here we go!!!

mickey and i cracked into a nice bottle of wine last night to celebrate -- but what? obama coming in? w leaving? both are sweet. here's what i hope to happen in the coming four years:

1. return to collaboration and diplomacy with other countries
2. a continuation of the all-inclusiveness that has pervaded obama's campaign and inauguration, making every american feel he or she is part of something, invited to participate
3. a renewed commitment to 21st century thinking around technology, science, medicine, human rights and equality
4. removal of arrogance, ego, entitlement and cronyism
5. health for ted kennedy

most of all, i'm hoping we continue to have hope.

Best bowl game

That game against Ohio State was awesome. I only root for Texas when Nebraska and Oklahoma aren't playing. Thank goodness the cheering wasn't in vain tonight.

new years' guidelines

some great reading for this early new year.

what's in, in 2009.

and, cribbed from the list, finally someone offers perspective on what i've not been able to articulate in 2008. i'm feeling uninspired by the pressure to be connected. twitter. facebook. blog. IM. txt. enough. finally, someone shares my POV on the constant chatter, most of which is irrelevant and un-meaningful. in 2009, let's be more thoughtful, shall we, and extract from the clutter.

christmas 08 review

just back from westcliffe, colo., from our christmas celebration. it was one of the best i've had in recent memory. so relaxing, no stress at all, and lots of family time. we wii'd every day, for hours on end, ate tons, and took lots of photos, including one day's photo safari contest. third base, her husband, mickey and i walked around town taking photos in pre-arranged categories. the only catch was that we had to use our cell phone cameras, in order to level the playing field, since we had a professional photographer in our midst.

winning photos were:

category: action

category: artsy

category: flames unawares

category: macro

category: perspective

category: WTF

we were without interwebs for nearly a week. i didn't really have cell service during the week, either, so it was truly a disconnected time. much needed, too, after so many weeks of stress at work. and, amazingly, colorado had less snow than portland.

only two regrets of the trip: not having more time there (a week was far too short) and not getting more time with my cousins, aunt and uncle.

flickr set of the trip details the rest of the lazy week. can't wait to go back to visit again. i forgot how much of a home away from home it was.

ps: those of you logging in to see the video from our christmas cards will have to excuse the delay in getting our cards out. the snowpocalypse in portland delayed our mail for 3-4 days, so i didn't receive the cards before we left for colorado. finally the first 14 inches melted while we were gone, but sadly today we have another new inch. WTF indeed.)