city. Half a block of walking put us at the front door of a great coffee shop, an outdoor beer garden, and an excellent vegan restaurant. Had we been normal ‘touristas’, we never would have had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in what normal people did in that particular city.

I went to a building near my work today that I’ve never been to before. I was surprised how large it was when I got there. Filling my own personal map with this information was perhaps the highlight of my work day. It got me to thinking, what if I got the old Rand McNally out and started filling it in, highlighting all the roads I’ve been, pointing myself in the future where I haven’t? Truly, truly immersing myself in what place has to offer – I can hardly wait to begin.

World Wide Web Wednesday – Volume 8

World Wide Web Wednesday returns with:

www.trello.com

For the longest time, I’ve looked for a ‘to do list’ app to keep my sh… err… life straight. Trello is the one that has held on the longest. (Thanks for the tip, Ms. Boss!). Read on to discover why.

It’s Free(ish) – Yes, there are a lot of cool things that you can add on if you pay for them, but so far I haven’t needed more than a few free ones. Besides, in my personal life I’m a bit of a cheapskate. In my occupational life? Don’t even get me started on the complexities of the procurement process at work.

It’s a Website and an App: My go-to for Trello at home is the app on my iPad. On my work PC, it’s in my Web browser. Yes, there are subtle differences between the environments, but not enough to worry about.

It Has Alexa Integration: I’m not a hardcore user of Alexa, but there are times when it comes in handy. Example, when you’re making dinner and you use the last of a household staple and don’t want to come to a screeching halt to write it down on a shopping list, a shout out to Alexa and an IFTTT integration will put it right on your Trello board. Yes, I know Alexa has shopping list embedded and Jeff Bezos will happily send it to you for a small amount of coin, but…

You Can Sort Your List By Dragging Card Around – This is perhaps my favorite part of the app. Want to sort your list in the order of the grocery store because you can because you know where everything is because you go so often because four daughters in your house do nothing but consume? A couple of clicks and you’re good to go. Does the boss come at you with a yet another ‘drop everything and do this’? Slap that assignment on a card and drag it right to the top of the pile. Put a couple of color labels on your cards or put some due dates on and it makes it even better.

Trello has quite a few other features that I don’t make as much use of – checklists, comments, archiving, multiple boards – that I don’t make as much use of, but may be just what you are looking for. If you’re in the neighborhood, it may just be worth a look.

That’s another link to the rest of the Internet in the books… err… blog. Now go out there and Web!

Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 26

As my few fans may have noticed, I’ve posted a few more pics lately. There’s a few reasons for that. First, I said early on I wanted to post black and white pics and I really haven’t followed through on it. Second, I got a new phone. After existing in the Android universe for three years, I finally returned to Apple. The change brought with it a better camera than my previous phone and no excuse not to take pictures. The third reason is a little more complicated and deserves its own bullet point.

Ms. Boss recently asked us to accompany her to the local art museum for her recent birthday. As I believe I mentioned previously, she was a fine art major in college and still enjoys exercising that part of her mind on a regular basis. This particular visit included a guided meditation session on an art installation that used light shining through cutouts to display different patterns on the wall. The high point of the session for me was an instruction by the leader to spend a few minutes outside my comfort zone in a meditative state. When it comes to groups, I like to float on the periphery, to hang back, to occupy the back rows of the room, so to speak. Following instructions, I got right up close to the artwork with my nose one inch from the art piece shining the patterns. I was rewarded with an immersive experience. The artwork existed all around me, enveloped me, and seared an image in my brain I won’t soon forget. The lesson I learned that day was to get close to those things around me and truly notice them. What I’m trying to do is share that with you, dear reader, through photography. I take black and white photos of patterns I see around me and try to immerse us – you and I – in them.

I’ve said this for years, but as each year goes by the meaning behind the words changes and becomes even deeper. Being married is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It’s also the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. This year, I’m trying to be more immersed in my marriage. It’s difficult to block everything else out and focus on that one thing. I fail miserably time and time again, but every once in awhile I get it right – and am handsomely rewarded for it.

Its a rainy October Sunday as I write this from the front porch of my house. What started as sprinkles grew into a soaking, steady rain. Ms. Boss is seated to my right working hard to get caught up with last week’s work before diving into next week. Before starting this post, I dehulled some of the black walnuts that have fallen in our yard with the hope of shelling them in a week or so. Together, we’ve worked, had a hot beverage or two, enjoyed the solitude and the sound of the falling rain. When she turned and told me she loved me out of the blue, I knew there was no place either of us would rather be.

Random Semicoherent Thoughts – Volume 25

If there’s a center to my universe, it has to be Sunday brunch at the Boss household.  Ms. Boss whips up some fine breakfast food – I can’t decide whether French toast or biscuits are my favorite – and serves some excellent coffee.  I read the New York Times aloud from the kitchen table and we discuss the issues of the day as coffee house jazz plays in the background.  If all that isn’t good enough, there comes a moment during this time when she drops the spatula and I put aside the Times and we hold each other close and let the beat guide us and the love overtake us.  It never gets old.

The universe had to come from somewhere.  Our ‘big bang’ occurred on our second date.  Ms. Boss worked Saturday though Wednesday evening shift while I worked Wednesday through Saturday midnights.  By process of elimination, we determined that the only possible time we could have a date was on Sunday morning.  I got home from work just after 7, she showed up shortly afterwards.  I made breakfast – I can’t remember whether it was cheese grits or cream of wheat.  What I do remember is that we talked… and we talked… and we talked for hours.  While you may not perceive this from my writing, I’m definitely not a talker.  Morning became afternoon and a Sunday became a lifetime.  The one thing I know?  Everything is good as long as the two of us continue talking.

Some of you may have already gleaned that the pivotal moment of my life referred to above was our second date.  We did manage a spontaneous first date a few days before what was supposed to be our first date.  This trip to the local pub was not one of my greatest moments.  I gave her plenty of reasons never to date me again both figuratively and literally.  Despite the fact that I was at a pub, beer had nothing to do with it because I hadn’t had a drop – it was my native ‘charm’ plain and simple.  It is a miracle that she ever showed at my house for the second date.  It is an even greater miracle she has stayed with me for sixteen years.

Ms. Boss’ life has not been an easy one.  Filled with twists and turns and obstacles aplenty, she has made herself successful by her own sheer will and her ability to adapt.  As her husband, I’m proud of what she’s accomplished and grateful for all that she’s done for our family.

I’ve tried in vain for several weeks to come up with a single word that describes Ms. Boss and I just can’t come with one that does the trick.  Even ‘my everything’ is two words.  I’m more smitten with her today than I have ever been.

I’ve set out in this entry to introduce you to the love of my life, but in that regard, I feel I have failed.  Such is the enormity of her presence in my life that words cannot possibly capture it all in a way that I find adequate.  I can only hope that you, dear reader, will be able to discover her for yourself as I continue the journey that is this blog.

One final word – should fate some day take the sparkle out of her beautiful eyes forever, I will be truly lost.