Mark Kooiman, a Mini Reunion and Movin' On
I got word last week that Mark Kooiman passed away just weeks after his 60th birthday. Mark and I worked together in the late '80s to early '90s but our paths then diverged and we saw very little of each other after that. That wasn't uncommon working in the kind of 24-hour facility we worked in. Mark was a quiet type who mostly kept to himself. I didn't know him well but still, it was shocking and sad news to learn. I've looked for Mark's obituary but I haven't been able to find it.
I was out riding on Monday and feeling like I should've stayed home. My adrenal gland was still in its prednisone induced slumber and I had so little energy since coming off the drug 6 days earlier. I tell myself that by forcing my body to workout, I'm encouraging my adrenal gland to re-engage. I doubt it works that way but it's what motivates me to get off the couch. I was back down riding the trails again Wednesday afternoon and I felt so much better. The old me had returned and I was feeling normal again as well as thankful. There's some video of Wednesday's ride embedded below.
Keith McKay and Cindy came into town for a few days last week from where they live in Fort Worth, TX. Keith and I worked together early in our careers before he transferred to a different area and then years later to Albuquerque Center. I'd lost touch with Keith for a number of years until we reconnected 5 or 6 years ago. We tried to get a mini-reunion of friends together but we were mostly unsuccessful. Still, a few of us met at Mall of America for dinner and conversation Monday evening. It was nice to do some catching up. It was fun seeing how none of us has aged at all. It's amazing how that works!
The 3rd time turned out to not be the charm I was hoping it would be when I placed yet another order for a lava lamp.
I'd returned the previous two because of cloudiness that wouldn't clear up. I wasn't going to bother ordering another but then I noticed the price of them had dropped to $25 so I figured, why not? I was disappointed to see that this latest one was also cloudy but rather than send it back, I decided to see if I could use a remedy I'd found online from others who had experienced the same problem. It sort of worked but the blue food coloring I used to color the water was nowhere near the original color I was trying to achieve. I ended up adding some other colors to see what would happen and I eventually settled on a reddish/purple color. The video doesn't quite capture the actual color. At least it's clear.
Tammy and I drove down to see Drew's band play at a bar/restaurant in Rochester on Friday night.
They've played a number of gigs there but it'll soon be closing so we wanted to be sure and see them play because we're not sure when we'll get the chance again. My favorite song of theirs, Movin' On, written by Clay their lead guitarist is embedded below. It was a song that I instantly liked the first time I heard it a couple years ago.
We try and take in the Lake Harriet Annual Kite Festival each year if it's not too cold. The temperature was ideal this year (for late January) but the winds weren't quite strong enough to get the larger kites aloft. The kids didn't seem to mind as you can see in the video below. If you have little ones and you want to take them to a fun event, put this kite festival on your calendar.
That's all I've got
I was out riding on Monday and feeling like I should've stayed home. My adrenal gland was still in its prednisone induced slumber and I had so little energy since coming off the drug 6 days earlier. I tell myself that by forcing my body to workout, I'm encouraging my adrenal gland to re-engage. I doubt it works that way but it's what motivates me to get off the couch. I was back down riding the trails again Wednesday afternoon and I felt so much better. The old me had returned and I was feeling normal again as well as thankful. There's some video of Wednesday's ride embedded below.
Keith McKay and Cindy came into town for a few days last week from where they live in Fort Worth, TX. Keith and I worked together early in our careers before he transferred to a different area and then years later to Albuquerque Center. I'd lost touch with Keith for a number of years until we reconnected 5 or 6 years ago. We tried to get a mini-reunion of friends together but we were mostly unsuccessful. Still, a few of us met at Mall of America for dinner and conversation Monday evening. It was nice to do some catching up. It was fun seeing how none of us has aged at all. It's amazing how that works!
The 3rd time turned out to not be the charm I was hoping it would be when I placed yet another order for a lava lamp.
I'd returned the previous two because of cloudiness that wouldn't clear up. I wasn't going to bother ordering another but then I noticed the price of them had dropped to $25 so I figured, why not? I was disappointed to see that this latest one was also cloudy but rather than send it back, I decided to see if I could use a remedy I'd found online from others who had experienced the same problem. It sort of worked but the blue food coloring I used to color the water was nowhere near the original color I was trying to achieve. I ended up adding some other colors to see what would happen and I eventually settled on a reddish/purple color. The video doesn't quite capture the actual color. At least it's clear. Tammy and I drove down to see Drew's band play at a bar/restaurant in Rochester on Friday night.
They've played a number of gigs there but it'll soon be closing so we wanted to be sure and see them play because we're not sure when we'll get the chance again. My favorite song of theirs, Movin' On, written by Clay their lead guitarist is embedded below. It was a song that I instantly liked the first time I heard it a couple years ago.We try and take in the Lake Harriet Annual Kite Festival each year if it's not too cold. The temperature was ideal this year (for late January) but the winds weren't quite strong enough to get the larger kites aloft. The kids didn't seem to mind as you can see in the video below. If you have little ones and you want to take them to a fun event, put this kite festival on your calendar.
That's all I've got
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