pondering on Wednesday

Young son and girlfriend are exploring the possibilities of home ownership now ... posing lots of questions, many of which I cannot answer. They are tired of renting, have some $$ saved towards a down payment, and want to start looking. I am encouraging them to keep all of their options open, and not concentrate on any one particular area. They tend to have expensive taste, or get something in their heads, and it's tough to talk them out of these things (like their hell-bent desire to rent a brownstone in downtown Albany ... yes, it's a nice area but parking is an issue as well as traffic, etc.). But they are asking questions, and seem willing to listen.
Union dinner tonight to discuss the state budget and what it might mean to all of us ... personally I'd prefer forgoing my 3% raise and agreeing to the payroll lag if that means keeping everyone working! We shall see ... update on the meeting ... nothing really new, but I am convinced that there are a lot of, well, not-so-bright individuals working in my building. Why can't they just listen to what's being said? Why do they ask questions which require a one-on-one answer 'cause it's specific to their situation? Why ask things that the speaker has already told you about? Oh yeah, they had 'door prizes' ... hahahahaha, union tee shirts, hats, and windbreakers. But the Italian buffet was decent (very surprising).

And why am I so intrigued by this video game? (see picture) It's not a new game, in fact it's several years old! But I am drawn to the story line, and various you tube videos! Sheesh ...

Lastly ... order a Wii yesterday along with the Wii Fit bundle. Should arrive next week. J says that the weather will get nice once it arrives, and she's probably right. But I think it will be fun.

after the weekend

Sunday was fun ... out to breakfast (as usual), home for a short time, then off to the Farmer's Market for a bit, exchanged our tickets for the Rat Pack musical for Capitol Steps, then hung out at the coffee shop doing some people watching before heading back into Proctor's for Happy Days. Happy Days was okay ... not a great musical but not the worst either, certainly not memorable. Then we headed back home, stopping at the Raindancer for dinner. Raindancer was almost empty when we arrived, and really not very full when we left either. It was entertaining though, listening to the people in the next booth (who were from NJ & apparently on their way home from a stay near Piseco)! Then home ... webcammed with the kids for a bit ... that's very distracting when you're trying to hold a conversation ... TWild is definitely a kid in motion!
Windy this morning, car covered with some snow. Several people MIA at the office, very odd.

another Saturday goes by ...

Windy although sunny this morning, made it feel colder than the thermometer said it was. Didn't stop us from going out for breakfast though! After breakfast we just hung around the house, checking stuff out on the computer, reading, and napping. J made a blueberry pie & we made plans to visit Hawk later on in the day. We had to go to a memorial service for our friend's dad this afternoon ... we knew our friend would struggle with his composure during the eulogy and remembrance ... but he did fine.
After the service we returned home, changed our clothes, grabbed the pie, and headed for Hawk's house. V & K were there when we arrived, so had lots of time to chat and meet their new dog. Hawk fixed dinner for everyone, something we didn't anticipate (or expect). It's pretty obvious that Hawk is starved for company ... it's tough to imagine living in such a small town with no means of transportation outside of walking around the village. I think he feels a little trapped. But he's keeping busy with his dehydrated meals business. We watched nearly 15 deer cross the lake after dinner ... quite the sight.
We took it slow on the way home because we had seen quite a few deer in the woods on our drive up to Hawk's ... fortunately we didn't see any on the way home. K invited me to go snowshoeing next Saturday ... up Gothics. That'll be a first for me, a winter peak. Hopefully I'll be able to complete the hike without too much difficulty ... it's longer than my usual snowshoe excursions have been, and K is a strong, fast snowshoer.
After we got home we watched "Taking Chance" on HBO ... what a film ... really tugged at the heart, that's for sure. Nice job by Kevin Bacon too.
Snow is predicted for tomorrow ... and we have tickets for "Happy Days" ... but the weather probably won't deter us from taking the drive to Proctor's for the musical (and the farmer's market that's in the same building every Sunday ... have to get more yummy bread there). And, of course, it's supposed to get windy after the snowstorm!

at work ...

and it 'sounds' like everyone else here is just about done for the day. Not that there's all that many people here today ... a number of people are sick, and an equal number have taken much of the week off (it's President's Week for those with kids at home). Someone commented earlier that they were having a tough time staying awake and focused today ... I don't have any trouble staying awake, but staying focused is another story! I've found it best to break up my day by getting up and walking up and down the stairs (5 flights) ... I've been doing the stairs eight times a day this month ... I'm thinking of stretching that to 9 times a day next month, but maybe it'll be nice enough outside where I can take a short walk during lunch. Anyhow, I finished my 'project', so that's out of the way.
I'd like to go snowshoeing this weekend but I don't think I'll be able to fit it in ... going to see "Happy Days" on Sunday afternoon, so that day is out. Saturday ... well, we'll probably end up going to a memorial service for our friend's father (in the afternoon) ... not one of our favorite things to do but A&G have come to both of J's parents' memorial services in past year. Not that the snow is going anywhere soon ...
Speaking of the snow ... it was snowing and blowing when I left the house this morning but by the time I reached the Rotterdam exit of the t-way the road was bare and the snow wasn't flying around at all. In fact there isn't much in the way of snow in Albany at all! Almost a different world.
Found a couple more blogs to follow (Alaskan blogs) ... more searching to do in the days ahead. Gotta find some hiking and writing blogs out there ...
That's it for now!

first post

So here it goes ...
I've been thinking about blogging for a while, but never really knew what I wanted to write about. After spending some time today looking at some blogs, I decided to just start writing ... anything.

I could write about the weather ... the wind is howling, again, if we had a windmill in the yard we'd be generating some watts of power tonight! Come to think of it, it's been windy quite a bit this winter, lots of cold fronts passing through it seems. We have snow, although half of what it once was, but still there's nearly a foot in the backyard.

Snow and winter. I'm one of those strange people ... I really like winter. The cold doesn't bother me all that much, and I love snow. Snow gives me the opportunity to snowshoe/hike into places that are fairly inaccessible in the warmer months because it's too wet/boggy/overgrown. And you can cross lakes and streams with relative ease, and explore places that can be tough to get to in the summer. I used to downhill ski a lot, but that's changed since my older son moved to Alaska. My younger son wasn't much of a skier, although he's shown interest in recent years, but just not with me. So I've gotten away from it, and my equipment is pretty old-fashioned by the current standard. And snowshoeing is definitely cheaper! I would like to start x-country skiing again ... probably next year.

I haven't bought x-country skis because I've suddenly gotten frugal/cheap. Not all that long ago I would have just gone out and bought the equipment. Or a new flat screen tv. Or or Wii. Or a new computer (younger son upgraded the old one with new parts, far cheaper). When I shop for hiking clothes/equipment, I'm always looking for sales and bargains, I seldom buy anything for the 'regular retail' anymore. Even shirts and pants for work ... all from the Van Heusen outlet (it's cheaper than any WalMart and certainly better quality)! Go figure.

Wandering. I would love to take some time off from work and just wander around for a while. I'd love to go visit the southwest again, and explore. On foot. Or Colorado, maybe hike a portion of the CDT. Or back to Alaska ... I had so much fun hiking the Chilkoot. I was drooling when looking at my son's photos from his Pinnell Mtn hike last June ... even if it was only a weekend hike. I fell in love with the Homer area in Alaska, and I would love to explore more of the area across the bay. Or hike near or in Denali. I think it would be awesome to wake up to the sights of Denali on a clear blue day (and those days are actually few and far between).

Writing. I wish I could collect my thoughts together and just write. A reflective journal to publish. Some sort of travel narrative. Not that I could be funny, like Bryson or Cahill ... but something. Maybe this blog is a start.

Well, this is enough for tonight. I don't when I'll return to write again, hopefully, very very soon.