Capturing Life

Here I sit on a Thursday night - night of Game 2 for the Sox and Rockies in the World Series. I suffered a pretty bad back injury last weekend that still has me cringing in pain and woozy with meds. But the weekend's approaching and the Sox are winning, so that's about the extent of the complaining I'll do.

We had our friend Brad up last weekend for lots of fishing with the birthday boy, Gary. Not so much catching, but they did go fishing. Brad and his family live in Virginia, so we'll be seeing him again soon on our early-December drive down to the area to visit several new homes and babies for a week. Us and Bromley, hoppin' in the Subaru for a road trip! Look out...

This coming weekend we'll be driving down to Fairfield for the Baptism of our nephew (and my godson!) Jake :-) Can't wait to spend time with the fam, but it will be brief because Gary's running part of the Cape Cod Marathon the next morning with his colleagues.

So today - between urges to just hurry up and buy the Canon 30D camera - I spent the better part of the afternoon researching corporate social and environmental responsibility. Now that's a day when I love my job. We have a client who took us up on our offer to evaluate best practices among its peers, as well as any sustainability/responsibility reporting that corporations are conducting in the absence of any legal requirement to do so. I can't exactly tell you who the client is, but I can tell you that some great companies out there are Nike, 3M, HP, Honda, SC Johnson, Xerox, Philips and DuPont (not to shun the others, but my client isn't very consumer facing). Nike? Now that's a story of a company that majorly screwed up in the social responsibility realm and now they're making their way to the top. And check out this page from Philips.

Now back to the camera thing... My mom just told me that she wasn't the one who got me into photography. Um, okay, but then who did all the old Canon cameras come from that, since probably age 10, just mysteriously showed up in my possession every time she got a newer one? Interesting quandry. Maybe it was dad turning the ping pong table into a darkroom in the basement? Some years later - age 21 maybe - I got my first credit card [how timely for me to be working on another client's report where the issue of giving college kids rewards-based credit cards, like for airline miles, isn't a good idea... too late]. My first purchase on said credit card was the Nikon N70 camera. It came with me to New Zealand for seven months, to the mountains of Colorado, to the gray skies in Scotland, to the riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas... but I feel bad for this camera because, all the while, pocket-sized digi-cams were launching a takeover. And, well, I'll be honest. I just shot three rolls of film in the last month that was too old (which I knew) and came out terrible. I *heart* all things digital. I've got a very expensive wish list on Amazon right now... trust me, you don't wanna see it. For this, I thank my Mom :-)

So any suggestions on DC, Virginia, Baltimore or cameras, shoot me a line!

Jarvis Street. Wednesday Morning

I stayed over with a good friend in Watertown last night - thanks Carina! I have an incredible network of friends around Boston who have continued to open their doors to me for weekday overnights over the past three years, since my regular commute is two hours in each direction. Some friends I've known since middle school - even nursery school! - college, work, and more who I've only gotten to know over these past few years. Actually, Emily has quickly become one of my bestest friends ever-in-the-whole-wide-world because of such sleepovers!

Thank you, guys! Those nights are more than just a place to lay my head - they keep our ties strong and add something to our friendships that maybe wouldn't otherwise happen if I lived here. It turns that "we should get together soon" into an "I'm coming over".

Enter: bus driver

I get on the bus in Watertown Square this morning, express on the Mass Pike to Copley Square in Boston. My card doesn't have enough money for the trip and I'm ready for that. But the bus driver is ecstatic to be alive today, smiling and chatting, asking everyone how their coffee is, etc. He gestures with a nod that my $1.20 will do just fine today. Smile spreads smile spreads smile... this guy is way more than a bus driver. He's molding the day. Is anyone on this bus gonna have a bad day now? [disclaimer: this is a hypothetical question that does not take into account any blunders or mis-hirings of the Boston Red Sox]

We're off, there's traffic, I'm reading... 25 minutes or so go by and we stop in downtown Boston. The bus driver announces our arrival:

"Jarvis Street. Wednesday Morning."

Love it. Any good commuter disappears into a zone and not only needs a reminder about where they are but also when they are. I've arrived. It's Wednesday morning. Got it... thanks.

Bromley's Columbus Day Adventure

Columbus Day Weekend... a minimum six hours a day of working for Stacey... a minimum of six fish per outing for Gary.

It was kinda nice that it was rainy and dreary - made for some cozy sleeping in and cuddling with Bromley as he recovered from foot surgery on Friday. He had an infected claw that had to be removed, and lucky for us, we're in tight with the vets :-) ... We met each of them separately at the animal hospital over the past year and a half, and it turns out they're married, both went to UVM, and live a mile away from us. Love 'em.

So when I wasn't working I was sleeping, sports-watching, hot-tubbing, or otherwise attending my first hot-yoga session with the vets - that'd be Danielle. Kevin was in the middle of Cape Cod Bay with Gary.

Today's Dad Foster's 60th Birthday! As is tradition, he'll be finishing the day with a massive lobster in front of him - Happy Birthday Dad!

Hope everyone's enjoying October so far!

Some things that would be nice...

1) If everyone would hurry up and embrace Facebook. I signed on for work at first (seriously, did you know that you can download a "foodfight" application where you might then throw a Tyson chicken drumstick at your friend? Corporate branding galore). If you're not involved in social networking at this point - MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. - you're missing out on some life-changing stuff. Yeah, I said it - life changing. It's not just about fun and games (ok, maybe when it comes to Scrabulous)... it's about how we interact, how we get our information - even about what causes or political candidates we believe in. All ages are in, and chances are your company is even in (check networks on Facebook).

2) If someone would write a research report on the percentage of people who work for SC Johnson's Skintimate shaving cream company who are actually using Gillette's Satin Care at home.

3) If smoking OUTDOORS would be banned. If you could watch the walking part of my commute with TBS playoff graphics (GO SOX!), you'd say I walk like a drunk - swaying back and forth to avoid second-hand smoke in my face.

4) If all grocery stores would stock the no-salt version of Friendship cottage cheese - and if the Stop & Shop here in Cotuit would figure out that, if they put the carriage holder thing closer to their building, more people would put their carriages away.

5) If, when I open up the pages for online shopping this holiday season, not one of them will bother mentioning shipping costs to me. Yawn. If I could buy all my gifts this year from Zappos and Amazon - oh wait! I CAN buy all my gifts at Amazon!

6) If Petfinder.com overtook Google.

The Thumb Twiddle

What an odd day... It was the first time in over six months that I experienced the phenomenon of having nothing to do.

Of course sleeping in wasn't too much of an option, because with my parents' full day at the local Harvest Fest, they basically opened our slider door at 7:30 this morning to let their young, exciteable pup Rigley in to greet us. And then they closed the door and left. Rigley paced from side to side of our bed for maybe 20 minutes before we gave up... It was time for Saturday.

I know my busy lifestyle is too much for most people, but I'm going crazy just thinking about not having plans for two weekends from now (thank god we found something to fill the upcoming holiday, I can't imagine!). So the fact that I went from bed to the couch this morning, still in my pjs, was let's-just-say RARE. It lasted less than ten minutes. I'm no good at this.

We ran a couple of errands, bought a pumpkin, and visited the Harvest Fest that my parents run. Gary dropped me off at the gym, from which I ran a little over 4 miles home. Yes, I haven't been to the gym since maybe May or June, but we've been running and biking a ton through the summer for various races and tours. Gary went to work on the shingling of my folks' barn for the rest of the afternoon, and I returned to smut TV and the personal to-do list that has been building up. Yup, senseless smut television. Maybe I can do this?

So anyway, what this brings us back to now is what we call "Saturday night". We are watching Damian Marley on Austin City Limits. Before I realized it was even him, I already had this weird feeling because I've had a longtime respect and love for Bob Marley - in a very non-cliche way - and I immediately thought "my god, this man is that breathtaking." Stephen also came on stage, as well as some little 3-year-old-ish boy who was waving the Jamaican flag and oozing of a future story.

Now before ya go thinkin' I'm some kinda wild-child hippie...

Tomorrow is another, and as yet still a very unplanned day. I have a couple of hours of work to do, and more if I want to feel comfortable for the next two weeks of deadlines. We're also planning on a good few hours on the boat so Gary can make up for lost time fishing. Ho hum.

Off to Islesboro, Maine next weekend with BG and Sam!

Good night!

Flick of the Fall Switch

I woke up for work last week and ran for my slippers. I even grabbed a bathrobe and I'm not typically a bathrobe person. I walked into the bathroom and the HEAT kicked on!! It was freezing... it was fall.

It still is fall, of course, but the way it happened this year was like a switch! Labor Day = fall = make it dark at night = make it cold. Perfect science. Now while we're on that subject too, please honk if you wish we changed the clocks back sooner in the season and were able to enjoy more daylight this time of year.

Anyway, we were still able to have our friends Kim and Dave down from Vermont last weekend for a couple days of kayaking and catching up. A great weekend filled with laughter, and maybe even a little temptation for them to move to the Cape? Emily and her new man Anthony came down on Sunday and we all enjoyed a little tailgate on the water and the Pats game!

Weekends like that make it easier to go to work on Monday mornings. I'm enjoying the new Blackberry Curve (but not enjoying AT&T lack-o-coverage) and certainly enjoying less commuters on the bus and road. Gary has been spending some time in his week on Petfinder.com. Yes indeed, birthday boy might have decided what he wants for his birthday next month (I'm on your side, Bromley).

Nothing ahead for a few weekends! We're huge hikers and campers, so how did we find ourselves with only about three weeks left of the traditional camping season? I hope we get out there once or twice at least, but we also love winter camping... Right now Gary's feeling like he hasn't fished enough this summer and he wants to stay home. I, on the other hand, look back on too many ocean/boat photos and am bummed that we haven't done more (Gary would call these wine & cheese photos, not fishing photos).

With that... hope all is well out there! I leave you with some tidbits this evening:

What you might not have known about me till now: I loathe moths. I scream at moths. I use a different room/towel/cup/anything rather than be near a moth. I cry about moths just thinking about moths.

Lesson learned this week: When curious about what four cop cars and the K-9 unit are looking for, don't hide behind tree.

From Vermont to India

We were at my in-laws this weekend in Dorset, Vermont. Mom Hedman wanted to show us the house that she and Dad Hedman have been working on up in Rupert, Vermont, for Habitat for Humanity. They host a Habitat "Global Village" for a week every year, where 10-12 people from around the world pay a couple thousand dollars to come to Vermont (or anywhere) for a week and provide manual labor in the name of good will. They feel good, the homeowners feel good... everybody wins.

It's a great story, the Rupert one. Couple lives in broken down trailer for 25 years, manage to pay bills and be responsible, and finally get the break they deserve. Anything sweeter would have had Ty Pennington in it.

But today - actually ten seconds after we arrive - a visitor named Salagala Rajasekhar Babu starts to talk. He's stopping in to introduce himself and share his own experience of managing about 800 Habitat projects in his local area of Bapatla, India over the past eight years. Yeah, that's 100 a year in a country with a four-month rainy season. The story is much longer actually, as he's been a part of an orphanage program since 1982 as well.

Right now Babu's group is working hard to deliver on a promise of 300 homes to recent tsunami victims. I can't give him $2,000 for a house, and you probably can't either (if you can, I'll give you his number!). I could pay for my own flight out to Bapatla and give some good hard work and sweat to his organization, and it just so happens that he more than welcomes such a visitor.

India's not next on my list of vacation spots, but I feel my definition of vacation changing. I consider just simply going, but this would have people there feeling like they need to feed me vs. if I go with a group and pay to be fed. I should pay, so I ignite Google and am sure enough inundated with various global work possibilities.

It's a mass market... it's a business. Global volunteer work - take your pick: environment, wildlife, education, trade, poverty, technology, disease, agriculture... And you know what? I don't care that it's a mass product. Good for them, and good for us.

If you know me well, you know I care more about the environment and animals than I do about humans. Unfortunately most of these trips seem - I dare say - a little adventure-vacationy. Again, who cares? - it's getting a certain population of people out there to visit new cultures and extremes. But for the first time in my life I keep my focus on the development and growth of the people. I want to meet and share and understand.

Stay tuned! I'm going to do more research, talk to a few folks, and I'll invite you along when I find a fit.

SDH

Labor Day '07

Happy September and Labor Day weekend!

Yep, that means a few of our friends are back to work now (you poor people). And without a doubt, it means the "Pashedmans" are back together for a weekend to celebrate Sarah's birthday!

The weather is gorgeous, as are these girls in a shot from last weekend :-)

Wanted to toss in a photo of our little nephew, who we can't wait to have with us this Saturday night. Four of us babysitting three kids... should go well right? RIGHT?

...... annnnnd we're back. Babysitting was definitely a tiny bit of 'labor' on this fine Labor Day weekend - but a blast to spend time with everyone in our home!

---Picture me holding Emily's legs on the toilet while she contemplates whether she really wants to poop in the potty or in her diaper, while my friend Sarah is running back and forth down the hallway looking for a baby diaper for the screaming Jake who had no problem deciding where he wanted his poop to go. This all after Emily had already peed on the couch :-) And McKenna calmly sitting at the coffee table coloring and asking me - unprovoked - if Uncle Gary and I get lonely with it being just the two of us. Funny.---

It's a good thing we love them lots! (we still do, E&J, I promise) Oh, the boys you ask? They were out with the dogs.

Our Sunday - Sarah's birthday - was also a great time as we woke up for a run and then biked around the Beachcomber area in Welfleet. The weekend ended with a tootle around Osterville on the boat, finally relaxed in the crisp air and catching up with a few more friends.

So now it's September for real, and a friend of mine puts it a good way:

"Early Sunday afternoon, as we packed up our things, it was already sinking in. Back to life. Back to reality. No more beach at the end of the street. No more eating and drinking like there was no tomorrow. Work awaits. Deadlines loom before me. The chimney man is coming at the crack of dawn Tuesday morning. But then I remember the Cape and the breeze blowing through the trees.

"And as we cross the Bourne, then head up 495, we notice that trees are already starting to change. Auburn reds pop through rows of green. Then there is talk of apple picking and halloween. A twinge of excitement runs through me as I entertain thoughts of Christmas. And I know that while the end of summer means the end of a lot of things, it also signifies the beginning of lots of others. And I am glad for it." - MLXC

Thanks for the reminder, girl. I really am eager for hiking and camping and cozy layers of clothing... It was a very good summer.