Speed Demon

Well, even if this posting is lacking in interesting fodder, at least I am diligent!
So (thank you unknown poet/author of Beowulf as translated by Seamus Heaney)! History was made today, and we were all a part of it, Democrat or otherwise. Barak Obama gave an amazingly intelligent, unifying, uplifting, visionary, inclusive, inspiring speech... and the Dow decided to plunge in thanks. Greedy bastards! I guess if I am ever in need of cynical, selfish insights or opionions, I will get my rear to the NYSE ASAP and ask some dink what he thinks. Unbelievable.
What an incredible day. I can't help but sigh with relief and hope, try to dust the bad karma and dirt from my soul, and be optimistic.
Elsewhere: we (Salisbury Ski Team) are hosting a GS race for the Berkshire Ski League tomorrow, which should be interesting and quite possibly fun. We are in the midst of "Diversity Week" here at school, and there have been fantastic speakers, performances, artwork, and insight all across campus. The boys in my VI Form classes are watching the modern version of Hamlet staring Ethan Hawke and reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Foer), and my V Formers (honors) are studying modern poetry (Whitman, Frost, Dickens, to name a few) and watching Dead Poets Soceity. Young Frankenstein is yammering in the background as I type this, the Wild Ones (thanks, Singmasters) are asleep, and the world is right.
So it's the dawn of a new age/era, and we all have at least one superlative story to tell to future generations. No more "President-elect"-business. Just "President Obama". Cool.
'Till next time...

Wife as Motivator...

It's Martin Luther King Day and an eon since the last posting. Our busy-ness seems to bloom and fester in the world of the mundane, but hey!, what can we do but try? Haylee lit the fire under my rear this morning telling me to quit dinking around with meaningless art ditherings and spend some time updating the Cafe. Let's get to it:

Haylee has been working her magic at Riga Meadows in arctic temperatures. She called me (from her new iphone, courtesy of Santa) on her way to work at 6am to tell me that the car thermometer read -18. Somehow she still managed to work outside all day, and at 5:30pm hunted and gathered two large Dino's pizzas for the testosterone crew hungrily waiting, wrestling, watching Horton Hears a Who, and building army barracks with Leggos and Linkin' Logs.
Speaking of "army", Bryhn's brain is steeped in all things army. He told me the other day that when he grows up, he wants to be an artist and an army guy, but only an army guy who marches in parades. While coloring/drawing, he created a recycling center, but it was an "army recycling center". Good stuff.
Boden is starting to talk, a lot. His favorite words are probably "cartoons", "juice", and "more". "Candy" is making a strong showing, as is "no". Bode is trying to keep up with Bryhn and has figured out how to climb out of his crib. Great.
Yesterday, Haylee took the boys to the YMCA to swim with Lisie, Lukie, and Grady. Apparently Bryhn has gills we hadn't yet noticed. After a day of snow shovelling, snowball fighting, swimming, and playing at the Adamsons', B. and B. were pooped. They may have set a new record for how quickly they fell asleep once their heads hit their pillows.
School has been going well for me. My classes are running smoothly, the kids are getting their work done, and the ski team is performing better than I expected. The snow at Butternut (as steep and intimidating as it sounds) is hard and fast, and the team has been working hard. I only let them ride the lift once, at the start of the day to take all the gates and equipment up. I then set a course, and everyone runs the course and hikes back to the top over and over. We get a good workout and two to three times as many runs than if we rode the lift.
I signed a contract for a pretty big cycling team this year: Priority Health. Haylee and I will be busy zipping around the mid-west for our various shows and races, hopefully we can coordinate so we can travel together and with the boys.
The wild ones love day care, and I hope to take Bryhn skiing over mid-winter break. Hockey is on the back burner since the new athletic center is being constructed. I have a feeling next winter might be nuts with skating.
The images above I thought were interesting. The "boxer" I found online and think looks like Bryhn. The line drawing is one I did a week ago and the pink illustration is a mock poster I did two nights ago for a band, yes "steelhead", which doesn't exist, but if it did, I would play the triangle or, better yet the cowbell (!) for them.
Hopefully more to follow soon!