Saturday, October 29, 2011

Baseball and Coffee: Two of My Favorite Things

Before I get to anything else: The Cardinals won the World Series last night. After being 10 1/2 games back in late August.

If you understand how awesome this is, well, then you understand how content I am today.

If you don't get it, I understand but I'm a little sad for you.

It was awesome.

And now I start the 5 month wait until I get to watch baseball again.

You know what else is awesome? That I've been at the coffee shop today for approximately 3 hours and am not planning on leaving anytime soon.

I've hung out with a friend, had an Americano, edited a video for club on Monday, spent some time aimlessly interneting, listened to some good music, and altogether had an awesome Saturday morning.

I like my life.

Song of the Day: Dirty Rain by Ryan Adams (Yes, there's a new Ryan Adams album out. And yes, it has helped make my life more complete. I love me some Ryan Adams.)

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Thank You, Mr. Jobs

Yesterday, my roommate told me Steve Jobs died.

I was shocked. More shocked then is fitting for someone I didn't know. And I was saddened. I was a little surprised at how much I cared.

I love Mac products. I love the company: the way it inovates and the obvious joy it takes in creating. And how that combination equals some seriously kick-ass technology. And Steve Jobs was the face of that company for so long.

But he was not just a face, he was not just a spokesperson. It was clear, and has become more clear in the coverage of his life in the past couple of days, that he was THE innovator.

He created. And he took great joy in that. He loved the products he put out. He made exciting things, things that sounded like just dreams to other people. He didn't create for profit and sometimes he bombed hard (Mac Cube, anyone?), but he kept making things.

He devoted his life to it. And he clearly loved it.

And that changes the world.

There has been so much coverage in the last couple of days, and I have been engrossed with it. I've loved reading about the life he lived and the vision he employed. And I've been sad to think of everything we're going to miss out on with his early passing.

Of all the quotes and articles I've read, there's a couple that I've really loved. The first is his commencement address at Stanford, where he so clearly imparts what he really believes: that if you do what you love, if you follow your gut and set aside fear, you will know true success.

And then this article, that uses Mr. Jobs as an example of what true philanthropy is, which has little to do with how much money you give and so much more to do with using all of your potential to do whatever you love as excellently as you can.

I hope that I can as faithfully use my talents in this life. Thanks for the inspiration, Mr. Jobs.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Accidental Habits

Houses in Northern Arizona don't have air conditioning.

It's weird to me because I grew up in humid Mid-Missouri, where we would get concerned that old people would die in the summer if they didn't have air conditioning. Seriously, we had fan drives we were so concerned.

But we don't really need it in NorAZ. It's beautiful all summer long. As long as you can open your windows, you're set.

Unfortunately for me, I don't have any windows in my room. I have beautiful french doors that open onto my deck, but no windows. And if I leave the doors open, I get giant bugs that fly into my face while I'm trying to sleep. Not cool, bugs.

So I developed a new habit this summer. Every night, I would go into my room and open up my doors. I would then get ready for bed, make sure my ceiling fan and my humidifier were on and then I would step out onto my deck and curl up into my adirondack chairs.

My theory was that if I could just get cool, then I could go back in and go to sleep comfortably. And it's cool out in NorAZ on summer nights. So it worked. I would sit out there for 15 minutes and go back in my room kind of chilly.

Problem solved.

But something else happened, too. Because my life is crazy. And I feel like I go, go, go all day every day.

But every night I had 15 minutes to sit out under the stars. Sometimes I would read articles on my iPhone news apps. Sometimes I would listen to music. But most of the time I would just sit quietly. And look at the ridiculously beautiful stars. And think about nothing.

It's pretty cold at night now, but I still go out there anyway. Because it turns out I need that time to just sit and be still. To shiver in the cold and realize that the world is bigger than me and my busy-ness. To be quiet. To look at the stars.

NorAZ doesn't have air conditioning. And it turns out that's really good for me.

Song of the Day: The Show by Lenka, performed by 12-year-old Kerris Dorsey