So, no posting from the last week. This was not intentional, but it is what it is.

The weekly recap: Last Friday, a morning spent helping some friends remove trees as part of a community service venture in East Hartford (we didn't actually remove the wood, that was left for the Mayor of the town to do the following day). The rest of the business day was spent on phone conferences for another divstiture project. The day ends with birthday stuff for Lisa. A good ending to the day. Except it didn't end there, as I began a server upgrade.

Saturday morning was spent completing the upgrade, then going to the Cape for the family "Thanksgiving" before my grandparents return to Florida for the winter. Lots of driving, but did get to try out Lisa's new XM radio receiver. Pretty cool.

Sunday was a late rise and packing, then off to the airport to go to Pittsburgh. Relatively uneventful flight (I even took a $50 upgrade on one leg. Nice to be in First class. First time ever. Still feeling stuffy, took NyQuil and went to bed early.

Monday through Thursday look like this: Up at 6:00, shower, sit, go to work, meetings, meetings, meetings, get dinner, maybe read a bit, NyQuil, go to sleep. Flight back Thursday was slightly delayed out of Pittsburgh, but managed to get in to Philadelphia on the connection as they were boarding. No luggage incidents, and back to Hartford by 11:50, home at 12:45 AM. I did manage to complete reading Eragon and Eldest (mostly on the plane), and began Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson on the second leg back to Hartford. I got through the Preface/Introduction/Warning and laughed out loud a few times. Interesting reading this first chapter, the particular way that Gurdeiff writes it - I had to actually read it aloud in my head for it to make any sense. It has a cadence that didn't make sense to me as the written word, but once I treated it like the spoken word, it all began to make sense. Time for a band called "Transcaucasian Kurds".

Now, back to today. Later rise (about 7:00), shower, sit, etc. Actually stopped to have breakfast today, as it seemed necessary.

Alarm goes off at 6:15 and I reluctantly rise at 7:00. Out and to work. Early phone meeting with the boss for 90 minutes. A few things knocked off the task list on the board today.

Yesterday's entry is not there because I didn't do it. This is how my day ended: I got home at a reasonable time, and parked the car at the top of the driveway as usual, except I didn't pull the emergency brake as far as I needed to. I was talking to my wife, when we heard a "pop" as the car came out of gear, and then watched as it rolled down the driveway, across the street, and into a tree across the way. Fortunately, no other cars were coming, and the tree was there to stop the car from continuing on to the pond. So minor damage to the rear of the car, and minor damage to my psyche. Probably major damage to the insurance.

A call with a client today, with him trying to get more from us than he's paying for. It's a normal cycle with a client, except that this guy is different: he used to be my boss, he did all of our budgeting and product definitions last year, and essentially knows all of our business model. It's all a bit slimy sometimes.

6:15 Rise, feet hit the floor at 6:28, dog helps encourage me to get up on time. Shower and out the door (sitting will be later in the morning at work). In with time to spare for the 8:00 AM conference call. Finding a balance in my chair while I type, listening to my body. Had an "Aha" moment looking at my keyboard, and realized that the whole keyboard doesn't need to be centered on the monitor, just the main typing area. Suddenly, things are a bit straighter in the chair.

Rise at 6:15, but feet hit the floor at 6:45. Shower, sit and out the door at 7:25. Still acclimating after leaving the course yesterday and haven't found my feet yet for driving. Waiting now for e-mail to download. I'm a little leery abouit what I'm going to find after 3 days out of the office, but it will be what it will be. Already caught myself collapsing as I got onto the computer this morning. Still experiencing the effects of the rapid decompression at the airport last night.

Had a mild panic attack while going through e-mail. Some things in there that really made me feel like I was losing control, so I took a lesson from the weekend and got up, took a walk and got some food. Necessary action. Cleared my head enough to get back to it. Spent the afternoon in meetings and pushing e-mails out. Leave work at 8:00 PM, head home and have dinner while watching Rome. Then to bed, and looking to catch up a bit on sleep missed in Atlanta. 8:00 AM meeting in the morning.

6:20 AM rise, feet hit the floor at 6:25. Into the Kitchen for breakfast prep.
7:00 Sitting (both legs fell asleep today)
7:45 breakfast. Leftover East/West burritos went over well.

Basically lost a day (Saturday) in the Journal. It basically went, Rise, breakfast prep, Sitting, Breakfast, Lunch-Tea-Dinner-Dessert-Prep-all-at-once-with-no-clear-beginning, milk boiling over, flaming foccacia, KT meltdown, KT reset, Lunch prep, Lunch, Tea, Dinner Performance, Performance by small groups, group boomwhacking, a Curt special circulation. A full week by any standard.

The KT meltdown was a classic, and quite frankly a gift. It was one of the very few clear moments I've had where I have been able to observe myself in action, and for a brief moment observe myself observing myself. A burned foccacia and a slight burn on my thumb are a small price to pay. I believe that my sharing of this with the team at lunch was a close to a true Observation as I have ever been.

The rest of the day fell into place, and dinner was very well done. For once, prior to a performance, all the plates were clean. The performances were exceptional - the hat had spoken and broken the Intros into a group of 4 (the true Intros) and a group of 3 (the returners, Max, Mark and David), and their pieces had a quality that I hadn't heard for such a short prep time. Something was available. Our boomwhacking went well, and after the performances, we had a large team boomwhack, followed by one of Curt's ambient group circulations. Good stuff. Bed shortly after at about 12:30.

Sunday maintained the quality and organization I felt during the day on Saturday, likely because the KT maintained its integrity all the way through the closing meeting, including serving a lunch that wa on par with the meals fro the rest of the week. A relatively brief closing meeting, with some useful suggestions from Curt to the true Intros about how to carry this forward, as well as the fact that the outside the course and inside the course are really not that different, only that the course creates an environment where we can better manage the distractions and where our energy goes. Also from Sandra, that perhaps we should not go back out into every day life expecting what was on the course to be there, but perhaps that it is our responsibility to bring what was on the course to every day life.

Once the house is returned to order, I head out literally 10 minutes after Curt, but get to the airport about 90 minutes after he does (MARTA delays as they deal with repairs on the main tracks). Curt and I cross paths in the cattle-call gate check. Curt comments about this being akin to sudden decompression. It is interesting watching the lines and bodies shift on the way to the metal detectors. A very organic process, and an interesting self-organizing system. Sometimes the mob is smarter than the individual.

Once throught he lines, and easy flight home, a little wobbly driving back to the house. Hopes for a certain sushi place to be open are dashed so I make do with a completely inadequate dinner. Sit a bit with my wife and then to bed, about 11:30.

Alarm goes off at 6:00 AM, feet hit the floor at 6:01. Sitting at 6:15, reasonable contact with most of the body, though my left leg falls asleep midway through. Up until this morning I had thought this was because I we pinching something while my right leg sat on top. Realized this morning it was actally the knee joint in the left leg, which is strange, since my right leg is more severely bent during sitting. Something to look at tomorrow morning.

After sitting, the KT begins to look at what we are going to do for the weekend, finalizing the menu and getting a shopping list together. We circulate showers afterwards as we clean. Some brief talk with Rob and Curt, signing the necessary waivers for the weekend. The ladies run out and get some breakfast/lunch items for us, And Sandra arrives. Ann and Danielle return and we eat at about 10:00. Robert leaves with Ann and Danielle to go to the Farmer's Market while Scott and I complete cleaning and tidying the kitchen. After this, a sit-down outside and then a short nap. Still honoring not playing the guitar, though I did take it out and tune it.

Feet hit the floor at 6:48 AM. Up with Lisa as she prepares for work (and because the dog won't settle after eating and going out). Shower, sit and begin preparing to leave for Atlanta. Getting packed and trying to stay to a carryon, but this is not going well. Decide on the regular luggage and get everything in. Most of the weight is gear (knives, stand, metronome, pillow, towel, bed linens - mostly things I wouldn't bring on a business trip). Almost don't take the drum throne, but fit it into the comupter bag for carry-on. The rest of the morning is spent doing some necessary things around the house - dishes, fixing a hose, cat litter and some final cleaning. Lisa comes home for lunch and we get to eat together, a rarity for us during the week.

Get to the airport at a reasonable time, and drop off the car. As it turns out, I end up not being able to carry on the drum throne, as "hardware" is not allowed - I didn't see this on the hazardous list on the Delta site. Nevertheless, I get to the plane on time, and have an uneventful trip down. Picked up by Rob at the train station and to the house to greet Curt & Judy & Anna. Get in and stuff settled, then work on getting beds set up in two of the rooms, pack away a TV and move some tables. Curt & I move a couch into my room (the 5th bed), and then bag it for the Vortex. Nice walk and some conversation about the Seattle goings on - me learning some of the basis for the current configuration and how it's structured. I'd love to visit at some point and participate, perhaps a business trip could be arranged at some point, but I doubt I can do this before the end of the year. A Blue Shroom at the Vortex with a beer, more conversation about the goings on, the real number of circles in N.Am. and the lingering potential for the U.S. Also catching up on some of the folks I've met through many of the courses and circles. By the way, Killer Burger. A quick Oban for me and a Car Bomb for Curt, and we head back to the CCA.

Diaries, and getting the final bits of my space settled as we await other late arrivals. Soon to bed, and a pretty early sitting tomorrow.

Feet hit the floor at 6:48 AM, shower, sit and off to work by 7:45. Into a flurry of e-mail regarding the dreaded Sarbanes-Oxley audits. Yet another set of hurry-up projects to make a mad dash towards compliance. This now takes precedence over the other "Priority 1" issues floating about. Now just working to get the main issues addressed before I leave tomorrow.

Plans made for Wednesday evening - The Vortex it is! Killer burgers...

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Team meetings in the afternoon, and chasing down more S-Ox stuff. Looking over Cream of Tomato soup recipies for the CCA, following up on a few other things.

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About 6:00 PM, ready to leave, but waiting to talk to my manager so he feels comfy while I'm gone. Cleared a pile of things out of the Inbox, trying to get a decent price for a flight for the end of the month, but not doing too well. Found a good balance point for sitting in my office chair this afternoon. A little surprising actually, to feel like I'm floating at my desk.

A busy weekend:

Friday night: Began with the migration of data for the server. Began at 6 with the update to the DNS and server configurations. Good timely assistance from two other teams makes this go smoothly. From here, gearing up and getting data copied. Some practice as data moves: Hope, Eye of the Needle, Third Relation. Data is moving, so I go with Lisa to dinner, then to bed (time for sleeeeep).

Saturday: Up at 5:15, checking data migration, my sinuses still playing havok. It's done, so I install software (server, virus, etc.). Then begin the arduous process of data conversion. Shower, dash out at 8:00 to R.I. for wedding performance. Beautiful day, though in my tiredness, I underestimated the time it would take to get to the venue (a little over 2 hours, rather than 1�). A simple church, very small, with no room for six of us at the front, but we made do. Slight sound reinforcement to help the sound past the bodies in the room. Roughly:

Pre-ceremony Music:
Circulations - C Major Pent-D Major Pent, Chords in G
Eye of the Needle
Embroidery
Invocation
Moving Force

Processional (Groom & Families):
Growing Circle
Circulation

Processional (Bride):
Vocal Piece

Recessional:
Hope

Post Ceremony:
Calliope
Third Relation

Outside:
Homage a Bach
Bicycling to Afghanistan
Moving Force
Calliope

Photographs:
Asturias

The woman doing the ceremony was very enthusiastic (about us and the whole ceremony). Very gifted speaker, and moving in spots. 1 Corinthians is still amzaing.

After this, break down, load cars and go to Crazy Burger for lunch. Highly recommended burger joint in Naraganssett - great burgers, full vegetarian menu, juice drinks. All in all, pretty cool. Talked a little with the team for a while, sharing GC history among the team. Flew from there back home to complete the migration/upgrade.

Server back online, parsing errors and working with the developer on troubleshooting. I have to be careful with this particular person, as I have little patience for him. I have to explain too much (I feel) and he tends to forget the things I just told him. Right foot.

Once this is done, out to a Mexican place we love and dinner. Home, watch episodes 2 & 3 of Rome.

Today: Took Nyquil last night to relieve some of the sinus pressure, and it worked pretty well, though I'm dragging trying to get out of bed. Sit, shower and head out, forgetting my cell phone. Back home, get the cell and make it to work by 8:45. Long day of meetings and getting my work addressed before I go to Atlanta Wednesday. Reviewing some bread recipies for the course, and one for croissants. Now (6:00) heading home.

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At home, a quick dinner of leftovers (or unused portions, for fans of Patrick Smith), then a relaxing evening watching Anime (Gantz, Elfen Lied, Gilgamesh) and doing word puzzles with my wife. Another bit of Nyquil to combat the sinus attack.

Up at 7:15 (after being up at 5:15 and 6:15). Work today at a local shelter for the United Way Day of Caring. We power washed, weeded, and fixed drain spouts on our team. I was ostensibly the team leader for this adventure, but it wasn't really necessary. We've all been doing this work together for the past 10 years, and all pretty much know what needs to be done. I needed some help with the drain spouts (the directer of the shelter got the wrong size - they were too large, but were workable). My brain was addled from lack of sleep. All in all we were completed in about 4 hours. There was more work being done, but quite honestly, no space to put people, so rather than being helpful, we did nothing. Went to lunch at a local Jamaican place in town. Got curried goat and a spinach & cheese patty. Mmmmm. Also, a Jamaican Irish Moss drink. Funky, but the right thing for a curry.

Now, working on the endless data migration for a server upgrade. A lot of hurry up and wait.

A day filled with meetings, trying to get out of the office at a reasonable time, so that I can get to Roslindale and rehearse for the wedding. I did manage to be productive, and garnered a huge number of tasks for the next couple weeks. The international nature of my job is becoming quite evident.

Rehearsal was good. It took me 3 hours to get from West Haven, CT to Roslindale, MA (a Boston burb out off the Jamaica Way). Some quality work, mostly standing. Some moments of release in my right hand during Hope allowed me to play all the notes. I held some sense of that for a while, with the hope that I might actually remember it Saturday.

Leaving was an adventure (I left at 11:00 PM). The way back to the highway (I really need to break out the city maps and plan a better route) went past Fenway Park. Just after th game got out. So a 20 minute drive took me an hour. Then, once I got back on I90, it immediately went to 4 lanes of bumper-to-bumper from Newton to Framingham (construction closed 2 of 3 lanes). 5 miles in about one hour. Then I met the traffic from the Patriots game.

All in all, it took me 3 1/2 hours to make a 95 minute trip. I did have a good chance to work on directing attention to various limbs.

Home and to bed at 2:45 AM.

Rise at 6:45, feet on the floor. Out of the house by 7:30 after attending to the dog. Mostly open morning - no meetings util 1:00 PM, so some work might get done. Got the approval from the BossMan yesterday for the Day of Caring (no vacation day required), and also checked out my new office (they are splitting a conference room upstairs for me and another co-worker). I'll have a window with afternoon sun!

Up and out of the house at about 7:00 this morning (difficult since I couldn't sleep), and to work by 8:00. I noticed a couple times on the way into work that I wasn't really there, not physically asleep, but certainly mentally.

For the day, many meetings (Disaster Recovery, Leadership Team, Product Catalog). The schedule for the next two months is solidifying:

09/09 - United Way Day of Caring
09/09 - 09/10 - 36 hour server migration & upgrade
09/10 - Wedding performance
09/14 - 09/18 - Atlanta Intro to NST KT
09/23 - 09/24 - 24 hour server upgrade
09/24 - "Thankgiving" before my grandparents return to Florida
09/26 - 09/29 - Pittsburgh, PA (tentative)
10/03 - 10/09 - Leverkusen, Germany
10/17 - 10/19 - Tarrytown, NY
10/23 - 10/27 - Las Vegas, NV
11/03 - 11/06 - Boston Intro to NST

If that looks a little full, that's because it is. I've made the decision not to attend the AAD beginning in October - I just can't honorably commit to it. I will also be dropping down my commitment to the GCNE after this weekend.

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A nice evening at home (once I finally got there, more late work). Made steaks and asparagus, with some sliced cucumbers while we waited for the meat to cook. Did more puzzles (acrostix) while we snacked. Early to bed.

Another day off, up even later after the 1:30 AM return from Boston. After sitting, made breakfast with Lisa (egg sandwiches - eggs from the herb farm we visited yesterday, made with left-over steak from a couple nights ago). Basically idle morning, reading yesterday's paper on the deck.

Lisa naps in the afternoon and I poke a bit a work matters. More coming up that I have to scramble to even finish, let alone complete.

After Lisa gets up, dinner at a favorite Chinese restaurant (pork in a spicy tea sauce for me) then to a movie in the actual theater - The Brothers Grimm. Fun with Terry Gilliam. I continue to be a fan of his visual syle and storytelling. I do need to get the DVD of his failed El Cid project (or was it Don Quixote?). Now, to bed so I can get up early and deal with some things at work in the morning. Other than winning the lottery, will there ever be a time I when I feel happy to get up and go to work in the morning?

A day off!

Two major things for the day: first I went to the Flea Market, not searching for anything specific, but keeping an eye out for certain things we like to pick up here: hand tools (like the Stanley rabbet plane I passed on for $40), one-off teacups and saucers and glass doorknobs (which I passed on a few, even those with all the hardware). I ended up with saucer and two matching teacups, a book from the turn of the century about insects and plants (for my Master Gardener) and a patch for the shuttle Columbia, which just happened to be on top of a pile of other stuff. Not bad for $5.25.

The second half of the day was a luxurious drive down to the shoreline (damn the gas prices) to Abbot's Lobsterhouse. Ah, bliss. I really miss the ocean.

After coming home, I leave for Boston for the Wedding Team rehearsal (minutes on the GCNE site). Return home late (~1:30).

Later rise today (about 9:00 AM, that's more like vacation!), sit and greet the community. Breakfast and reading the paper, also doing puzzles and mind games in a book we picked up yesterday. Necessary mental work that happens to be fun.

More work in the morning, tackling the side yard, weeding, mowing the jungle that has grown there. Helping Lisa with some of the intentionally planted items that have becme weeds. A trip out for some necessities and getting an air mask, so I can minimize the amount of lead paint dust I inhale this afternoon.

Basic lunch of cold meats, cucumber and mozzarella. Lisa naps and I finish sanding the window in the dining room - the last thing that needs to be done before the room can be completed.

Dinner - asparagus, onions & steaks on the grill. Followed by a movie (Constantine).

Rose a bit later today (8:10 - now that's what I call a vacation!). Shower, sitting and then breakfast (cottage cheese w/fruit and some Tabasco laced tomato juice) and the paper on the deck with the dog. I hadn't been paying attention to the news, so I was taken aback by the news from New Orleans. There is so much to say about this - but not who is responsible (our paper, a little on the left, played up the blame game going on.) I don't have all the information at hand, but it does seem to me that if we can spend billions on a war, that the least we could do was provide support to our own cities. Perhaps that's too much to ask. Perhaps tomorrow will bring good news, some sense of order and hope. Perhaps someone will find Fats Domino alive. Perhaps someone will take a stand against the oil companies using tragedy as a source of revenue. Perhaps this will be the straw that breaks the camel's back and forces us to seriously look at alternate energy sources. Go BioDeisel!

Spent the morning doing laundry, rotating the mattress, cleaning out the freezer (some old stuff in there, nearly unrecognizeable under the frost), vacuuming the bedroom and upstairs. Then shopping to get some items for the weekend, to minimize traveling, though I have a feeling gas prices will keep many at home.

Italian cold lunch (fresh mozz, tomato, cucumber & dried meats) followed by cleaning the entryway (it was literally a pile). Newspapers tied up and ready for recycling, stairs vacuumed, garbage out, dehumidifiers cleaned. A break with some water before Lisa comes home. She hungry - I had planned on making dinner, but she wants Japanese (sushi for me, you bet!). Talk about work, the impact of gas prices (perhaps I work from home two days a week?), things we need to do to prepare for a winter with higher heating prices. Also looking at calendars for the next couple months. Many things piling up, and I'm not sure I can honorably face some things on the burner. It's not that anything is bad, just too much (too many opportunites, too many obligations) and not enough hours in the day, or days in the week.

Back home, and not getting to the dining room window. Journalizing now, and following this, some work on the Bach Invention #10 for the GCNE wedding performance, then to bed.

First day on the BBS, I'll probably cross-post for a while on the other site just to keep things going there.

Today was a (sort-of) day off from the day job, so I got up later than usual (7:50 instead of 7:00). Sitting and then lounging with the dog and the cats. Up and doing laundry, putting away old laundry, Kitchen Craft (took apart & cleaned the fridge, put dishes away). Also tended to some issues and e-mail for work. Fortunately very light.

Lunch with the wife at a Vietnamese restaurant (Pancake with pork and a coconut juice). Lounged after lunch, opened up the house, and fought a headache by taking a nap. Up to do some shopping (the intention is to get back to some semblance of a decent diet and actually do some cooking). Picked up cat food as well.

Did some animal maintenance (diuretic for the cat with the broken ass) and fed everyone. JotD completed, but not quite as I might have expected. Ended up going to dinner with some friends. Had a good burger (I think I'm on an unintentional quest to find a really good burger).

No guitar practice today, though I have a new piece to attempt to learn for this Sunday. Should be interesting. A few things planned for tomorrow - more cleaning and some guitar work.