36 New Things I’m Trying Before My 36th Birthday
This is inspired by Sarah Von’s list at http://www.yesandyes.org/ Thanks for the cool idea, Sarah!
1. Design something for VSP.
2. Sing in a Christmas program for choir.
3. Try a new recipe for a dish I’ve never cooked before.
4. Try a Truffle (mushroom, not chocolate).
5. Go to the new Twins stadium.
6. Take a cooking lesson with my husband.
7. Read 1984.
8. Get a makeover at the Mac counter.
9. Go to Cygnus 27.
10. Visit the GRAM.
11. Write an article for a publication I’ve never written for before.
12. Take an art class somewhere I’ve never tried before.
13. Learn the upgrades of CS5
14. Take a dance class at a new place.
15. Buy a house.
16. Discover a beach I’ve never been on in Leelanau County = Rediscovering the Dune Climb, and showing Jon the secret beach by Pyramid Point.
17. Try a new sport I’ve never played = Jai alai
18. Go to a yoga class with an instructor I haven’t tried before.
19. Try a spin class.
20. Take my nephews somewhere we’ve all never been = Fireworks for Celebration on the Grand
21. Visit the light house in Northport.
22. Golf at Thousand Oaks.
23. Sleep under the stars.
24. Take a road trip to a destination I’ve never been to.
25. Try an exotic fruit I’ve never eaten before.
26. See The Fainting Generals perform.
27. Make my husband a gift
28. Go to an opening reception at Fredrick Meijer Gardens = The Butterfly Opening
29. Plan a date with my husband. Don’t tell him where we are going, and make it somewhere neither of us has ever been.
30. Learn about eating for your blood type.
31. Discover a favorite spot of a friend’s that I’ve never visited = Melissa’s cottage at Crystal Lake and Amy’s place on Marble Lake.
32. Go sailing.
33. Try on clothes in Daniel’s.
34. Go to the Dominican Republic.
35. Go to a wedding in Arizona.
36. Discover a new bookstore.
Elton John Holds Court at Van Andel
It isn’t every Saturday night that you get to see a living legend.
Elton John captivated a sold out show at Van Andel arena Saturday, April 23 with empirical evidence that one man and his piano can mesmerize a crowd. The full house was just taking their seats as John played out the opening notes of “Funeral for a Friend”, whipping up the night. He addressed the evening with “Saturday Nights Alright for Fighting”, fits pumping to the audience when he’d properly warmed them up for the evening’s delight.
He comes from the old school, before any theatrical tricks were employed to make live sound exactly like the canned version on your album. No lip synching or auto tune, kids take note, simply live at its finest. His rich tenor has aged well to a honeyed baritone. Missing was his falsetto of youth, but the soul that drives that voice comes through as if it were 1975. The wild glasses and ostentatious costumes of the decade have been traded for a simpler show clothes, but the heart of his entertainment beats strongly. His piano was hypnotizing.
“Levon” continued the night, bringing the audience into a song that relates a father’s love for his child and their sometimes troubled relationship. With Bernie Taupin, his legendary lyricist, they spin a story into a complicated jam. The song writing duo take experiences core to being a person, and making the story accessable to all.
It is the definitive number one hits tour. After “Madman Across the Water” he broke into the opening “Blue jeaned baby, L.A. lady, seemstress for the band…” of “Tiny Dancer”. He draws vivid pictures with his voice and the melodic piano accompaniment. His 5 piece band backs him. While competent, they often felt excessive. The star, the piano and the audience were the only critical elements needed to show off his entertainment genius. A simple digital background provided minimal graphics to support the mood.
“Philladelphia Freedom”, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, “Daniel” and “Rocket Man” kept the crowd engaged in sing-along bliss. His emotion never flagged. The mastery the piano was evident. His piano playing wasn’t without occasional misses, yet it didn’t matter.
John invites you into his young head with “Someone Saved My Life Tonight”, an autobiographical hit from dark days before his rise to popularity, when he was thinking of suicide while contemplating marriage to his girlfriend, Linda Woodrow. Friends like “Long” John Baldry convinced him to seek shelter in music.
“Candle in the Wind” featured images lighted up in a pop art style behind the stage of the iconic Marilyn Monroe, known as Norma Jean in John’s song. By “Benny and The Jets”, the entire place was dancing and reveling in the last songs you know by heart of the evening. He finished energetically with “The Bitch is Back”, “I’m Still Standing”, and “Crocodile Rock”.
After hearing literally everything you think of, there was only room in the encore for the obvious Your Song and Circle of Life.
Elton John is the living king. With a simple piano, he makes everything else inconsequential for a few hours when love of music rules.
Google is Good for Grand Rapids & Grand Rapids is Good for Google
Families, business people, college students, politicians, unemployed workers, company owners, educators and high school students came out Friday, March 19 to Calder Plaza to support the nomination of Grand Rapids as a test city for Google Fiber. March 26 is the deadline for individuals and businesses to nominate Grand Rapids as the best test site for the fastest publicly available network in the United States. If Google chooses Grand Rapids, citizens know it will make a major impact on the city.
“I believe there’s too much for this city to offer to pass up the opportunity to promote the city (to Google Fiber),” said Grand Rapids Community College student Kimi Wolf on why she came down to be a part of the flash mob. Dancing to pop and club favorites spun by Super Dre, Wolf echoed what many who came out on the sunny March afternoon said, “I love and choose to live in Grand Rapids”.
With cities across the country building support for bringing Google to their community, Grand Rapids is unique in that corporate donations are not the backbone of the campaign to come here. Paul Jendrasiak, owner of Spambully.com and Google 616 steering committee member stated, “It’s people coming out making this happen and uniting. Grand Rapids has always had that kind of energy”.
Fellow committee member and internet marketer Mike Yoder of Mindscape concurred, “Different companies and segments (of the community) are leveraging their strengths and working together to motivate and mobilize a community around a cause”. He went on to explain one reason Grand Rapids should stand out from other cities is the miles of dark fiber already in the ground in the city, which is the extra conduit that Google can tap into to support its infrastructure for the system.
Zoe Carmichael, Aquinas communications professor and mother said that it was important for children and raising a family here. Natalie and Vivienne, her daughters, are in kindergarten and will benefit from this technology. Grant Carmichael accompanied his family downtown for the afternoon with thoughts of what it might bring in business prospects for his company, Think XD which focuses on digital user experience design.
As the event got under way, balloons linked to represent the network swirled through the crowd and local organizers took the stage. Pete Brand of Mindscape congratulated people for not “hiding behind their clicks” to come out and show Google what kind of fans it has in Grand Rapids. His call to action was, “we really need to let Google know what’s in it for them”.
The grass-roots effort is paying off. Steketee Greiner, a Grand Rapids marketing company, has tracked online activity of communities sending Google the message to come. Grand Rapids is showing up in the top three online buzz-generating cities. For conversations relating to the keywords involved with Google Fiber, Grand Rapids is tracking third after Duluth, MN and Topeaka, KS. Facebook is key to Grand Rapids campaign with 29,883 comprising 15.5% of the population as fans as of March 17. Grand Rapids has one unified fan page (unlike other cities which may have more than one), which is helping consolidate its numbers, and give it the biggest single Facebook presence.
Community organizer Tommy Allen concluded the rally summing up what a great fit Grand Rapids is for Google, “I know it. You know it. Let’s let them know it”.
To nominate Grand Rapids at the Google site, go to : http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options
To become a fan on Facebook click: http://www.facebook.com/bobbyjo.webster?ref=mf#!/pages/Google-Fiber-for-Grand-Rapids/324192728477?ref=ts
For more information about how Grand Rapids is tracking in the race : http://blog.steketeegreiner.com/2010/03/we-figured-its-about-time-to-measure-the-conversations-around-the-google-fiber-initiative/
a very good week
It was simply a very good week.
Perhaps it was triggered by the sun, a stranger to Michigan in the winter. Maybe it was going to church on Sunday, and starting to feel like we were there for a reason. Afterward, we headed out to the mall, where I saw my niece, Lauren. She’s 4 months old. I could feel eyes on her as we moved through Panera. She responds and laughs now. I told her we can not let half of her life go by again without seeing each other. Monday brought lunch with my mom at Tokyo Grill for her birthday. We went to the Meijer Gardens to see the butterfly exhibit. The floating colors mixed with bright rays of light felt like the promise of spring.
Tuesday brought a settling down for work, which is coming in right now. Appointments fleshed out the day. Took in a lunch meeting with members of The Rapidian hyper-local news site for their monthly Press Pit. I’m excited to get a mentor, and worked on a story with my mom over the weekend that I think will be the first contribution. My mom is a former high school English teacher and very good editor. I also got caught up on laundry on Tuesday, which just feels good. Headed out to Bombay Cuisine on Tuesday night with a good friend, catching up. Her martini’s were strong, and she got the idea to go to Billy’s for some music. She didn’t last long, but I liked being out on a week night. Reminded me of the fun times we’d end up there during our college years.
Midweek I started on a work project that has been blocking my progress to move forward. By today, I have it wrapped up and it is a great weight off my mind. My friend, a lawyer who has monthly classes in Grand Rapids came to spend the night. We met up with others at Shiraz, a local Persian wine bar and restaurant. If you are local, I highly recommend checking it out.
Thursday brought more progress on projects, arranging weekend plans, a meet-up with other creatives at The Winchester and choir practice. I’m enjoying singing in the choir for Easter. It has been a long time since I’ve done anything with music, and it is feeding my soul. Would like to take more piano lessons again, after swearing them off as a kid.
Today was the only wrench in my week, when I arrived at an appointment only to find out that the other person was at a conference. Oh well. Finished up some work, and made a call at the right time, avoiding a bad situation that I didn’t know would occur if I had waited until next week. Spent the early evening with my husband, later at the bookstore with some hot tea and my favorite, books!
In all, I didn’t procrastinate, and that feels great. Looking forward to working on my portfolio site tomorrow. A date with my husband. Packing to go north for my grandpa’s birthday, family, friends and a couple business meetings. Planning another successful week.
Community in the Time of Cyberspace
So I’m hanging out last week at my favorite bookstore Schuler Books, a Grand Rapids haunt that many locals favor. I’m killing time, waiting for the recall updates to my Toyota to be completed at the dealership across the street. Hanging out in one of my favorite sections, Art & Design, I see a woman holding a book that I’ve just finished. Hoping to strike up a conversation, guessing we might have something in common, I offer, “I just read that book. It was really good”.
“Oh,” she replies cooly. “Thanks.”
She immediately ends her browsing and quickly moves away. I reflect on the exchange. Do I look like a crazy vagabond today? Nope. Was I being rude? Umm… no. The kicker? The book was a novel about strangers coming together to build a sense of community.
After almost a decade of living here and with plans to stay indefinitely, I’m still working on calling the greater Grand Rapids area home. I love the opportunities that have bloomed in the area in the last 10 years. I cultivate various circles of friends. I’ve work professionally. I wed a native. Yet, I keep bumping into this phenomenon. Some people here are guarded. I’m still not used to it when I hit this impasse.
My husband chalked-up my brief exchange to the difference between living in a city versus the small community in which I was raised. There is a definite “everybody knows everybody” vibe to the rural, touristy area I still call home. Too few people live there year-round to make enemies. Things move a half-beat slower. I can still walk into the local grocery store and name most of the people working that day. Perhaps that is why when I’m waiting in line to check out at the grocery store in Grand Rapids, I’ll turn to the person behind me in line and comment randomly on a tabloid headline. I’ve been met with various responses, but it isn’t unusual for the person to turn to see who I’m talking to behind them. Actually, I’m speaking to you, sir. I know. A stranger. We do that where I’m from. In two minutes in the store up north, I might find out you are staying at the cottages a family friend owns. We make a connection, if only for a brief exchange.
Ironically, I’ve connected positively with a great deal of local Grand Rapidians online in the last couple years. Social media magnets like Facebook and Twitter may be drawing together others that are of a similar mindset. People who want to expand their horizons, to think of a totally different box. Actually, I met my husband this way 6 years ago. I’m finding I often connect with someone online, and end up liking them when we get a chance to meet. Are we more neighborly online? Sometimes, I think because it is easier. Perhaps, written down, a little more permanent.
Recently, I went out to dinner with two friends. One friend (I’ll call her Jane to protect her anonymity) has lived here most of her life. Jane is extremely well-read, has lived in other areas and traveled. The other (I’ll name her, umm… Layla) is one of my dear friends who also grew up in Northern Michigan. Layla spent a couple years here during college, and just recently moved back to Grand Rapids.
As we caught up, the topic turned to the phenomenon I’ve observed. Jane emphatically confirmed my thoughts. She explained that there is something about this area that also makes it a bit uncomfortable for her, always has. It’s hard to exactly put your finger on it, a bit vague. Some people can be cold, a bit fake.
I agreed and shared some of my first-hand account along with this story. Another friend of mine (also a transplant to the area, we’ll call her Sarah) talked of meeting someone new at a social function in a place she would continue to frequent. After a brief conversation and finding things in common, Sarah said to the new acquaintance, “We should get together sometime”. This woman replied, “Our circle of friends is very full”.
I guess her response was at least honest.
Layla was taken aback by these observations. She didn’t experience this before, when she was sheltered by college life. I think we scared her a little. She’s looking to make new connections. After hearing our accounts, she is concerned that this is going to be difficult. We assured her that it certainly is not everyone, but that there is a common vein that seems to snake through otherwise welcoming territory. We assured Layla that she is savvy. She will find plenty of people who are warm, welcoming and won’t give her the cold shoulder. Our message to her? Just be aware. It exists. It lurks.
Try not to take it personally, was one of our messages to Layla. It is the other person’s loss, not yours. One of my Facebook Friends summed it up well by quoting Plato, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” I’m working on taking my own advice, and listening to sages.
Valentines Day (Part Duex)
So, in the end, I caught the lovin’ feelings.
Husband coming home with a sorely needed upgrade to my computer operating systems, chocolates and two of my favorite movies on DVD didn’t hurt the cause. In return, I gave him a Nike sweatshirt, tickets to a comedy show on V-Day and the promise of a massage. We are good to each other.
Packed up and headed north, to our cottage near Big Rapids, Michigan on Pretty Lake. Grabbed some groceries and settled in to watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.
Saturday morning, I went down to our brother and sister-in-laws next door cottage and brought Brayden and Justin, 5 and 3, back to our place. There, we turned on the Michigan State basketball game, gave them lots of sugar, pumped up the music and had a wicked dance party. Justin, the youngest, proved he’s seen break-dancing before with his moves. But mainly, he just zoomed back and forth.
Mid afternoon, our friend Nate and Amy arrived. We visited with our in-laws. Our shame is that 5 out of 6 of us, all in our mid to late 30′s, watch The Bachelor. One of us (who will remain nameless) has watched all 10 seasons. As Jon says, you can’t look away, it’s a train wreck.
We went out to a good dinner of prime rib and shrimp scampi, followed by a night on the town in the metropolis of Big Rapids.
Sunday we got up, and I cooked breakfast. Laid back catching up with friends you don’t see often is great. We came back to Grand Rapids, catching the comedy show. Wished it was a little better, however, we were both very tired by then.
Ah, sigh – was hit by cupids arrow after all.
Lacking that Loving Feeling
Usually, I’m a hopeless romantic. Favorite book? The Time Traveler’s Wife. Wedding planning? It consumed me for a year of my life. This year’s Valentines Day? Not feelin’ it.
I warned Jon the first year we were dating. I asked him, “Soooo. What are you doing next Monday?”
“Hmm. Don’t have plans. Why?”
“Want to be my date?” This is after about 8 months of pretty steady hanging out.
“Sure,” he said.
He wasn’t getting it.
“Ok, look. So, I’ve been planning what I’m going to do for you for the past month. Monday is Valentines Day. I really like Valentines Day, so I’m just going to let you know up-front that I’ll be pretty disappointed if we don’t do something special for it. Just so you know.”
He delivered then and he’s been doing great ever since without such need for explicit direction on THE holiday and days other than February 14th.
I’ve often got my crafty hat on, making and sending heart-filled notes, baking or otherwise being creative. Not this year.
I did have a brief inspiration mid-January, and invited some couples to come out to our cottage for a weekend get-away. So another couple is meeting us there, but I’m not doing anything special. I may make Baked Alaska, just because I never have before. I’ll go out today, find a sweet card for my husband and come up with something special for him. Yet my heart isn’t in it in the same way. Maybe it is winter blahs. Perhaps I’m just romanced out this year.
35 New Things I’m Trying Before my 35st Birthday on July 5th!
This is inspired by Sarah Von’s list at http://www.yesandyes.org/ Thanks for the cool idea, Sarah!
1. Give time to an new organization.
2. Join a church choir and sing in a performance.
3. Try a new recipe for a dish I’ve never cooked before.
4. Try a Truffle (mushroom, not chocolate).
5. Go to the new Twins stadium.
6. Take a couples dance lesson.
7. Read Lady Chatterly’s Lover.
8. Have a make-over at the Mac counter.
9. Go to Cygnus 27.
10. Visit the GRAM.
11. Have a piece of writing published.
12. Get a new hair-do!
13. Use Foursquare.
14. Apply for a master’s program.
15. Tour a house I’d like to buy.
16. Discover a beach I’ve never been on in Leelanau County.
17. Try a new sport I’ve never played.
18. Go to a yoga class with an instructor I haven’t tried before.
19. Try a spin class.
20. Take my nephews somewhere we’ve all never been.
21. Visit the light house in Northport.
22. Golf at Thousand Oaks.
23. Sleep under the stars.
24. Take a road trip to a destination I’ve never been to.
25. Watch a roller derby.
26. See The Fainting Generals perform.
27. Attend a No Agenda design meeting.
28. Go to an opening reception at Fredrick Meijer Gardens.
29. Plan a date with my husband that he doesn’t know where we are going.
30. Give my husband flowers.
31. Discover a favorite spot of a friend’s that I’ve never visited.
32. Get a brazillian.
33. Try on clothes in Daniel’s.
34. See Elton John.
35. Teach painting to homeschoolers.
Conan’s Goodbye
“All I ask of you is one thing:
please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism-
it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere.
Nobody in life gets exactly what they
But if you work really hard and you’re kind,
amazing things will happen. “
