Good evening all:

Ahh yes, with a relaxing hot mug of African Rooibos (Red Bush) tea next to me it is a good evening. Shang and I just finished a 3-mile tour of the neighborhood. I am always both impressed and amazed that he can do the whole thing with his nose about ten millimeters above the ground. Anyway, the tea tastes exceptionally good and the warmth is a definite bonus since, after all, it is still winter.

My weekend is shaping up to being way too hectic since I need to focus on a writing project tomorrow, hence this evening post. I have plenty of justifications, however the truth is that I am fast approaching the deadline for an article I have promised one of the trade journals, add to my Saturday some planning for meetings next week, haircut, shirts to be picked up, plus taking Cathy to a coffee house where they will custom blend her a personalized blend of tea—a promised birthday gift. I am confident though that it will all get done nicely. Then on Sunday I leave on some travel.

The article I am writing on has been thoroughly researched by me, but I can’t seem to grasp the right image to kick-start it. I can easily describe into what direction I want the piece to head; I am just having some difficulty describing the path. Sticky notes and a page of circles have all been tried. I figure that the pressure of having to get it done tomorrow will spur some magic into the formula. Sometimes pressure will have words just fly onto the page, maybe it will appear as if I were a more lucid, clear, and possibly even a more copious writer, at least that is what I am hoping for.

Have you ever had a Seinfeld week? Remember Seinfeld, the show about nothing? This was one of those weeks, a lot about nothing special. Very busy all week, yet nothing, absolutely nothing, stands out. Still, if I grab any one of the days, and even a time in that day, I can quickly point to some serious activity. It all seems to compress into a blend. Something my IT geeks would refer to as proceeding as a lossy fashion. I prefer weeks where both the “thorns” and the “roses” jump up at me.

Marcia and Marin have bonded thoroughly and they would appear to have a fine time together as she sits with him several mornings a week. Vince and Kirstin gave me a CD entitled “NPR Driveway Moments”. The CD is a compilation of pieces aired on NPR that just “won’t let you go”. I caught myself sitting in the office perking lot, engine off and in the cold, hoping that a segment would not end too quickly. Get a copy and have a listen, it’s wonderful. On the Adrianne front; my people in NZ asked how she had fared the category 4 cyclone that brushed Tonga. Adrianne had made a casual reference to some nasty wind and rain that kept her awake, but I believe she had no idea. Maybe there is a benefit to not having the 24-hour weather weenies hyping these events. Her last post makes reference to the fact that her “kind” neighbors had given her a bag of 40 mangoes. This was no kindness but cleanup. Just think, it prevented the fruit from rotting on the ground after a category 4 cyclone created a lush mango carpet around every tree.

Have a great week.
Cheers,
Dirk