Hawaii itinerary

What follows is the bare bones description of our time in Hawaii, mostly so that I don't forget it:

Friday, October 19, 2007 - arrived Kahului (flight from Denver to Honolulu was delayed for 4 hours so we missed our original connection but luckily caught the last plane from Honolulu to Kahului), picked up convertible, checked into Pioneer Inn Lahaina, Steve & I walked around Lahaina, passed out.

Saturday, October 20, 2007 - early morning walk for me around Lahaina, breakfast with Steve & Rachel at Pioneer Inn, beach at Kamehameha Iki Park, walked along beach to 303, back to Pioneer Inn, pool time at Pioneer Inn, Rachel and I drove to Kaanapali for sunset, dinner with Steve and Rachel at Leilani's on the Beach.

Sunday, October 21, 2007 - Steve, Rachel & I had breakfast at Lahaina Coolers, Rachel & I checked out of Pioneer Inn, Rachel & I did internet time at Livewire Cafe (I had to do payroll & Rachel homework), lunch from Foodland (poke, yum!), drove to Launiopoko, met Danny & Christine at Puamana, Rachel & I swam at Puamana.

Monday, October 22, 2007 - Steve & I took ferry to Molokai after a stop at Livewire Cafe for coffee, shuttle to Kualapuu airport (Molokai Offroad), picked up rental car, drove to Kalaupapa overlook, hiked short ways down Kalaupapa trail, drove to Halawa and played at beach, drove back to Kaunakakai, back to airport, ferry back to Lahaina, Steve, Rachel & I had dinner at Lahaina Coolers

Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - Rachel & I drove to Hana, breakfast at Moana Cafe in Paia, stopped at Honomanu Bay (photo above), stopped at Keanae, stopped at Wailea Valley overlook, hiked to Waimoku Falls in Haleakala National Park, rushed back (as much as you can rush on the road to Hana), went to Tuesday night dinner with Steve and Rachel at the neighbors'. (ran out of time for Hamoa Beach)

Wednesday, October 24, 2007 - Rachel & I had a beach day at Kaanapali, lunch at Leilani's, convertible broke, Steve, Rachel & I had dinner at Old Lahaina Luau, rental car swapped out.

Thursday, October 25, 2007 - I got up at 5 am and watched the moon set at Puamana, Steve & I walked into Lahaina and to Starbuck's early morning, Rachel & I had a shopping day in Lahaina, lunch at BJ's Chicago Pizzeria, I did sunset at Puamana pool, I had dinner with Steve, Danny, Christine & Mason at Westin, I had drinks with Christine & Melanie at Westin

Friday, October 26, 2007 - Steve, Rachel and I drove to Kihei to meet Robin & Laurie, swam with the turtles at Makena Harbor, lunch at Wailea Whaler's General Store, convertible broke again, drove Steve to Lahaina, Rachel & I drove back to Kihei to go to the Grand Wailea Spa with Laurie, dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

Saturday, October 27, 2007 - Steve, Rachel and I had breakfast at Livewire Cafe, lunch at Hula Grill Kaanapali with Trevor, Donna, Toby, Brielle and Shane, Rachel and I drove back to Puamana to finish packing, drove to other side to leave. (never did get to Haleakala for sunrise . . .)

I wasn't ready to leave which is unusual for me.

I'm going to Hawaii tomorrow

Yesterday, I was going to Hawaii today.

Today, I'm going to Hawaii tomorrow.

:-(

Since it was snowing all day yesterday and since the 7 am flight is the most often cancelled flight (at one of the airports with the most cancelled flights), I knew it wasn't looking good. If the last flight in on Wednesday landed, our chances of getting out were better.

So I kept checking the flight status of the last flight in, Flight 6337. I was relieved when it was listed as IN FLIGHT.

It's currently still listed as IN FLIGHT . . .

Hmmm. You'd think they'd have run out of gas by now.

Just as I was commenting last night on the fact that we hadn't gotten a cancellation call yet, the phone rang. I'm not making this up.

Of course, because the airlines are flying so lean these days, everything for the rest of the day today was booked. We could have taken our chances with standby but there's two of us and two connections so the odds weren't with us.

Since it looked like I was going to be stuck somewhere overnight, I opted for my own bed.

At least The Pioneer Inn in Lahaina let me modify tonight's hotel reservation . . .

Jumping through hoops

Come to find out that some dog rescue agencies have a hard and fast rule that families with children under 14 can't adopt small dogs.

Huh?

A responsible pet owner will teach his/her children how to behave with and around pets. The mere existence of children shouldn't automatically disqualify anyone. The fact that the potential pet owner is childless does not insure that he/she will be a responsible pet owner.

The irony here is that the rescue agencies, at the same time they're supposedly attempting to save dogs, are forcing interested (and likely qualified) parties into purchasing dogs.

When we purchased Ellie (4.5 years ago when Rachel was 11), we didn't have to go through this kind of b.s.

Happy?

I've been feeling pretty contented recently. While nothing's perfect, my job, kid, husband, house, hometown, etc., are all pretty good.

Life is good.

Yesterday, I got a phone call out of the blue offering me a job 45 miles away for approximately 3 times what I'm making now.

Wow.

I said, thanks, but no thanks. I was asked to consider it a little longer so I said I'd talk to my husband and get back to them if I was interested.

It's a job with a lot of growth potential and increased earning potential (over and above the immediate 300% increase).

I am extremely flattered. I am a bit intimidated.

My house is tied to employment in Pitkin County. This job offer is not in Pitkin County.

It would mean commuting 2 hours a day, which I used to do. 15 years ago.

I purposefully opted out of the rat race. But, as it stands right now, we don't know how we're going to pay for Rachel's college or our retirement. This would certainly help.

I always knew that I was undervaluing myself but justified it by counting it as a sacrifice necessary to live in such an incredible place.

Now, that sacrifice has been quantified. When assessing the balance sheet, how do you quantify the unquantifiable, the other side of the equation, the intangible?

I blame the teachers

I'm a big one for personal responsibility. I don't have much patience for those who like to blame others for their shortcomings and bad decisions.

So, it's taken me a while to get here.

For years now, Rachel and I have been struggling with the fact that she has a very hard time getting her assignments in. This fact has caused much angst, conflict and tension in our home.

We have appealed to the teachers for help. Every year I start the school year by letting her teachers know about our struggles and asking for their assistance. I can't police her homework if I don't know what her assignments are or if I don't find out until weeks later that assignments are missing.

Over the past few years, her school has become more and more internet interactive. We can now check grades and homework assignments online. Of course, it's totally dependent upon the teachers taking the time to upload the information but it's a step in the right direction.

Even so, Rachel still struggles. It's so different from my experience at her age. She's bright and intelligent like I was but not as organized and much more distractable. Try as I might (and believe me, I've tried), I don't know how to help her.

I've given it a lot of thought, for quite a while. But it wasn't until the other evening, when my parents and I were rehashing it all, that a little light bulb went off.

When I was in grammar school, if a student didn't turn his/her homework in, the teacher called him/her out in front of the whole class. The teacher went around the room, collecting homework and everyone in class knew who hadn't done theirs. The teacher would stop and question the student right then and there.

Public shaming.

The anxiety about being publicly shamed was a huge motivator.

Immediate consequences for negative behavior. Not bad grades at the end of the semester. Not difficulty getting into college years later. Immediate public shaming.

My parents said, yep, it was the same for them in the 50s. Pursuing my hypothesis, I asked a bunch of friends last night. Yep, all seven of them, ranging 20 years in age, said it was the same for them.

But not for Rachel. Not here in Aspen. Didn't do your homework? No worries. That's just between you and your teacher. No one needs to know.

Yep, I blame the teachers.

Community

The majority of Aspen locals are transplants, people who are living far from their extended families. So, we have become each others' extended families and we take care of each other.

It's pretty amazing to see.

On Friday, 800 people paid $35 a piece to attend a benefit for a friend, Bob Sloezen, who is fighting bladder cancer and who has found that the gap between his health insurance coverage and his medical expenses was sickeningly large.

So his friends rallied to the call. In addition to all of the liquor and the entertainment for the party, there were approximately 200 items with values ranging from $50 to $5000 donated for the silent auction.

The place was packed. The parking lot was full. The line to get in stretched outside the door. I was there for 4 hours and probably never even saw 500 of my fellow attendees. Maximum capacity was exceeded by scores. Entrance fees alone netted $28,000.

They're calling it the party of the decade.

Whiner

I work in a building that was built some time in the 1880s (we think).

It's pretty awesome and funky and unique.

It's got character.

It's also got old, historic windows that don't open.

Now in Aspen, that's usually not a problem. It doesn't really get hot here. Or at least it doesn't get hot here very often or for very long.

However, in my little office, on the second (or top) floor with four computer servers, a copier and a printer and the windows that don't open, it can get pretty darn warm in July and August.

So much so that there are afternoons when my office is a good 10+ degrees warmer than the rest of the building.

So much so that sometimes I have to leave early because I'm just too hot and irritable to be productive.

So much so that I recently brought a room thermometer so that I'll know just how hot it is when I'm too hot and irritable to be productive.

Well, after listening to Morning Edition this morning, I feel like a big ole whiner. It seems that for government buildings in Japan, the air conditioning is set at 28 degrees celsius or 82 degrees fahrenheit. Factor in printers, PCs and other machines and the temp climbs to 31 degrees celsius or 88 degrees fahrenheit.

All of this in offices which aren't nearly as tolerant of the casual dress code (tank tops, capris and flip flops) that I'm able to get away with.

Illustration credit.

Bad mommie update

It appears that Rachel's drama teacher is going to get her out of detention.

Not sure how I feel about that.

But I won't intervene.

I did, however, intervene when the same teacher told me that, unless I drove to the school to bail Rachel out, the teacher was not only going to prohibit Rachel from going on a field trip but was also going to give Rachel an unexcused absence for that upcoming class because Rachel forgot her permission slip.

Seemed a bit hypocritical to me.

I told the teacher that I was trying to make Rachel accountable for the consequences of her actions which was why I let her be tardy on Wednesday but that I didn't think an unexcused absence was appropriate, especially from the teacher who was getting her out of detention.

Don't get me wrong. I was nice and the teacher and I reached an appropriate accommodation whereby she got her permission slip but Rachel still had to follow through on her responsibility.

To top it all off, Rachel told me that she kinda wished she had detention so that she could have some extra time to get all her work done . . .

Bad mommie

Oy.

Do I feel guilty.

I'm a mean mommie.

I've been getting frustrated with Rachel's tendency to sleep through her alarm. Actually, she gets up and turns it off when it goes off and then goes back to sleep. She doesn't hit snooze or use the second alarm that's built in to her clock. So, most mornings, I have to wake her up which I resent. She also tends to stay up late which makes it harder for her to get up in the am.

I've been telling her that I don't want to fuss at her about getting to bed at a decent hour so it's her responsibility to get herself up. I specifically told her last night that she was responsible for getting herself up this morning since it's my day off and I wasn't setting my alarm.

It's an especially big deal right now since she's doing the fall play and has play practice each Monday, Tuesday and Thursday after school which she can't miss. Detention for tardiness is either Tuesday or Thursday.

Well . . .

Her alarm went off at some obnoxiously early hour. I heard it. I heard her turn it off. Her bus comes at 7:42 am and at 7:44 am, I woke up and realized that I had heard nothing since her alarm. So I intercom'd her (hey, I wasn't getting out of bed).

She apologized. She begged. She cried.

But I played the hard-ass and said no, I won't drive you to school.

She slammed the door on the way out to catch the city bus which would make her a half hour late.

I felt so bad. I even thought about calling in an excuse to the school office . . .

But I didn't.

picture credit

Maybe there's hope

Poll Results

How successful has his (W's) presidency been overall?

Not at all	48%	11,366
Somewhat	29%	6,855
Very	24%	5,598

Total Votes: 23,819

Note on Poll Results: Poll results are not scientific and reflect the opinions of only those users who chose to participate. Poll results are not reflected in real time.

Although I am still concerned about that 24% . . .

Search terms

Someone found my blog today using the search terms,

"i have light colored blemishes on my toes."

hmmm.

Coming out of the closet

I feel like I'm coming out of the closet. I've struggled with whether or not to even go here.

I don't want to alienate anyone and I don't want anyone to feel judged.

Atheism.

It's such a sticky subject. And it's everywhere these days.

It's been a progression for me. I read What Jesus Meant. I read Misquoting Jesus. I read The God Delusion. I'm reading God is not Great.

I'm feeling released, a sense of relief. Permission to acknowledge what I'm increasingly convinced is true.

And yet, I'm aware that many of those close to me are on the other side of the divide. Since none of our relationships are based in the slightest on a shared belief in god, I'm not sure why I'm worried that, if I unequivocally state that I don't believe in god, we'll no longer be able to be friends.

But, I am.

I also resent, slightly, the feeling that while they're allowed, even encouraged, to broadcast their beliefs, I'm not supposed to come clean about mine.

This feeling is probably completely self imposed.

I'm absolutely uninterested in the dynamic expressed in the PostSecret postcard above. Just as I always saw the matter of faith as a personal matter, I also see the matter of atheism as a personal matter. I don't want the responsibility implied in the above image. My journey away from belief was a personal one and I'll not impose it upon anyone.

Why, then, am I writing this? It has been a sea change for me. It's something I'm very tuned into right now. It would feel hypocritical not to be upfront about it.

Why would you?

On Wednesday as I was braving the evening rush in order to drive downvalley for a meeting, I was listening to NPR and caught the first of a two part series on the shoddy treatment a fellow Coloradoan, Ron Hinkle, has been receiving from this great country of ours.

Since I missed part two on Thursday, I checked out the story on NPR's website and was absolutely appalled to read that,

In addition, last week Hinkle was notified by the finance department at Fort Carson that a $3,000 enlistment bonus will not be honored because "he failed to fulfill his contract" due to his injury in Iraq.

That's simply obscene.

My outrage inspired me to email both Ken and John Salazar. I hope I'm not the only one.

This isn't going to make Blogger look good

Blogger blocked PostSecret as a spam blog. Oops.

Frank is asking for help in getting Blogger to fix its boo-boo. (I emailed Blogger at support@blogger.com) Ironic how it happened on Sunday, huh?

9/16/2007

Blogger has locked PostSecret

(Blogger sent me the following message late last night. Please email them to unlock the PostSecret Blog ASAP. PostSecret has not been fully unlocked by Blogger yet. Sorry, I know this is frustrating for you - it is frustrating for me too.)

Your blog is disabled
Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What's a spam blog?) Since you're an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and we sincerely apologize for this false positive.

We received your unlock request on September 16, 2007. On behalf of the robots, we apologize for locking your non-spam blog. Please be patient while we take a look at your blog and verify that it is not spam.

I did enjoy this guy's take on it.

Update: As of approximately 1:20 pm ET, PostSecret is back.

PostSecret this week

This week's PostSecret spoke to me. Fully half of the 20 secrets this week either connected with me personally or struck me as a truth.

Since I had a hard time picking a favorite, I went with the first image, which made me laugh.

PostSecret last week

I recommend it

I was visiting some blogs this evening and getting a bit impatient with the predictability of today's subject matter when one of the blogs solicited comments by asking the question, "Where were you when you found out?".

It started me thinking about how I had gone to work about 6:30 am that morning (also a Tuesday) and, not long afterward, was sitting at my desk listening to NPR's Morning Edition when Bob Edwards mentioned, basically in passing, that a plane had hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center.

I pictured a small Cessna, thought, "wow, how do you manage that?", and continued on with my morning's tasks.

Until a short while later when Bob Edwards told me that a second plane had hit the World Trade Center.

At which point, I was immediately alarmed and knew that this was no coincidence.

Since my desk/office is upstairs in a quaint Victorian and the rest of my co-workers all work downstairs in a set-up that makes it virtually impossible for them to listen to radio news, I spent the rest of the morning hustling downstairs to give them updates: now they're saying a plane crashed into the Pentagon; one of the towers just collapsed; the other tower collapsed; a plane crashed in Pennsylvania . . .

One of my bosses suggested closing for the day but I didn't see what purpose that would serve. What were we going to do, go home and sit in front of the TV? So we stayed open and worked and I listened to the radio, while looking out the window at the gorgeous blue Colorado sky.

I have a vivid memory of looking at Aspen's Main Street, noting how the world really didn't look any different.

This evening, while thinking about all of this, I found NPR's Sep-11-2001 Morning Edition in the NPR archives and just spent the last couple of hours listening to it once again for the first time since that morning.

It's an interesting experience. I recommend it.

Little Voice

A good time was had by all.

We had only been there for a little while when three of Rachel's classmates came in which was nice since it gave her someone to hang out with.

When Javier Dunn started playing, the crowd was still pretty small (it never got huge) and Sara Bareilles sat out in the audience and video'd Javier.

At that point, I figured out why her album is called Little Voice. She's tiny. I had watched some YouTube videos of some of her shows and since she performs sitting at her keyboard, you don't get a sense of how small she is. But, just look at her next to Rachel. She's tiny.

Speaking of keyboards, the show almost didn't go on. After Javier Dunn's 6 song set, there was an extended delay. One of Rachel's friends, Kassie, had to leave so Rachel and another friend went backstage to ask if Sara would play Love Song first because that was Kassie's favorite. Sara told them that they might not even be performing since the keyboard that both she and Jon McLaughlin use wasn't working and they were desperately trying to fix it.

About ten minutes later, a cheer sounded onstage, the big screen which functions as a curtain raised and Sara started with Vegas. Belly Up is such an intimate venue. When she was about to launch into Love Song, Sara had a conversation from onstage with Rachel and her friends (sadly, Kassie had had to leave by that point).

Javier, Sara and Jon all have a good stage presence and an ease in chatting with the audience. We had much fun dancing and got to chat with both Sara and Jon at the merchandise booth after their sets.

And afterwards, I was the uber cool mom and gave one of Rachel's friends a ride home, all the way to El Jebel (20+ miles one way).

Wow!

Sara Bareilles, Jon McLaughlin and Javier Dunn for $8 at BellyUp Aspen tonight.

The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster for free at the Snowmass Oktoberfest tomorrow afternoon.

Sweet!

(can you tell i'm excited?)

post topics sitting in my drafts file

I can't motivate enough to actually write about them so instead I'll tell you what I might write about if I had the energy . . .

The Squid and the Whale

Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Soul Stew Revival

Monster

Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals

Tipperary by Frank Delaney

Wickett's Remedy by Myla Goldberg

Crystal Palace Open House

The Letter Project

The Last Mimzy

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Brothers and Sisters

I find this really scary . . .

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Poll Results

How do you think the threat of global warming is portrayed?

It's exaggerated	52%	35,727
It's understated	26%	18,129
It's represented fairly	22%	15,318

Total Votes: 69,174

Note on Poll Results
Poll results are not scientific and reflect the opinions of only those users who chose to participate. Poll results are not reflected in real time.

As I told Steve when he asked why I thought so many people were so blind to reality, I can't explain why stupid people are stupid.

Boggles the mind

In the past couple of years, the Aspen Animal Shelter engaged in a huge fund-raising effort in order to enable it to move and build a new facility. We now have quite the state of the art animal shelter. It even has an online Doggie Daycare Cam. Pretty cool.

I pulled a brochure out of my mailbox on Thursday entitled Aspen Animal Hospital Facilities Expansion Project. My first reaction was that I couldn't believe that the animal shelter was asking for money again so soon. After my double take, I read the brochure a bit more carefully and realized that this wasn't from the animal shelter but from the local vet, Scott Dolginow.

What?

The vet is asking for "donations" (which are not tax deductible, mind you) to fund his business. The Aspen Animal Hospital is a for-profit corporation, just like any other local business.

What would you think if your local businessman asked you to give him/her money to purchase equipment which s/he is then going to use to make money? You're not going to get a discount on future services; you're not getting a slice of the pie; it's not an investment. You're simply funding a purchase for no return. But he will be grateful.

I find this outrageous. Ballsy, but completely outrageous.

The most ironic piece is the recent piss poor review I found of this vet online today.

I guess I'm a geek . . .

'cause I find NPR fascinating

PostSecret

Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

Yum!

One pint of cherry or grape tomatoes (we found some new grape tomatoes in our grocery store called Cherubs which are especially tasty)

One container of ciligene mozzarella balls (cherry tomato sized)

1/2 to one jar of pitted Kalamata olives

Newman's own Balsamic Vinaigrette (or whatever your favorite is)

Rinse the tomatoes in a colander*.

Empty the mozzarella into the same colander (right on top of the tomatoes) to drain the liquid.

Empty the olives into the same colander (right on top of the tomatoes and cheese) to drain the liquid.

Transfer the whole mixture into a container with an airtight lid.

Add vinaigrette to taste (I generally use 1/4 to 1/3 of a bottle when I'm making a salad using the quantities above).

Close lid and gently shake to evenly coat tomatoes, cheese and olives with vinaigrette.

Enjoy!

*If I'm making this salad for company, I'll cut the tomatoes in half so that my guests don't have to chase tomatoes around with their forks. When I'm making it just for me, I omit this step since I don't mind chasing tomatoes around with my fork.

The bear deal

My comment exchange with Susie on my last post brought to mind a magazine ad which I saw last week, probably in Real Simple. It's a full page color ad for some homeowner's insurance company which depicts a bear standing in someone's kitchen. The general point of the ad is that as totally unlikely as this scenario may be, this insurance company will protect you should this happen.

The point that struck me was that bears in kitchens is a daily occurrence this time of year here in Aspen. The photo seemed run of the mill to me . . .

Aspen Daily News staff report

Wed 08/22/2007 11:01AM MST

As summer shifts into fall, local black bears are ramping up their food intake by thousands of calories to fatten up for winter hibernation. Many bears are finding those extra calories in the unsecured garbage or unlocked houses of Aspen and Pitkin County.

But rather than follow the local bear "problem" with relentless articles detailing the latest bear antics, relocations or euthanasias, the Aspen Daily News is launching "The Bear Deal." Every Wednesday, this piece will provide a weekly by-the-numbers look at our local bear troubles.

In recognition of the bear problem, both the city of Aspen and Pitkin County are taking emergency steps to institute stiffer fines and stronger enforcement of local trash containment laws. The county will vote on an emergency ordinance at their regular meeting at noon today. City staff is currently looking into drafting such an ordinance.

Bear calls during the week of Aug. 14-20 (Tuesday through Monday):
Aspen: 75
Snowmass Village: 3
Pitkin County: 30

Colorado Division of Wildlife activities in Pitkin County:

Total number of bears relocated from Pitkin County: 9
Total number of Pitkin County bears killed by DOW: 7

And here's the text of an email I received from one of my neighbors on 8/16:

I got a call today from Txxxx Kxxxxxx (he manages Hunter Longhouse). He said that the DOW was there a few days ago to remove a bear that walked into someone’s apartment. The guy was home and had the door open so in came the bear. The DOW saw the latches on our dumpster enclosure and suggested they be changed. Txxxx has volunteered to change them out. He also said to LOCK your doors and windows, the bears are aggressive right now. They have been breaking through windows and tearing down doors. Let’s keep an eye out for each other’s places in case you see a bear inviting himself inside one of our homes.

Photo Credit

I'm a hypocrite and I'm ok . . .

Today is the one year anniversary of Chicago's foie gras ban so NPR did a story on it.

As a rule, I'm not a fan of laws and regulations which seek to micro manage behavior.

I have ranted about a Vermont law seeking to regulate behaviors behind the wheel and New York's paternalistic efforts to limit trans-fats. I haven't taken on Chicago's foie gras ban simply because I don't like the stuff so I don't really care if I can order it when I eat out. But I have enjoyed the various news stories about the lack of enforcement and restaurateurs thumbing their noses a la Prohibition.

So it was with some self deprecation that I noted my reaction to the end of today's NPR story. As they were listing all of the various invasive attempts sponsored by the architect of the foie gras ban, they mentioned an attempt to allow dogs to sit next to their owner's table at outdoor restaurants.

My mood immediately changed from derision to total acceptance. I could totally get behind a regulation like that. It's such a pain in the ass when we're walking around town at lunchtime in the summer with Ellie and we can't eat at a restaurant because of the silly health department rules that dogs aren't allowed in restaurants, including their outdoor patios. The outdoor seating at most restaurants in Aspen is frequented by all sorts of wildlife, including big, nasty, berry pooping bears.

And the health department is worried about Ellie?

photo credit

This week's favorite

"Highest"

Seems that word might not mean what all those Mount Everest adventurers think it means.

Here in Aspen, we have more than our fair share of Everest expeditionaries.

They may be climbing the wrong mountain.

Depending on how you define highest, Mount Everest is not the highest spot on earth.

According to May 1999 GPS triangulated measurements, Mount Everest is 29035 feet above sea level.

However, the top of Mount Chimborazo (elevation 20702 feet) in the Ecuadorean Andes is 1.36 miles further from the center of the earth.

Since the earth is not a perfect sphere, Mount Chimborazo is therefore 1.36 miles closer to the moon.

See: The 'Highest' Spot on Earth? and Did Edmund Hillary Climb the Wrong Mountain?

A billion and a half beats

This morning on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, Robert Krulwich reported on the Hidden Mathematics of Life.

According to Geoffrey West, a scientist and the president of the Santa Fe Institute,

on average . . . elephants and shrews and most of the critters in between have a limit of about a billion and a half heartbeats in a lifetime and then they die.

The reason an elephant lives longer than a shrew is not because its heart beats longer. It's because its heat beats slower. So it takes a few more years for the elephant to complete his or her up to one and a half billion beats.

Now Steve has a really low heart rate. So low, that when he was in the hospital two years ago, every nurse who took his pulse commented on how low his heart rate is. This in a place where there are a lot of world class athletes with low heart rates.

I have a really fast heart rate. So fast, that when I would take my heart rate during aerobic exercise, I would freak out my instructor because I was always way off the top of the charts, way outside of the 'acceptable range,' even though I felt fine. It seems it runs in my family. My brother's coach used to tell him he had a freakin' jackrabbit heart.

So, depending upon how you look at it, either I'm screwed because I'm going to use up my billion and half beats before Steve or he's screwed because he's going to outlive me and outlive his almost non-existent retirement funds.

Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

It took me two readings to really appreciate the charms of Wicked.

On the first reading, Son of a Witch does not match the mastery of Wicked.

Son of a Witch picks up the story of Elphaba's son, Liir, although Maguire expends an annoying amount of energy and verbiage trying to convince the reader that this fact is in question.

The novel picks up approximately 10 years after the death (?) of Elphaba and fills in the intervening years through flashback. A recurring theme throughout the book is the question of whether "Elphaba Lives." Given that I had just seen Wicked - The Musical, I was amenable to the idea that Elphaba was in fact alive.

The book was uneven and choppy. It held my interest in spite of itself, mostly due to my curiosity as opposed to any intrinsic artistry. Maguire's imagination still impresses but his storytelling disappoints.

I finished the book with a feeling of inconclusiveness. I suspected yet another sequel and was not surprised to learn that in October of 2006, Maguire announced that he was working on a third book based in Oz.

There's something wrong with me

The other day, Steve emailed me in response to my How Much Jail Time? post.

I logged onto Blogger under his log-on and posted his email as a comment.

Then, later, he said something to me (directly, yes, we do actually converse) about my Upcoming Travel post.

Once again, I logged onto Blogger under his log-on and posted his verbal statement as a comment.

But this time, I signed off as Steve, signed back on as me and posted a comment responding to the comment I had posted as Steve.

So, I'm having comment conversations with myself.

There's something wrong with me.

Wicked - The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

Unbelievably epic and rich in detail.

I first read Wicked a few years ago and having just seen Wicked - The Musical, decided to re-read it.

I'm amazed at how much I had forgotten.

I remembered my surprise upon reading it the first time at how political Elphaba's life was but so much had escaped me.

As is his wont, Gregory Maguire takes a key but hardly central character from the Wizard of Oz and fleshes out her backstory with stunning imagination. He hones in on and explores the question of the Wicked Witch of the West's essential wickedness.

It's significant that the subtitle of the book is The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and the subtitle of the musical is The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz. The fundamental theme of the musical is friendship and the musical really does not even touch the issue of evil. The fundamental question in the book is the question of the nature of evil and time and again, throughout the book, Maguire returns to this theme.

In the Grimmerie, the keepsake companion book to the musical, Maguire notes that he came away from the Wizard of Oz wondering why the Wicked Witch of the West was wicked and why it was necessary for Dorothy to kill her. Wanting to write a book exploring the nature of evil, Maguire saw Elphaba as an ideal vehicle.

Oftentimes, when I'm reading a book for the first time, I'm reading for plot and much of the detail gets lost. Because Wicked is so rich and so deep, it's amazing to read it a second time and realize how much is really there.

Wicked - The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz

When Rachel and I were in Chicago, we went to see Wicked. Rachel took the train downtown on Friday to meet me and spend the night at my conference hotel.

As Rachel said to me, Wicked felt like Broadway.

We had been to see Rent on Broadway but due to the subject matter of the muscial and the faded glory/shabbiness of the Nederlander Theatre, while we enjoyed the play, it didn't feel like Broadway.

Wicked felt like Broadway. The Oriental Theatre/Ford Center for the Performing Arts is very ornate and plush.

The play, although significantly different from the book, was quite good. It convincingly tells the tale of the friendship between the two opposites, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West. For all of its pomp and grandeur, it's an intensely character driven story and, therefore, more adult oriented (not in any R rated way). As I was looking around at some of the younger children in the audience, it struck me that Rachel at that age would have been very squirmy throughout the whole thing.

The lifelong friendship between Elphaba and Glinda and the love story between Elphaba and Fiyero were both a joy to experience. We left feeling uplifted (and Rachel left significantly lighter in the pocketbook after visiting the souvenir stands, not once but twice).

This week's favorite

This week, PostSecret is going a different direction so I can't single out my favorite here but if you watch the video, it's the first one.

How Much Jail Time?

I caught Anna Quindlen's column, How Much Jail Time?, in the Aug 6, 2007 issue of Newsweek the other day.

Quindlen was discussing a "curious little mini-documentary" she had seen on YouTube.

In the video, the question of what penalty a woman should face for undergoing an illegal abortion is posed to people protesting in front of an abortion clinic in Libertyville, Illinois.

Their responses, or really, lack of responses, are incredible, as in unbelievable.

Upcoming travel?

Upcoming travel wishlist (emphasis on the wish part!):

Hawaii - October 2007
(visiting Steve who'll be there working for 3.5 months)

New York - January 2008
(taking Rachel to see Hairspray on Broadway for her 16th birthday)

San Francisco - April 2008
(taking Rachel to see the Charmed manor during Spring Break)

Yosemite - April 2008
(traveling with another couple during waterfall season)

Indonesia - May 2008
(visiting Susie who'll be there for 1 year)

Orlando - June 2008
(attending a conference and taking Rachel & Steve to Disney World)

Glacier National Park - June 2008
(family get together)

Grand Canyon National Park - July 2008
(Colorado River raft trip)

Kinda unrealistic, huh?

Sad but true

I'm sorry to say that this is my favorite from this week's batch over at PostSecret.

I say sorry because I think it's unfortunate that I'm allowing all of the rational Christians to be tarred by this brush/bush and his ilk.

But, I couldn't help it. My reaction when I first saw it was visceral and honest. To pretend otherwise would be dishonest.

I thought about seeking out a second favorite to avoid offending. Rather cowardly . . .

Have I met your travel needs?

I guess I'm about to add my voice to the now commonplace complaints about air travel.

How unoriginal.

At 10:30 pm on Monday, July 30, 2007, I got an automated call on my cell phone informing me that my 7 am flight the next morning had been cancelled. United's automated attendant proceeded to rattle off new flight information which I was totally unprepared to take down.

This was complicated by the fact that one of my two fellow travelers was calling, first on my cell and then on my home phone, so the automated attendant was being interrupted by various beeps and clicks.

There were three of us traveling but our itineraries weren't linked due to differing returns. One was notified and rebooked. One was simply notified and left to fend for herself. The third was not even notified.

So, I called United for all three of us. Such fun.

The first time, as soon as the thickly accented attendant realized how complicated our situation was, she promptly disconnected me. Nice punt.

I called back. 67 minutes later, all three of us were rebooked together, scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 6 pm instead of 2 pm and stopping twice in Denver and Minneapolis instead of once in Denver. There were multiple flights that would have gotten us to Denver to make our original connection (we had a long layover in Denver) but she wouldn't/couldn't put three of us on any of them.

At the end of the call, "Maria" asked me if she had met my travel needs. I said no. She asked again. I said no again. When she asked a third time, I replied that I was sorry but I was not going to be able to answer in the affirmative. I understood that she had done the best that she could but the answer to the question was still, "Not really."

She didn't ask again.

Nostalgia

While I was aware of their music earlier, I first became enamored of Deep Purple by name when, as a freshman in college, my Russian friend, Eddie Dubinsky, played Child in Time for me.

During the 70s, I had spent hours upon hours listening to and memorizing Jesus Christ Superstar and, upon hearing Child in Time, I immediately recognized Ian Gillan's distinctive wail.

Since I haven't paid much attention since, I wasn't aware that they were still producing new music and touring. At least, not until I got an email yesterday announcing that they'll be appearing at the Belly Up here in Aspen on August 20.

I've already got my tickets.

Ignorance is bliss?

100% blade-free Lasik experience.

And what an experience . . .

I get queasy easily, especially when dealing with medical injuries, procedures and descriptions. The irony is that I work in the medical profession. The truth is that if the above weren't true, I'd be a clinician, not an administrator.

Given my queasiness aptitude, I purposefully opted to remain ignorant about what Lasik entailed. As I said to one of my doctor friends, "What can you tell me about Lasik while telling me nothing about Lasik?"

Her response, which was perfect, was, "You'll love it!"

She meant the result, not the procedure.

The best thing I can say about the procedure is that it didn't take long. A few minutes. At most.

I really didn't like the procedure. Thank god, they gave me Valium. Thank god, it also occurred to me to engage in what I can only describe as meditation breathing techniques to keep myself calm.

Not that I know any meditation breathing techniques.

I basically passed out when the erroneous thought crossed my mind that I might have to go back under one of the lasers. This lead to me being quickly placed on a Lazy Boy with an oxygen cannula affixed to my face.

So inconvenient for the surgeon who already had his next patient waiting. Quite the assembly line.

There was also a moment pre-procedure when it looked like I was going to be denied. The surgeon's office also does a corneal thickness test and mine was wacky. It showed my thinnest spot in a place where no one's thinnest spot is. If this had been a year ago, they would have turned me away but now, they have a newer machine so they did another scan on it and it contradicted the first machine's result. We were good to go.

Now, if you're considering this procedure, don't let my negativity above dissuade you. There was never any pain, simply discomfort. It didn't hurt. Ever. Not during or after. The first laser necessitated a suction thingy which served the purpose of keeping my eyes open. That involved a fair amount of pressure. Both lasers are placed against the face so there's a small amount of claustrophobia.

During the first part of the procedure, the surgeon remarked on the death grip I had on the gurney railing.

Some patients have repeat procedures done for enhancement purposes. Not sure I could go there. If I was faced with that situation, I might just have to live with less than optimal results. I'm really not sure.

And yet, with all of that being said, I am glad that I did it. I am quite pleased with the results. My vision is now basically 20/15. I can see without vision aids for the first time since 1969.

It's pretty damn cool.

I love it

Hairspray

For what it's worth, Rachel is seeing the movie again right now for the third time in three days. She's paid for the last two herself. At full price.

We all saw it together on Sunday night. Steve says it's the best musical he's seen.

I also enjoyed it, particularly given the time frame, a month after my birth, and the cross cultural storyline.

It was fun and triumphant and managed to totally avoid the angst which could have easily resulted from a storyline involving a pleasantly plump girl trying to compete with the beauty pageant types.

The John Waters' touches, all the little incongruities and outlandish lines, simply sealed the deal.

Rachel has just returned and informed me that she's seeing it again on Friday . . .

NEW BUMPER STICKERS FOR 07

An email that's making the rounds (forwarded to me courtesy of Susie):

NEW BUMPER STICKERS FOR 07

1. Bush: End of an Error

2. That's OK, I Wasn't Using My Civil Liberties Anyway

3. Let's Fix Democracy in this Country First

4. If You Want a Nation Ruled By Religion, Move to Iran

5. Bush. Like a Rock. Only Dumber.

6. If You Can Read This, You're Not Our President

7. Of Course It Hurts: You're Getting Screwed by an Elephant!

8. Hey, Bush Supporters: Embarrassed Yet?

9. George Bush: Creating the Terrorists Our Kids Will Have to Fight

10. Impeachment: It's Not Just for Blow Jobs Anymore

11. America: One Nation, Under Surveillance

12. They Call Him "W" So He Can Spell It

13. Whose God Do You Kill For?

14. Jail to the Chief

15. No, Seriously, Why Did We Invade Iraq?

16. Bush: God's Way of Proving Intelligent Design is Full Of Crap

17. Bad President! No Banana.

18. We Need a President Who's Fluent In At Least One Language

19. We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them

20. Is It Vietnam Yet?

21. Bush Doesn't Care About White People, Either

22. Where Are We Going? And Why Are We In This Handbasket?

23. You Elected Him. You Deserve Him.

24. Dub'ya, Your Dad Should'a Pulled Out, too!

25. When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46

26. Pray For Impeachment

27. The Republican Party: Our Bridge to the 11th Century

28. What Part of "Bush Lied" Don't You Understand?

29. One Nation Under Clod

30. 2004: Embarrassed. 2005: Horrified. 2006: Terrified

31. Bush Never Exhaled

32. At Least Nixon Resigned

Video diary

I've uploaded Rachel's videos from her trip (until her video camera broke) to YouTube. Just click on the link and you should find 24 videos. Most of them are very short.

But the best one is here.

I've also uploaded all 717 of her pictures to Kodak Gallery. The link should take you right there (if it works right . . . )

Current PostSecret favorites

All done

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Got it at approximately 4 pm this afternoon (after making four trips to my office since I forgot to have Amazon deliver it to my house).

Finished it at 11:37 pm.

And, yes, I cried.

A couple of times.

Fabulous!

Rachel's going to kill me . . .

Rachel wants me to tell you that she's lip syncing to "I Write Sins, not Tragedies" by Panic! at the Disco.

No Footprints in the Sand - A memoir of Kalaupapa by Henry Kalalahilimoku Nalaieula

Wow, what a different perspective.

Henry is a naturally positive person and this shines through on every page of his memoir. The same undercurrents are present but Henry makes lemonade while Olivia Breitha in My Life of Exile in Kalaupapa communicates her anger. Their different temperaments help explain why Olivia broke so totally with John Tayman, the author of The Colony, while Henry did not. Olivia internalizes perceived slights and insults. They just bounce off Henry. It's ironic since Tayman's message is really much more aligned with Olivia's.

Since Henry had a co-author, Sally-Jo Bowman, his book is much more polished than Olivia's.

Henry's book made me wish I had visited Kalaupapa when he was a tour guide for Damien Tours. It would have been a great experience.

Whew!

Ever since Eric's July 11th comment on my July 10th post, I've been preparing myself for the possibility that I might be driving back from Denver next week utterly disappointed.

While that possibility still exists, the chances have dramatically lessened as of this afternoon.

I passed my initial corneal thickness test!

My optometrist performs the pachymetry test as part of the requisite pre-operative physical and my bilateral corneal thicknesses are above the acceptable minimum. Sweet!

I also found out that my left eye is dominant. The test for this would make quite the low cost parlor trick. It basically involves looking through your hands at a spot.

After discussing my options with my optometrist, I'm opting not to do the monovision. Its potential impact on my depth perception could be problematic considering how active I still like to be. I'm uncoordinated enough when it comes to skiing and biking. I don't need to make it any more difficult.

The only bummer is that right now I can't see for crap because my pupils are dilated and I have a contract I need to review tonight in preparation for a 7 am meeting tomorrow.

My face is about six inches from my laptop screen as I type this . . .

A unique experience

I mentioned that we saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix in Grand Junction on Friday night.

Rachel and I both had medium Icees (only they don't call them Icees) and by about 3/4 of the way through the movie, we were both really uncomfortable.

Steve told us that we were going to have to wait a while which I hoped was not the case. I asked Rachel who is incredibly well versed in all things Harry Potter and she informed us that there wasn't too much left in the storyline.

Steve looked puzzled but shrugged.

A little while later, as the credits began to roll, Rachel, who was more uncomfortable than I was, sprinted out of the theater as I turned to Steve who looked very confused.

"That's it?," he asked. "That's the very end? That's how the entire Harry Potter saga ends?"

Huh??

Ohhhhhhh.

He had gotten the movie confused with the upcoming book and had sat through the entire movie thinking that he was watching the final chapter. For a moment towards the end of the movie, he thought Harry Potter was dead. While he has seen the movies, he hasn't read any of the books except for the first one and he wasn't very current on the Harry Potter buzz.

After catching him up, I chuckled and pointed out to him that he had had a different experience from every other person in the movie theater.

This week's favorite

At Rachel's insistence, we went to Harry Potter on Friday night in Grand Junction as soon as Rachel got off the plane from traveling for 24 hours straight (before we drove the two hours home).

My reactions to white privilege

Here's what I wrote in 1996 to my friend in response to his providing me a copy of Peggy McIntosh's essay:

Thanks so much for the McIntosh paper. I was aware of her work and appreciated the opportunity to read her writing myself.

I must admit that I was initially slightly offended at what I perceived to be your assumption that I was oblivious to white privilege. I mean, I don’t know about other white women, but it was not possible for me to be involved with black men for the past fifteen years and not achieve some level of awareness of the everyday situations in which I benefitted because of the color of my skin.

On the flip side, because of the social situations I chose to place myself in, my skin color often became a detriment. But I do realize that this was my choice and that most blacks do not have a similar option. As Midge Wilson and Kathy Russell said in their book, Divided Sisters, “There is also a growing recognition that Whites are able to choose whether or not to have a racial identity. That is, for many Whites, RACE is something that only Blacks have.” (p. 42). For the most part, this describes how I grew up. Race was a total non-issue. It was not until I reached college and started crossing racial lines (by my choice) that race became something I had too. Now, of course, by virtue of my daughter (again my choice), race is something I will always have.

My initial reaction to your letter passed quickly as I realized that I always welcome the opportunity to broaden my perspective. In this case the idea of white privilege being damaging to whites was an idea I had not previously explored.

In my (white) naivete, I would prefer to see my skin color privilege as something to share; that the goal is not to remove any of my privilege but to make it more broadly available. The cynics among us (and perhaps the realists too) would probably see this as comical and farcical. But I guess my desire mirrors McIntosh’s statements about positive advantages or unearned entitlements. “We might at least start by distinguishing between positive advantages which we can work to spread, to the point where they are not advantages at all but simeply part of the normal civic and social fabric . . .”

The thorny issue of negative privilege or conferred dominance and how to combat it is much more difficult for me to visualize in concrete terms. McIntosh says, “To redesign social systems we need first to acknowledge their colossal unseen dimension.” While I can conceive of and implement ways to facilitate this acknowledgement, it is the next step that stops me in my tracks. McIntosh poses the question, “What will we do with such knowledge?” I extend that to: How do I use my “arbitrarily-awarded power to try to reconstruct power systems on a broader base”? It is at this point that I begin to feel insignificant, to feel powerless. What difference can I as one individual make to the power system?