Jump! How High or Why?
My Google Calendar has never been more necessary to me. It's full of appointments, meetings, party reminders, and other notes to keep me on schedule. I was sort of looking forward to ditching my wristwatch when I retired and I pretty much have but for whatever reason, I'm finding the need for a personal secretary to keep my commitments straight and my calendar does a fine job of that. I didn't anticipate retirement being like this but I'm not complaining.
We made it out to the Edina Art Fair last weekend and really enjoyed ourselves. This was one of several summer treats we had to take a pass on last year when Tammy's mother was staying with us. It was nice to be able to experience it again. We opted to catch the shuttle at Southdale Center for the drive into the event. The Uptown Art Fair in early August is our favorite of all the summer art fairs but this one is close to being just as good. Not as much glass art as we were hoping to see, though.
Rachel came into town on Sunday afternoon and stayed overnight with us. We went out to Green Mill for dinner and had some nice conversation.
We were talking about the different generations and the way each approached life in general terms. Rachel observed that Baby Boomers (Tammy and I), when asked to jump, will typically respond with "how high" while Millennials will usually ask "why?" She said the "why" they seek isn't them being a smart ass or that they're lazy but rather, simply wanting to understand the reasons behind what's being asked of them.
Here's a link that defines the 6 living generations in America.
I mentioned how when I was growing up, the words "I love you" were never said to my siblings and me. Ever. My mom would say them in later years of her life but not when it counted most. I asked her once why that was and she said it was because they were words she never heard when she was growing up. I had to disagree because even though I was never told I was loved as a child, it never prevented me from expressing my love for Rachel. Rachel offered Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I can't disagree with what Maslow taught but we weren't lacking in any of life's basic needs in our upper-middle-class lives when I was a boy. There should'a been lots of I-love-yous.
We came back to the house after dinner and drinks and went out on the deck to play Ticket to Ride. It's a board game Rachel's been playing lately. Tammy and I got our butts kicked but we have a better idea for how to defeat her the next time we play. Rachel asked if we ever went easy on her while playing games when she was a kid. Oh yes but sometimes we'd feel the need to let her experience what it means to lose and so we did that, too. We used to have a ping pong table in our then unfinished basement where I would play Rachel left-handed, never letting on that it was how I was handicapping our matches. We played a ton of ping pong down there and I actually got pretty good playing left-handed but she had a pretty good game herself. Those were some fun days.
Rachel was on the road early the next day for a meeting in Fargo, ND.
Rex Gillmer retired last week and had a nice sendoff at Celts Pub in Farmington near where we worked. Chris Swanson and John Turnquist also to the leap into retirement.
I'm finding some nice form on my bike. I've been having a blast on my loop to the trails at Murphy, trying to bring it home in less than an hour and forty. It's a great workout. I could be faster on the trails if I had a 29er mountain bike but I'm actually more than fine with the amount of speed I've got out there.
Any more speed and I'd just get into trouble.
I got caught in some rainy weather last Saturday on a longish ride that I needed in preparation for the race in a few weeks.
It was a beautiful, sunshiny morning when I left but a few hours later as I was stopped to refuel near New Germany, I noticed dark clouds moving in from the northwest as they pinwheeled on the backside of a low pressure that was slowly moving off to the northeast.
I jumped back on my bike, working hard to stay ahead of the rain. I was making good time on highway 212 with a tailwind to aid me. Saturday afternoon traffic was heavy on my left but I had my Dinotte LED taillight doing its thing and providing at least some protection from distracted drivers as it brightly blinked out my presence. The rain eventually caught me just east of Norwood/Young America and with 40 miles yet to home, I was soaked through to my socks. I kept my head down and my speed up.
Today was supposed to be another long day in the saddle but storms have me sitting at my laptop instead, tapping out this somewhat overdue blog post. My Google Calendar tells me I'm free to do whatever today and for right now, being warm and dry seems to be working pretty well!
We made it out to the Edina Art Fair last weekend and really enjoyed ourselves. This was one of several summer treats we had to take a pass on last year when Tammy's mother was staying with us. It was nice to be able to experience it again. We opted to catch the shuttle at Southdale Center for the drive into the event. The Uptown Art Fair in early August is our favorite of all the summer art fairs but this one is close to being just as good. Not as much glass art as we were hoping to see, though.Rachel came into town on Sunday afternoon and stayed overnight with us. We went out to Green Mill for dinner and had some nice conversation.
We were talking about the different generations and the way each approached life in general terms. Rachel observed that Baby Boomers (Tammy and I), when asked to jump, will typically respond with "how high" while Millennials will usually ask "why?" She said the "why" they seek isn't them being a smart ass or that they're lazy but rather, simply wanting to understand the reasons behind what's being asked of them.Here's a link that defines the 6 living generations in America.
I mentioned how when I was growing up, the words "I love you" were never said to my siblings and me. Ever. My mom would say them in later years of her life but not when it counted most. I asked her once why that was and she said it was because they were words she never heard when she was growing up. I had to disagree because even though I was never told I was loved as a child, it never prevented me from expressing my love for Rachel. Rachel offered Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. I can't disagree with what Maslow taught but we weren't lacking in any of life's basic needs in our upper-middle-class lives when I was a boy. There should'a been lots of I-love-yous.We came back to the house after dinner and drinks and went out on the deck to play Ticket to Ride. It's a board game Rachel's been playing lately. Tammy and I got our butts kicked but we have a better idea for how to defeat her the next time we play. Rachel asked if we ever went easy on her while playing games when she was a kid. Oh yes but sometimes we'd feel the need to let her experience what it means to lose and so we did that, too. We used to have a ping pong table in our then unfinished basement where I would play Rachel left-handed, never letting on that it was how I was handicapping our matches. We played a ton of ping pong down there and I actually got pretty good playing left-handed but she had a pretty good game herself. Those were some fun days.
Rachel was on the road early the next day for a meeting in Fargo, ND.Rex Gillmer retired last week and had a nice sendoff at Celts Pub in Farmington near where we worked. Chris Swanson and John Turnquist also to the leap into retirement.
I'm finding some nice form on my bike. I've been having a blast on my loop to the trails at Murphy, trying to bring it home in less than an hour and forty. It's a great workout. I could be faster on the trails if I had a 29er mountain bike but I'm actually more than fine with the amount of speed I've got out there.
Any more speed and I'd just get into trouble.I got caught in some rainy weather last Saturday on a longish ride that I needed in preparation for the race in a few weeks.
It was a beautiful, sunshiny morning when I left but a few hours later as I was stopped to refuel near New Germany, I noticed dark clouds moving in from the northwest as they pinwheeled on the backside of a low pressure that was slowly moving off to the northeast.I jumped back on my bike, working hard to stay ahead of the rain. I was making good time on highway 212 with a tailwind to aid me. Saturday afternoon traffic was heavy on my left but I had my Dinotte LED taillight doing its thing and providing at least some protection from distracted drivers as it brightly blinked out my presence. The rain eventually caught me just east of Norwood/Young America and with 40 miles yet to home, I was soaked through to my socks. I kept my head down and my speed up.
Today was supposed to be another long day in the saddle but storms have me sitting at my laptop instead, tapping out this somewhat overdue blog post. My Google Calendar tells me I'm free to do whatever today and for right now, being warm and dry seems to be working pretty well!
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