Planning A Big Move?

Are you thinking about making a large scale move? Something like moving the contents of a three bedroom house all the way across the country? If so, you need to be prepared. However, RELAX. No amount of planning and worrying can prepare you for all that could go wrong. To assist with this process, I have prepared a list of my “Top Tips for Moving.”

1. Don’t have a lot of stuff. The more you have, the more you suffer.
2. Don’t be too emotionally attached to your stuff. Items will disappear and things will get broken. If you think the label “Fragile” means anything to your movers, then you are completely insane.
3. Let the moving company pack EVERYTHING (since they assume NO liability for whatever you pack). As you stand there holding your broken items with a pained expression on your face, their favorite thing to do is ask “Did you pack that?” It is like an instant Get Out of Stupid card for them.
4. See Rule #1. My advice? Burn it all.
5. Always retain original boxes for delicate/valuable items (such as your computer, stereo, TV, etc). Failing to do so is like asking for your valuable item to get broken. That form-fitting styrofoam is there for a reason.
6. Your most valuable items and those things you consider irreplaceable are best moved by you personally. This means that you pack it, you load it in your vehicle, you secure it and you carry it into your new home. Failing to do so guarantees your future unhappiness.
7. Be prepared for LOTS of wasted paper resources. Watching professional packers or unpacking their parcels is enough to make even the most casual environmentalist cry. I think they killed 25 redwoods just to pack this one lamp I got at a thrift store.
8. Remember that persnickety box description – “Misc.” Everything you are looking for is in that box. Maybe you should open this box first to prevent yourself from buying a lot of stuff that you already own.
9. Don’t have a lot of stuff. A good rule is worth repeating twice. A perfect rule is worth repeating thrice.

If you can follow the above instructions, then your large scale move should go fairly well. If you don’t follow the above instructions, then you should just take a sledgehammer to your belongings right now. Oh yeah, and drive down the highway and dump a bunch of your favorite things out the window at 60 MPH. This should simulate the average cross country move with great accuracy.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there in Internet-land! I’m feeling a bit like Lewis and Clark having traveled 3000 miles from home and settling down for a long, cold winter with unfamiliar locals. Well, my plight isn’t quite so intimidating and my voyage was nowhere near as dramatic — but you get the point. Anyway, I’ve been in my new town for two-and-a-half weeks and every single day I’ve had dozens of moments which have reminded me to be happy and thankful. The folks I’ve met here in Moscow are amazingly sweet and not in that syrupy, insincere way. Just down home folks who seem to share an innate belief that we are all valuable as human beings. It is nice, I’ll tell ya.

Life moves rather slowly here and progress is measured and deliberate. The original Pita Pit location burned down months ago and they have been building out its new location for most of that time. The University of Idaho campus is a peaceful study in non-construction. It is awfully nice to not have to compete with back-end loaders and dump trucks and jackhammers just to get to your workplace. And there is a distinct lack of that jaded cynicism which builds as you realize that your employer would rather spend $500 million on building renovations instead of providing you with a reasonable 6% cost-of-living adjustment.

2007 was an extremely stressful and difficult year for me. I blindly walked into a home renovation that blew up in my face and took away every dime I ever had. I endured caustic battles with my family members over the project management of said home renovation. I watched in fear as my available pool of close friends shrunk, most succumbing to pressures of marriage, family or career. And I suffered great bouts of self-doubt and depression as I was turned down by one good company after the other. I’m sure other stuff happened as well, but it was peanuts compared to that listed above.

Yet despite all the trouble and worry, I am thankful. For the record, I am extremely happy and thankful. While I still have lingering headaches back in North Carolina (house to sell, lawsuit to settle, etc), I am finally on a path that I can respect and appreciate. And I have not felt so free since I first went off to college. Besides having to please my new employer and making sure that my dog is fit and healthy, I have no responsibilities. This thought is always at the forefront of my mind and I am constantly seeking to further simplify my life. It has been a hard fought battle, but I’m finally starting to feel as if I am winning.

So, I am thankful for my awesome new job and the opportunity it provided me to enhance my career. I am extremely thankful that I actually get to do work which I find interesting and challenging. I am extremely thankful that on my busy days at work I can return home feeling like I learned something valuable. I am extremely thankful that I found a nice, small community to settle into which seems to acknowledge and appreciate my presence. I am extremely thankful to be in good health and that my loved ones are also doing well. I am extremely thankful that I am here — here on Earth — alive, employed, loved, missed, and still able to tie my own shoelaces.

For all those whom have helped me and supported me over the years – Thank you. I am extremely thankful for your assistance and patience. Along with my parents, I owe all of my success to you and it will not be forgotten. I am always happy to lay eyes upon old friends. Of which, several are already making plans to come visit me in Idaho. This is turning out to be a very good move for me. And I am thankful every day.

Virtualize Me

So here I am in New York City attending the 2007 Virtualization Conference (a part of the larger 2007 SOA World Expo) and trying to learn a bit more about the future of enterprise computing. I had not done any traveling in a while and also had not been to a conference in ages, so I’m feeling very lucky to be here. And while this is essentially the premier SOA/Virtualization conference in the States, I still find the ambiguity of conference speakers to be frustrating.

I am so used to hands-on techie learning (a la SANS Institute) that to hear everything abstracted and spun into business-speak often leaves me less than satisfied. Thankfully, the speakers are not solely focused on plugging their companies and products. And from what I’ve heard so far, most of the large vendors are working together (via a SOA Best Practices Working Group) to make all of our lives easier in the future. (*fingers crossed*)

Regardless, New York City is beautiful right now and I’m enjoying it as much as possible. Nice sunny days and warm nights without the brutal humidity that usually keeps folks locked up in their air conditioned spaces. As a bonus, I got to take in a good portion of the massive Gay Pride Parade that took place yesterday. It was totally awesome to see so many happy dancing and smiling people flooding the city. When I get home I will post my photos to flickr, so please check back for that link.

One From The Road

Hello Readers!

I offer blase and ungenuine apologies for my several months absence. There are quite a few posts in the queue, waiting for finalization, but many more pressing and important things absorbed the time needed to complete them. One of those “pressing and important things” was planning a vacation to temporarily escape Winter.

I am currently visiting sunny Melbourne, Australia where Summer has been a tad unpredictable. When I first arrived, it was rather cool for the season, however that didn’t last long. I’m not sure why I’m taking the time to write while on holiday, but presumably it is to give my eyes a break from all the reading I’ve been catching up on. (What grand irony.)

So, here I am — absolutely roasting in a tiny $500,000 house with neither air conditioning (they don’t believe in it here) nor a dishwasher (the same) and wondering (quite pointlessly) how the “average” Australian can afford to live in this city. Dude, I am not employing hyperbole when I state that every-frickin-thing here costs between two and three times what a similar/same item might run in the States. I know, I know — cost does not always equate to much and the All American drive to have cheaper goods and services is destroying the globe at large.

That is all well and good for a nice, academic discussion about Third World labor issues and economies of scale, but it still doesn’t do shit for those earning a basic wage trying to cover simple cost of living expenses. I guess I can ponder the same thing for the States, but at least they’ve got a Wal*Mart on every corner to defray the costs of shampoo and underwear.

Anyway, enough of my cultural comparisons and economic inequality screed. Heh. I can’t even honestly call it a screed, seeing how it was so half-hearted. More of an observation, really. Or perhaps a casual aside. Quite possibly a slight to people who make such issues their life’s work. But at least I’m thinking about it.

Okay, back to my Fall 2005 edition of the Griffith Review — my new favorite publication and truly one of the most well-written and fascinating things I’ve ever picked up in my life. (More on that later). Until then, why don’t you entertain yourself with the photos from my Aussie trip last Fall…

Parts of the USA I already done seen

Okay, so I had to succumb to this trendy image link thing because I was ultimately curious just how much of the USA I have already set foot upon. From the looks of it, I’ve been damn near everywhere in the States. However, some of them were on long distance road trips and amounted to nothing more than driving a few miles on a road that happened to be in that state.

(Like that time we took the Hernando DeSoto bridge from Memphis, TN over the Mississippi River into Arkansas. Just so we could say we’d been to Arkansas.)

create your own visited states map

Places I’ve been include: AL AZ AR CA CO CT DC DE FL GA ID IL IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MS MO NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY

Places I got to stay for a while: AL AZ CO DC FL NJ NY NC and VT

Looks like I’d better hit Hawaii and then find a new continent to roam.

Day Five: Complete Physical Fatigue

So, the week of practice started off with increased emotional bouyancy and energy levels and by Day Five it was like The Gap Band’s “You Dropped A Bomb On Me.” Holy cow. I had to be dragged to the 8 AM morning practice and I was yawning and shaking thru the whole thing. My body was completely fatigued and I was beginning to feel the massive effects of dehydration and drastic change in diet & exercise patterns. I wasn’t able to participate in more than 30% of the two hour morning practice.

Thankfully, the afternoon mysore class became a focused breathing and meditation workshop, so I didn’t have to perform the Ashtanga primary series twice in one day (like we seem to have been doing a lot). Instead, I just got a chance to focus on controlling my abdomen and chanting with my group. Quite an amazing experience and all the worries and troubles I had going into the room were resolved or dissolved upon my leaving the room. Lots of work, but lots of benefit. Still no complaints overall.

See you all next week!

Link to complete picture series for Australia 2005

Ashtanga Retreat: Day One

What an energizing experience! The location here is too much for words. You will have to wait for the pictures (or view the site for the place we’re staying). And altho we had two long sessions today, I left feeling charged up and ridiculously happy. Overall, a way good decision to come on this retreat. More to say, but no time left to write. Must get to bed since we start at 8 AM.

Exotic Fruit Tasting

We were lucky enough to join an exotic fruit tasting tour here in Cape Trib yesterday. The guy who runs the tour also owns the farm and small house nearby. What an incredible setting and the work they’ve done with the place is inspiring. Rain water reclaimation, solar power, hundreds of varieties of fruits and veggies — all growing in an organic, chemical-free environment.

This two hour tour was probably my favorite thing so far. After enthusiastically thanking him for showing us his place and delicious fruits, the last thing he asked was to “Tell other folks about it.” Consider yourself told. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend Digby’s fruit farm and tasting tour. Upon return, I would like to spend a few days in their bed and breakfast and a few lazy hours walking the orchard with their beautiful rottweilers.

Cape Trib — Lose Yourself

Flew into Cairns. Hired a car. Lunch in Port Douglas at On The Inlet (a very nice seafood place). A bit of a walkaround and Tiramisu ice cream before getting back on the road. A quick stop in Daintree Village. Then crossing the Daintree River on the ferry. Amazing country up here. Nice and remote! Staying in Cape Tribulation for a few days before heading back down to Mission Beach. I can’t see how anyone would ever want to leave this paradise.

Sorry no pictures yet as the computers and connections available are quite slow. I imagine it will take a while to process them all upon return. Some good ones in there, tho.

Sydney In A Flash

Okay, I don’t have much time to post since we’re about to catch another plane up the coast to North Queensland, but I figured I would mention a bit about Sydney. What a beautiful city!! There are grungy districts (like King’s Cross — where we have been staying) and very posh areas (Bondi Beach). The last three days have blown by and I’m lucky to have taken so many photos, otherwise I might not remember it all.

Now I see why Will comes here for a month each year. Lovely.

I hope to get another chance to post, but it may not happen as the intense week-long yoga retreat is coming up. Must… Maintain… Focus…

CORRECTION: We were staying in Potts Point, which is right next to (but not the same as) King’s Cross.