Sometimes life will let you live your dreams.
However, what you thought may be years, may only be weeks, or merely minutes.
Life is both kind and cruel.
And yet, if a taste is all you get, then savor it.
After all, some dreams stay merely that.
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Velvet and Iron
The image of the iron fist in a velvet glove is a powerful one.
A simple dichotomy in a clear concise image.
A snapshot of careful politeness but a firm will.
But is it a good one to keep in mind?
Is it misplaced machismo hidden in a genteel setting?
Is this worldview too binary?
If not this frame, then what?
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A working relationship
As a two architect household, we had a heck of a time making decisions for our own house remodel, especially since I’m a bang it out guy and she’s a bit more of a pump the brakes gal. It definitely made for some interesting “conversations”.
Ultimately the exercise was a great crucible for the relationship, and I learned to completely trust her gut. Whenever she had the nagging vibe something wasn’t right — she was right. While it might take a while (and an unreasonable amount of effort) to come up with a better solution, the end result benefited from reevaluating the condition.
That said the house remodel did drag out an ungodly amount of time, but we were living rent free with my in laws and I get along well with them and I think they liked having the girl around to keep them amused.
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Whispers at the park
The Clark County park system has program where one can purchase a memorial plaque at a tree.
My girl has always been intrigued with these plaques, and she likes having them read out to her.
To her it’s all so abstract, but when I get something near 1979, my eyes open up.
They are reminders that life is short, and it runs quick.
Go make the most of this time, it’s what we got. Nothing more is promised.
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Graham Oakley
I’ve always been a big fan of Graham Oakley’s cheeky Church Mice Series. The illustrations are great, and the stories are really fun. My sister and I loved reading his books at the library.
But they are out of print and you can’t find any copies at the library. Though oddly enough, they do have some taiwanese translations that reformatted his books to a portrait format.
It’s a sad tale of what can be discarded with the ebbs and flow of fashion. Or reframed more optimistically, a tale of what the internet enables — a couple clicks of a button and I’ve got a copy headed home.
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Frisbee
One of the local parks has a frisbee golf course so we brought one with us this latest visit.
First, I most likely could use “better” frisbees. I remember the game store in Berkeley having a whole wall of different frisbees for aficionados of this hobby.
Second, I have no idea if it made me any better, but I was constantly reminded of what I learned in Tai Chi. I tried to root my self in the ground and let the body relax, whipping around to initiate a wobbly sad flight trajectory.
Third, my almost 40 year old body was pretty compliant while on site. But it only took the ride home for my left arm to decide that this sudden uptick in this particular repetitive action was traumatic enough to send alarm bells for the rest of the day.
Finally, my daughter had a ball running up and down the hills chasing the frisbee and throwing it around.
My last two decades in a nutshell, encapsulated in a plastic disc.
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Studio Ghibli
A straightforward ranking.
• Top tier
Whisper of the Heart
Pom Poko
My Neighbors the Yamadas• Almost top tier
Spirited Away
Only Yesterday• Really good
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Grave of the Fireflies (should be near the top by its heavy)• Quite good
Porco Rosso• Good
Princess Mononoke
Howl’s Moving Castle• Maybe good?
Castle in the Sky
Arrietty
Naussica• Decent but too long
Ponyo
Tale of Princess Kaguya• Doubtful quality
The Wind Rises
The Cat Returns• Definitely not good
When Marnie was Here
From up on Poppy Hill• Bad
Tales of Earthsea -
Trust in a Trade off
In order to have a little breathing room for my other projects, I had to hand off some work to a colleague who graciously took it on.
Even though this bought me the space to really make sure all my other projects are on track, it has still been difficult to let this my direct control.
The basic transaction has been trusting my colleague on one task so I can avoid being mediocre on all projects.
Rationally this makes perfect sense, but it’s easier said than done.
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Specials and Secret Menus
I’m a fan of the animal burger at In-N-Out, but that is the exception that proves the rule.
What really matters is getting the main menu squared away. Make sure each item is a blockbuster (or get it off the menu). Do it again tomorrow. And the day after that.
Once you’ve got that set, then you can play with these one-off items, or if you want to be cute, go ahead and add something on to the secret menu that is actually a main menu item, just unwritten.
But let’s be honest, how many of us actually got the main menu down?