A new dawn...

I was up early most days this week.  There was that work thing, but on Tuesday I woke up early, excited about the new possibilities, of a new dawn for our country.  And I was not disappointed as we as Americans swore on a new president.  Peacefully, and a president, in many ways, like none of the 43 that preceded him.   And certainly different than the one came immediately before him.

There are so many milestones and changes that have been met by Obama's taking of the Oath of Office, that being the first African American to do so may end up to be the least significant.  It was a sobering speech, but one that we needed, as a country, to hear.   I am as inspired as I am scared by the mountains that are before us.  But I like the idea of a leader who says "yes we can" and is more inclusive about who the "we" is.  It is really all of us who have to face these challenges.

I am optimistic about facing, meeting, and then conquering these challenges.  I am not too Polly Anne-ish about being able to do this quickly.  I suspect that it will take several years, and there will be low times before high times.  Of that I am certain.  But there are several things that convinced me that "yes, we can."  First was incredible amount of interest in the happenings i Washington.  Two million people who cared enough to witness even the little slice of history that they might have been able to see.  My friend who was there said that she said that she could feel that she was at a place where history was being made.  Our internet server was at the college was the slowest it had ever been because so many people were "streaming" the ceremony on their computer.  Reports about TV and internet viewership noted record numbers no matter the venue.  People care, people are interested, people are convinced, no matter how much they have to do, that yes, yes we can.

Those are more obvious signs that should convince me, and two unknown heros also help convince me that we can.  The first is a student in my class.  She is bright, interested student, and I am sure that she has thought that I was critical of her point of view, too critical of her and for that I feel badly.  In reality, I have never been more proud of a student.  She asked the key question in the class, the one that I dream of students asking. She asked essentially "why should be look at our leaders of the past so critically?"  Certainly she thought that I/the class was being too focused on the negatives of Andrew Jackson and she was in some ways correct.  But the teachable moment, and the reason she is a hero to me is that she asked the question and started the difficult conversation.  We will have hundreds and thousands of difficult conversations, conversations that question the past leadership of our country as well as our certitude that WE have the right answer.  But after eight years of not asking those tough questions we will have to now.  That one student began the discussion does make me believe that this is all possible.

The second hero came out of left field.  I have told you that at times I have had some challenges at work.  OK, more than some!  (-:  Certainly one of those has been my interactions with the faculty.  There are many reasons for that, way too many for here, but probably most are caused by neither of us knowing the other all that well.  The senior faculty have been here a while.  I have not.  I suppose that there is some of "he/they doesn't/don't know/understand/appreciate/know what I know."   But I like them and do want to understand them.  One in particular, one of the most senior and respected of all that I work with, brightened my perspective.  On Tuesday, he was responding to an article about faculty tenure and faculty hiring, very contentious topic on any college campus.  After a thoughtful comment, he essentially said, "I don't know about you, but I am proud/happy to be an American today."  He summed up what I have thought about a great deal since the election.  I have been to Europe seven times since George Bush had been elected, and for the first time, as I plan another trip, this is the first time since 2001 that I can really say that, too.  No more pretending that I am Canadian!  But he summed it up with that one line that he was able to write, even when talking about the most difficult of topics.  We can be proud and be happy to be Americans.  It will be difficult.  But, as they say, "yes we can, yes we can."

Foggy days...

It has been very foggy here, both in the mornings and at night.  I think that they call this a climate inversion of some sorts.  Lousy to drive in, but I wish I would have more time this week for photos, as this weather change offers amazing opportunities.  These are from one day this week.  The one immediately above was at, as they say, from O'dark:30, from one day I had to be there at 6AM.  The others are from campus, a little later that day.

Notes on blogging...

I have discovered that I really do enjoy blogging.  I think that I am reasonably good at it...most of my sentences are full sentences, and almost all of them have subject and verb thingies in them.  I am more aware than any reader that what I write is simple "blather" that allows me to process my life in a semi-public way.  I have no illusions of importance of anything that I write.  It is mostly for me, and for the 3-5 people who do read this.  I think that really is the extent of my audience--there has been only two people who I have not specifically invited who have ever read this--one high school friend, my editor at the Purple Wings, who no doubt thought I needed editing just as I did then.  And some kind soul who just found this this blog by mistake or luck.  

But I find that I walk a fine line.  Three people, 50% or more of my readers, have commented that I seem sad in my postings.  And here lies the problem with blogging.  I really have tried to keep personal things out of my blog, at least true personal things.  No names, no specific instances or causes of thoughts, etc.  But if you do this you will let things about you slip out, and I know I have.  Life is like that, and mine is no different.  Sometimes it is hard, sometimes it is confusing, and sometimes it is not all that you might want it to be or even need it to be.

Two things.  I hope that this undercurrent of life doesn't interfere with what I am really saying--trust me, it is mostly background noise and not the noise that drives my life or days.  Secondly, I will reach out if I need to.  I am fine.  I would change things in a few parts of my life, but I refuse to think that all of us wouldn't say that if we had a chance.  But I am fine.  

I guess lastly, thank you.  I am blessed by having one or two people who care enough to ask.  

The end of the walk

The walk, metaphorically, ended at sunset tonight, a sunset which featured this incredible band of yellow sky over the San Juan Islands.  I don't have any clue as to what the week will bring, either with the weather or with other stuff.  It is comforting to know that there probably will be other sunsets though, right?  Kind of a sad day, but I looked for something to smile at or about, as someone told me to do.  And you know what?  I found it.

I know someone at work who has just an incredible office, filled with art.  It is bright, and the art ranges from kid's class projects to what some would call "real art."  I have thought about doing something like that with photos in my office.  I do have a few photos hanging, but nothing significant.  So, I guess that this is my wall. For what it's worth.

A walk, continued...

A walk, continued.  Wow, even a people picture, though I did not get their names for the cutline.  I apparently am in a horizontal mood.  I was at a bookstore today, and saw a title of a book that caught my eye, in part because of the picture above, but really because of many of the photos on the blog of Bellingham.  The title was "Best Places to Kiss in the Northwest."  I am glad that I know that there is a book of that tells me where.  I did not buy the book...

A sunny day, a walk, and...

It was a wonderful weekend, with warm (sort of) weather and sunshine, a commodity that has been in somewhat short supply of late.   I know that people (you singular?)  may be getting tired of vague, unspecific pictures of colorful things.  For those who know me, you may be thinking that these photos are out of character for me.  Maybe they are.  I think that I see them as kind of place holders for me.  I want to take other photos, but I do not know of what.  These photos are pleasant, and perhaps even semi competent.  I recognize they are photos of nothing but they keep me taking photos.  Photography is a journey, isn't it?  I am just walking around on that journey.

Along with the idea of we are what we eat...

As they say, "Phat"  I am sure that this is the exact word that people would use, as in cool, hip, etc.  Or maybe it was fat.  And fuzzy.  In the past month, I have grown a beard.  Lots of reasons, I suppose.  One reason is that I can.  Not physically, but I can at work.  This place is a whole lot more casual that my previous place of work.  Two of the three vice-presidents have beards (thankfully the third doesn't--she would look awful) and I can easily get by with wearing a tie a day or two a week, and jeans at least on Friday.  And no one looks at you as if you have dog doo doo on your shoes if you do come to work casually dressed.

For those of you who remember me or knew me 25 years ago, I had a beard for several years.  It went with the "Animal" persona that I so carefully cultivated.  Remember Animal from Lou Grant?  Well, I digress.  My beard then was red, and soft and curly.  I was, of course, pretty hot and cool.  Yeah, that's it.  Anyway, this is the longest I have had a beard since probably 1985.  And now, my beard is gray and bristly.  I am not sure how that happened.  I am not sure if the beard will stay.  It is kind of a protest thing, but if I am going to protest, I suppose that I have to figure out what I am protesting about.  It is hardly a fashion statement, but I thought that someone might like (and laugh) and perhaps smile at the images.

A mirror view of one my other favorite places for breakfast

Ave. Bread

Color and food.  What more can you ask.  Avenue Bread probably makes the best bread in town, and it has a nice space, too.  I often end up there to steal their internet signal and sip coffee and have a treat.  Of course, I always get their smallest offering, often just a small plain, crust of bread and plain dry water.

You are what you eat...

You are what you eat, as they say. and this place was one my recent culinary exploits.  Can't much recommend the food, but I absolutely loved the name.  Makes me wonder why they bother promoting salads.

Dog days...

This has to be one of my favorite dog photos.  Bellingham is a without a doubt a dog-friendly city, and this one was a city-friendly dog, just plopped down on a pretty busy street waiting for its owner.

Black and white...

Sometimes a little snow is just as dramatic and pretty as a lot of snow, not to mention a whole lot easier to drive in!  Perhaps that is a small metaphor for life, too...

Life is interesting here, I guess.  I have had long conversations with friends about being alone, alone-ness, and loneliness, all similar words but with very different meanings, and with very different levels of comfort.  I am not uncomfortable being alone--often it is a choice and I am fine with that.  I think I am struggling in part with a sense of loss and the lack of direction/comfort/balance that can come with that.  Certainly a great deal of that loss has come from the loss of my father this year.  That has been magnified by the season, and that his birthday was this past week as well.  But I am also struggling with the difference between losses which you have no control over, and losses in which you or often others have control over.  I am unsure as to which loss hurts more, or affects me more.  Friends are rare things, but rarer than family?  I am not blameless in these losses which are magnified by choices, perhaps making this a bit more of a struggle for me.

Perhaps it's the control thing or the ego thing.  I certainly struggle with both of these as shortcomings.  But we all need opportunities that let us grow, right? RIGHT?????  Nothing terminal.

School begins tomorrow, which really indicates the start of the new year, with all that this means.  Adventures await, I'm sure.

Blue-ness

It is again a gray, rainy, snowy day, one largely devoid of color as the clouds are hovering way too close to the ground.  I wandered around and looked for color, and even made some of my own, or at least arranged some color with flowers.  I made some prints from the flower photos, and while they aren't incredible, they are OK.  What I find amazing is just how good the lens that comes with a Nikon D40.  This lens has plastic elements, and the entire lens is in a poly-carbonate barrel.  I can't imagine that there is a penny's worth of metal in the whole lens.  Still, I made 11X17 photos which were razor sharp.  I think the lens probably sells for $69, which is basically free.  Twenty five years ago you would have spent hundreds to get the same results.  I know, way too technical, but it is interesting.  To me at least..

More color...