What are You Doing New Year's Day?

I will be in Buffalo, New York watching the Penguins/Sabres game.

At Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Outside.

In Buffalo.

On New Year's Day.

Which means instead of our annual New Year's Eve dinner, a group of us will be piling into a car to drive to Buffalo. One of our friends already booked two rooms at a nearby hotel.

Little League

With summer winding down, J and I headed to Williamsport, PA to visit my brother and sister-in-law and watch the International and USA finals of the Little League World Series.

I honestly can not remember the last time I had that much fun at a baseball game. Since tickets to the stands are difficult to obtain, we staked out a shady spot above the field and watched four teams of twelve year old boys play in 93 degree heat with amazing poise and discipline. At one point it felt as if I had entered a time warp, listening to to the crack of ball upon bat while watching young children slide down the hill on cardboard and adults try to create a breeze with old-fashioned paper fans.

We were also initiated into some of the LLWS traditions, such as the tradition of very grown men* buying and swapping dozens of Little League baseball pins from all over the world. Such men carry their bounty in cloth books.

*In his fifties, at least. He had statistics on all the teams and was predicting where some of the players would go to play college ball. Did I mention that these players were twelve year old boys?

On the Lighter Side

J has been having trouble with his knee for the past several weeks and saw the doctor yesterday to get the results of his MRI. The news was not very good, a compound tear of the meniscus requiring surgery to cut out the damaged cartilage. I sigh and wave the hopes of a fall weekend get-away goodbye.

The surgery is being performed through UPMC Sports Medicine and the center is sending J a packet of information. Along with an order for a blood draw and standard release forms is contact information for crutch training.

Hee.

Still have nothing...

There is a lot happening. Just not to me, personally.

So have another photograph.

I've...

got nothing right now. Really. There is not a whole lot going on in my corner of the universe since I purged myself of ill will towards my fellow co-workers.

So have a photograph...


Did you know that there are people who give tango lessons on the Quai Saint Bernard?

Someone Stop Me...

... from wrapping my weak, crooked little fingers around a co-worker's neck and marshaling supernatural strength to throttle my victim into submission.

I am not the most patient person in the universe, but over the years I have managed to develop a touch of self control whilst earning the paycheck that keeps the three felines in kibble and the two humans of the household in fun money. Since my return from vacation, the absolute insanity and sheer incompetence of some of my co-workers has sent me into a silent, sulking fury.

Where to begin? With the aforementioned co-worker who failed to lock up prototypes over the weekend? This same employee, who can not be bothered to spend 10 minutes looking up whether the lab possesses a piece of software and wastes half a day downloading it? Who, when asked to remove the battery from a laptop to verify the model, also unplugs the power supply, thus losing several hours of work? That lunch occasionally includes a stop in one of the nearby bars?

Or should I move onto the two co-workers who are having a close friendship and have somehow managed to convince themselves that no one notices how friendly they are to each other. No, no one notices when they arrive and leave at the same time, every day. No one notices when I ask worker A if vacation includes visiting relatives in a distance place and worker B (whose vacation overlaps worker A's time off) mentions that a few days was spent in that same place. No one notices that worker B has repeatedly slipped and and said “we” in reference to various extracurricular and life activities. Some days, after watching them, I have to slip off to the restroom and make sure that invisible gremlins did not tattoo S.T.U.P.I.D on my forehead.

So far the 1000+ meters I have been swimming after work has done very little to reduce my impatience with the very small numbers of humanity I have to interact with every day. And drowning my sorrows in tequila is not the most constructive use of my time.

Some days I think I have been transported into Peyton Place.

Paris When It Drizzles - Part III

The Soul of a City

I am a true believer in public art, of paintings and funky installations. A city that does not encourage art is a city without a soul. In the city of Pittsburgh, public art is found in installations on empty* city lots, the Sprout Fund murals and in the inspiration of local residents. They are beautiful displays that attempt to capture the essence of a neighborhood and reflect the soul the city.

To see this kind of art in Paris, one must look up and past the grand buildings, magnificent fountains and venerated statues. One must wander the side streets of seedy and shady neighborhoods, peer into fountains and look down at the sidewalk once in a while. The payoff is discovering that this staid city has an incredible sense of whimsy. You only have to take a moment to look for it.

*Select "Magnolias for Pittsburgh" from the drop down menu.

Bastille - Bird Graffiti


Bastille - Cat


Bastille - Face


Bastille - Fish


Bastille - Runner


Bastille - Village Mural


Latin Quarter - Dancers


Latin Quarter - Zebras


Les Halles - Man & Zebra


Les Halles - Giraffe


Les Halles - Funky Mural



Saint Germain des Pres - Mural


Marais - Mosaic Cow


Gare de Lyon (Bastille) - Boats