Juror #8

My stint as juror #8 was cut mercifully short by a last minute ditch of the case by the District Attorney. Perhaps we as jurors just looked too sharp, perhaps not sharp enough; at any rate there was a closed door negotiation that went on after jury selection wrapped up and then just like that, the 14 of us who remained were summarily dismissed for the next 12 months with a thank you and a smile.

It's not such a bad deal, really, as the justice system was played out and all parties were satisfied with the outcome. I heard a few people grumbling about "wasting their time", but in the grand scheme of the judicial system, we each played our roles perfectly. I don't hope to be back any time in the near future (I am OK with the jury duty once a year, but any other showing between now and next February means that I or someone I care about is mixed up in something unsavory), but when I do appear again, I can take confidence in the fact that every citizen in this country is entitled to a fair trial with a jury of their peers AND they are assumed innocent until proven guilty...not a claim that can be made in too many other places in this world.

While we have plenty of opportunities in this country around rights and equality, I am still pretty happy and proud to be a part of it. Should I unfurl my flag now?

Civic Responsibility

I finally made good on my jury summons that came back in December; my original date was planned during our France trip, so I requested a deferral, then I requested a specific day and then I had to move it because of a work conflict. Fortunately, the good people of the Ventura County courts were accommodating and I do not have to live in fear of being arrested!

The morning started out easily enough; orientation and 2 jury panels...I wasn't called for either. It's a whole lot of sitting around and waiting, so I am grateful to benefit from my tax dollars hard at work with free wireless Internet! The hour and a half lunch certainly wasn't an issue in my book; it made for a nice 2-mile walk to lunch at Daphne's (I do enjoy the falafel every now and again!), the bank to deposit a check and then back again. I called David at lunchtime to brag about my long break to which he tersely replied, "It must be nice."...it was!

As soon as we returned from lunch, another panel was called, and I along with it! We trotted up to the 4th floor, were sworn in, received some directions from the judge (who is a character by the way!) and then the excuses began. When it was over, almost 1/2 of the panelists had managed to be excused. Once the case was announced, another 3 declared themselves unfit to serve, so off they went.

And then we were 30. I was in the first group of 12 called to the box, where I have so far answered about 15 questions about my personal life and beliefs. They haven't bounced me for any offensive behavior yet, and the judge had an appointment to go to at 3:30, so we were dismissed for the day and cordially invited (that would be mandated) to return at 9 am tomorrow.

Let's see how civic minded I am as this process extends from 1-day and turns into 1-trial requirement!

Moms in Motion

"Accidental Athlete" is a name that David bestowed on me a couple of years ago when I started to do different running, biking and triathlon events. We still laugh about this title, because it is accurate since I am not in any way super fast or skilled; I just like to do the events to raise money for a good cause and get some exercise in the process. Good exercising calls for good eating in my book!

I moved from accidental to intentional status this week when I officially joined a running/triathlon team in my area - Moms in Motion. Moms In Motion® is a Global Network connecting Moms through Fitness, Fun & Philanthropy. Moms meet other moms with similar interests and fitness goals. They develop friendships and get the support and guidance they need to reach their goals. The beauty in this group is there is not a lot of competition, just a lot of support and sharing of cool ideas.

I showed up for the first training run (it was actually the 2nd, but I had a community service gig the previous week that kept me away, plus I heard that it rained CRAZY hard during their session) at 7 am Saturday, uncharacteristically layered up in clothing because it was 32 degrees outside!

Our team (the Westlake MIMs...there is a group in New York with a funny but slightly controversial name of Sexy Mother Runners, but I digress...), has it's very own trainer, Gloria, who took us through a series of warm-ups and exercises to work our large and small twitch muscles. Imagine if you will 20+ women in a parking lot waving their arms as they skip or bounce or whatever step we were assigned to do across the pavement. It was surprisingly effective and helped to get the blood pumping!

Runs are done "Indian" style, which was new to me. The team is super focused on safety, so we run as a group (we were split out by time...you-know-who was relegated to the slow team, which we dubbed "team molasses"). The front person sets the pace for 2-minutes while everyone else runs behind, then the person at the rear of the line sprints to the front, where they then lead the charge for 2-minutes. It makes the time go by quickly and gives everyone an opportunity to speed it up a bit as they take the charge to the front.

Our first run was kind of short - 30 minutes or 2.75 miles at our 11 minute pace - but I can see the potential for lots of good workouts coming. I hear rumor that the triathlon team (which I also am a part of) has a tough ride planned for this week.

Bring it!

Summerland

I had the opportunity to drive to Santa Barbara this past Saturday (actually, I had to go deliver some product to a store that had a refrigeration issue and we decided that I could get to Santa Barbara with some borrowed product from Westlake faster than the dairy truck could get from the warehouse in LA to Santa Barbara, but looking at it as an opportunity rather than a requirement just seems much more pleasant and keeps me in a good mood).

The drive up through Ventura and into Santa Barbara is typically a beautiful one, especially once the ocean comes into view. Saturday (which also happened to be Valentine's Day) was a gorgeous day, so the view and scenery did not disappoint. Lots of blue sky, sunshine and sparkling water out on the horizon. Previous posts will tell you just how enamored I am with the Southern California scenery and this trip was no exception.

For those of you familiar with the trek to Santa Barbara, there is a little area known as Summerland. For some reason, I never really paid that much attention to Summerland, taking note instead of Sea Cliff, Carpinteria and the affluent Montecito. All very nice beach communities nestled away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

As I saw the signs for Summerland and realized the view that the residents of this city have, I decided that this must be a cool place to live. I am sure that like anything, being on a perpetual vacation could get old, but I think that it is a risk that I might be willing to take.

Could you imagine living somewhere called Winterland? Not at 10 below with 4 feet of snow, I can't!

Twenty seven steps

Wilshire Boulevard-the area that I traverse on foot-is referred to as the "miracle mile." I am not sure what gives it the miracle status, but speculate that it is a miracle I don't have a constant ringing in my ears after walking along it because it is so loud.

Buses, cars, motorcycles...you name it and it is out on Wilshire, day or night, and generating a ton of noise. This raucous sound had become something that I had to tolerate to cover the final 1/3 to 1/2 mile to get to my office. Not my favorite thing, but a fact of the commute.

I discovered a thoroughfare to some neighborhood streets last week, not at all unlike the little secret path I discovered over by Olympic Blvd and featured on a Friday blog a couple of months ago. One of the best things about this route is how quickly it goes from roaring traffic noise to the calming suburban sounds of birds chirping, the occasional dog bark and car doors slamming as the kids load up for school.

Ahhhhh. Serenity. I counted the number of steps that it took to escape the noise and enter the zen space...27. I definitely like the sound of that.

Basket Case

I am a big Trader Joe's shopper, tailoring many of my recipes to use TJ ingredients so that I can do all of my food shopping there and avoid the "regular" grocery store most of the time.

They strike me as a pretty cool company, and have a very loyal following. In fact, some very clever person made a video about Trader Joe's and posted it on YouTube. I only know this because my friend Joe posted it on his cool blog and I saw it there. It is lame to rip off stuff from someone else's blog, so check it out here and enjoy Joe's entry on Cool Things That Are Cool.

Back to my point. I was doing my usual Sunday afternoon shopping last week and got caught behind what I am going to guess was a 5-year old, organizing her mini-basket of groceries. Particularly interesting to me was the emphatic fashion that she was organizing her cart; she wanted everything to stack just so.

I can certainly identify with my smaller Trader Joe's counterpart; there are few things as annoying as having the yogurts flop around in the bottom of the basket with the bananas!

It's good to know that the breed of anal/obsessive/compulsive little kids carries on, for we grow up to make fine adults!

Wii are in Love

Happy Valentine's Day. We celebrated at the Newton household in a most festive fashion - with pizza and playing the Wii!

Yes, after months of hoping, wishing and almost-pleading, a Wii and Wii Fit were the family gift for my two Valentines. They were both very surprised AND very excited about it when they realized what it was. I am most impressed with the fact that neither of the two made any reference to a new TV, and both were genuinely surprised with the gift.

We cracked out the gift in the morning, but everyone had chores and work to do during the day, so the unveiling came in the evening. Schnoogs had everything out of the box and hooked up in record time; then she began to create our "Mii's" so that we could each have our own profile in the game. David cheered the creation on and I kept on eye (and made a few veto votes) on things from the kitchen while I made a family favorite for dinner; homemade pizza. Yum.

It might seem counter intuitive to register our fitness goals while munching on tasty pizza, but all agreed that it was a fun evening and we liked the interactive nature of things.

Looks like we definitely won't be needing a new TV anytime soon!

Stairway to Wilshire

I have blogged numerous times on the adventures of my Ventura County to Mid-Wlshire/Los Angeles commute, for there is always something new and exciting to experience and report on for every day that I bus-train-bus my way to the office on San Vicente.

One item that remains a constant, however is the multitude of stairs that one must climb to get out of the Red Line station and up to Wilshire Blvd. (or Lankershim on the way home, but it never seems as pronounced there). I could take the more passive route of the escalator, but I'm always looking for ways to squeeze in a little exercise.

I don't know what it is about this station, but the stairs loom above, daring me to try and trot up the four long stretches, followed by two shorter runs before the glittering walkway of the Wilshire/Vermont station plaza greets me at street level.

I start out solidly. Backpack firmly secured, I take the steps confidently one at a time, with just a little bounce in my step to make it feel like I am almost jogging up.

Section one, looking good. Section two, doing OK but I unzip my jacket because I'm starting to warm up. Section three, the bounce is starting to wane and the backpack is feeling heavy. Section four, it is now a flat-footed stagger up the stairs, the asthmatic wheezing has begun and my eyes are on the prize...daylight.

I hit the plateau for a few steps and then try not to trip up the last two short flights...what is the deal with the cardio-stress of an incline? While I am no Olympian, I do my fair share of regular exercise...you would think that I have been lying on the couch for the past two years the way my heart gets pumping!

I wonder if the 4 or 5 people who pass me on the third level are even breathing hard...

Creative AND Entertaining

A friend recently sent this video to me and it makes me laugh...plus it has a nice message.

It is also evidence that there are lots and lots of people out in the world with FAR more creativity than I have, so I am relegated to enjoying and sharing with my friends.

Hallelujah!

Six Words

I recently read an article about a book that had been written with contributions of various authors using just six words to describe love or any other emotion. The article intrigued me because of the challenge to be so succinct in a society where we super-size most anything, and rarely operate under the rule of "less is more."

Even more compelling was that report that Ernest Hemingway declared this contribution his best work ever: For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never Worn.

I must admit, that's pretty powerful when one stops to really consider the message.

There were other examples in the article, the only other one that stuck with me was: Our prison visits were surprisingly romantic.

Certainly lots to mull over for that one!

The whole concept of six words has been marinating in my head for a couple of weeks, but I haven't really sat down to consider what my six words are or what I want to convey. This may be an exercise that I'll need to try once a week just to get in the habit of culling the crazy population of words and thoughts floating around in my brain to one coherent point.

For now, let's go with: Living the dream, loving my life.

Schnoogie's Inferno

Holly, as an upstanding Senior member of the Youth group had a big task in front of her: bake a cake that represents a major piece of literature to be sold at the annual Spaghetti Dinner and dessert auction. Deciding to take an edgy approach, Holly chose Dante's Inferno as her inspiration and set out to bake a 7-layer cake, representing the seven levels of hell. Quite the undertaking in both baking and literature.

When I arrived home on Friday evening, the finishing touches on 4-hours of work were being made. I looked at the cake and asked, "Is it leaning a bit?" No answer was needed as the whole thing started to crack, shift and slide onto the counter. Holly was none the too thrilled, David attempted to fix it (with his hands, you can imagine the results there), and I, in my not-so-soft fashion said, "That is a war you aren't going to win."

We ended up just shoving the slumped-over cake onto the platter and Holly went to bed. She thought that I didn't care; I wanted her to get some perspective that this was not the end of the world and she still had all of Saturday to come up with a solution. A night of sleep did the trick, and Holly emerged with a new plan; bake another Devil's food cake (only two levels this time) and put cherries in the middle...which is exactly what she did.

The new cake certainly had a story to it, and it did well at the auction, fetching $310 after a decent bidding war. The victor? Yours truly. Who doesn't love a great chocolate cake with cherries? Besides, it goes to a great cause as the UMCTO Youth raise money to fund their work trips for 2009.

And now the Schnoogs realizes that I really DO care, lessons were learned AND we've got a $310 cake to enjoy. That is the win/win model that we can all get behind.

Can You Tell Me How to Get to Sesame Street?

I was listening to NPR the other morning when I heard that Sesame Street will be celebrating its 40th year on-air this November. They played the theme song in the background of the story and I instantly realized that I still know every word of that thing!

Sesame Street can be easily credited for my love of reading, writing and the English language in general. I realize now that I was a member of the first audience...little Gen-Xers who were eager to learn and make it big in the world. My Mom will also tell you that it was Sesame Street that launched my reading career...I even remember at 3-years old, writing my ABCs across a chalk board, then grouping letters together to make words. I would drag one of my parents in, find out which were real words, and then write it in the corner until I had quite a vocabulary going. Yep, even then I displayed a fine analyzer style!

Realizing that Sesame Street has endured and educated not only my generation but my daughter and her generation as well makes me awfully proud of Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch and Snuffleupagus, along with all of their Muppet and people friends.

Sunny days, chasing the clouds away!

High Tide!

The rain that we have been experiencing for the past few days, combined with the full moon and high tides has created quite a scene at the beach! We showed up for our usual Sunday morning walk and were faced with a couple of extreme tide situations. The dogs are pretty open to wading through water that is a few inches deep, but David and I are not, at least not if we can help it.

We had a few good laughs this morning as we found ourselves surrounded by water on the newly created peninsula about a mile into our walk. Everyone was willing to hang out for a photo or two, as witnessed above, but shortly after I took this shot, a big wave came up and we were sent scurrying for dry ground...of which there was little.

We got somewhat creative by throwing a log (dropping and hoping for the best is more like it) across one particularly deep portion...I beat the odds by not falling in, however getting back was quite the experience since there was a 2-foot leap that was required off the log onto dry ground. David and I were feeling rather proud of ourselves for our creativity...until we were nearly washed away by another wave. This wall of water came out of nowhere, sending us sprinting for dry ground. I was apparently not moving fast enough for Mr.-I-don't-want-to-get-my-feet-wet, so he just about knocked me over in the process of going around. There was naturally a good deal of teasing and joking for that one!

Shadow as always provided the lesson in perspective for the group. Each time we did a mad-dash for dry ground, David, Scooby, Daphne and I ran like maniacs (Daphne and Scooby weren't really that concerned about getting wet, but probably thought we were playing some sort of game). I turned around, and there was Shadow, just plodding along as if to say, "Hey crazy people. You aren't going to melt. Why not just enjoy the cool water?" As Elizabeth would say about Shadow, God Bless her!

An Unfortunate Incident

I don't enjoy public restrooms. I don't know many people who do, but I know that I fight the obsessive/compulsive disorder tendencies when I have to use one (and face it, they are a necessary evil), so I touch as little as possible and wash my hands often.

I did the Surf City 5K last week as mentioned in an earlier post, which meant that I had to 1) hydrate effectively and, 2) venture out to Huntington Beach to check-in and pick up my packet of goodies.

Since we were all out and in the race spirit, Kris, Elizabeth (plus bonus guest Terrie!) and I met up for dinner at King's Fish House for what I would call an excellent dinner. We ate, we chatted, we drank water and had a generally fine time.

Before we departed, I decided that I'd better make one more trip to the restroom since I had consumed nearly 100 ounces of water throughout the day. I did what needed to be done and just as I was cinching things back up, realized that much to my horror, my mini-wallet was floating in the toilet, driver's license staring up at me...augh!

Instinct took over right before the automatic flush kicked in because I stuck my hand right in there and pulled it out. Not good. Now I have the wallet, cash, license and 2 credit cards out, but I really want to throw it all away!

Grimacing all the way, I took the whole lot to the sink, turned on the hot water, pumped out a ton of soap and went to town. Once I had scrubbed everything out, I went for the paper towels, all of which had fallen on the floor in a big pile, so I had to pick through them to get a few that I hoped were not germ-filled from the floor.

When I emerged from the restroom 10 minutes later with the contents of my mini-wallet wrapped in paper towels, I had to sheepishly admit what had happened.

It is safe to say that I learned a valuable lesson: don't tuck your wallet into the rear waistband of your pocketless running pants unless you are willing to risk an unfortunate (and unsanitary) incident!

It's Raining Entrepreneurs

It rained pretty solid in LA yesterday, in addition to a wet day or two a couple of weeks ago. The whole "storm watch" phenomenon of TV news aside, I saw an entrepreneurial side to the city that I have never seen before.

When I got on the Red Line in North Hollywood, when I emerged to street level again at Wilshire and Vermont, it had started to drizzle. On cue (and I have no idea from where they came), there were 4 different people, one on each corner, selling from a big basket of umbrellas!

Beyond my fascination at how quickly they were out there was the number of people purchasing umbrellas. It wasn't raining that hard, we had been warned that it was going to rain, and no one has ever melted (the wicked witch of the east notwithstanding)n so why the urgency?

I suppose that even in tough economic times the wheels of capitalism should keep turning...I have it, you want it, I'll sell it!

El Yummy!

During the drive from LA (Tim was kind enough to pick me up at my office) to Mexico for our work trip a couple of weeks ago, Tim and I started to chat about favorite foods. I went on for EVER about this little Mexican food restaurant that my family and I went to almost every Saturday when I lived in San Diego; El Indio. It is on India Street near Washington on the edge of Mission Hills and Old Town and it is unbelievable.

Tim is also a Mexican food fan, so he listened eagerly as I spoke of the only three things I ever eat there; chips, guacamole and the "rolled quesadilla", which is more appropriately described as a cheese burrito. I really, really love that place.

We picked up Jeff (a member of the Shepherd of the Hills Church, we were just one happy car pool) in Clairemont as we passed through San Diego. Within minutes of our introduction, we were talking about San Diego and, yep, El Indio. Jeff pointed out that it was about dinner time and El Indio was on our way to the border, which was all the encouragement any one needed, we stopped and ate our fill!

It was so good that Tim and I stopped again on the way home Sunday to pick up some cold items to take back home to the families for dinner.

El Indio two times in one weekend AND I was a hero for bringing it home, it doesn't get much better than that!

Up on the Rooftop

After the successful use of power tools, I was promoted to painter. Laura (the leader) had Laura (the worker bee) and I sprawled out in the middle of the street (actually a hill unpaved and so steep no car in its right mind would dare take it on), painting portions of the lumber that would be placed on the trusses to complete the roof and close the house in.

We only had one roller-handle between us, so there was a good deal of creativity using branches, scrap pieces of lumber and when all else failed, our hands to roll the brush and spread the paint. We did a thorough job and made it to a late lunch. I was feeling pretty good about things, so when Laura (the leader) asked worker bee Laura and I to go up on the roof to lay the paper, tar and roofing stuff, we said, "sure!"

I learned something very quickly while laying on my stomach, head first near the edge of the roof holding nails for Craig and Matt to pound...I am OK with heights, but I DO NOT enjoy the sloping angle. I felt like I was slipping and was going head first!

Tim was in charge of teaching WB (as in worker bee, it's shorter!) Laura and I how to install the roof and much to my dismay, he was intent on us learning by doing. This meant that WB Laura (who shared my slope-phobia) and I had to hang dangerously close to the edge of the roof as we pounded in roofing nails to hold down the paper and then the roofing itself. There was a lot of anxiety-sweat, let me tell you. I will also admit that I was kind of mad, mostly because I was really feeling as if I was about to freak out over the whole ordeal.

Not surprisingly, once I relaxed, things went just fine. No one fell off the roof, had to be rescued or tripped and nearly broke their neck. In fact, we had a great view of the ocean from our elevation and pounded in the last nail, finishing the house, just as the sun set.

I decided that I was so cool with the whole roofing deal that I went over to another job site early the next morning to help with their roof because there was not a willing volunteer to climb up there. It was a flat roof, no incline. We had that gem rolled out in 2-hours, piece of cake!

You'd think I have been doing it all my life looking at the picture here! By the way, this photo is courtesy of the SOTHUMC website, nice job, peeps!

Beware of Sharp Tools!!

I must admit that I didn't know what to expect when I showed up Friday night at the center Craig and his group were staying at in Mexico (south a bit of Tijuana). We were welcomed warmly by the group who told tales of some unbearable heat at the job site and also to a chiropractic table in the middle of the courtyard...Matt was sharing his occupation with all who wanted to take advantage!

The next morning had everyone up by 6, packing our lunches, loading up on water, eating breakfast and gathering our tools. I was assigned to Laura's group-a fine collection of 8 or 9 other builders with varying degrees of skill but all committed to getting the job done.

The first few minutes I felt a little awkward; this group had a whole day on me in terms of experience! Soon, Jerry took me under his wing as his apprentice and we were framing in windows, which required me to use two tools that I was hoping to avoid-the table saw and nail gun. When I was packing my tools and gear to prepare for the trip, David had warned me against both of those tools if at all possible. He, more than anyone else knows of my potential to be clumsy and likely envisioned some none-too-pleasant outcome of me with power tools.

I am pleased to report that no appendages were cut, punctured or in any way harmed through my efforts!

5K today...1/2 marathon...soon??

I am taking a brief break from the house building tales to provide a breaking-story around yesterday's Surf City Marathon and subsequent races. Elizabeth has never before run a 5K (or run further than 2.5 miles at once, without a spell of walking or two), so Kris and I decided that we needed an outing to make the magic happen.

Surrounded by more than 18,000 of our closest jogging friends, we showed up for a 7:15 am running of the Surf City 5K. After pulling a miraculous parallel parking job on some side street, we walked past a parking garage and about 15 open spaces on Main Street on our way to the 5K starting line...oh well, I got to prove my crazy skills! The quest for a bathroom proved a little more complicated and confusing than we might have liked, but we managed to take care of urgent matters and line up near the back of the crowd in the "12 minute runners/walkers" row. Our people!

We set off on our little journey with Nike Plus systems set, watches synchronized and nerves under control. We quickly settled into a nice running rhythm with Kris, myself and Elizabeth running in a row down PCH in Huntington Beach. The pace was comfortable and allowed for some incessant chatter by yours truly. I don't know what it is, but put me out on a long walk or run and I will talk your ear off! Fortunately, those who hang around to hear it say that they appreciate the distraction. Maybe I just inspire those who are annoyed by it to run faster!

Our path made a turn back so that we were headed back in the direction of the finish line...and the 1/2 marathoners who set out after us (the marathoners had been sent off earlier in the morning). Elizabeth was the one who commented on how interesting it sounded to hear all of those feet hitting the ground and running...thunderous hooves, I would say!

Our 5 kilometers (3.1 miles for those like myself who are still metric challenged) ended quickly and without incident; we even had a nice sprint at the end to finish it off. 36 minutes and we were done. Of course, that probably seems like an eternity to the winner who pounded it out in 16:02, but since we weren't allowed to use a skateboard or bike, we are going to have to settle for our time!

With the confidence of a completed event, shiny new medal and realization that this group running thing is fun, I think that I've got Kris and Elizabeth sold on the idea of a 1/2 marathon at some point. Of course, we should probably take it in small steps, so that would make the 10K next. How does early May sound, ladies?

Hola, mi amigos

I have been fortunate in my life to come across a number of people with a very philanthropic spirit, offering me opportunities to share in the same. One venture that I have seen in action for 8 or 9 years but have not had the opportunity to participate in has been building houses in Mexico with my friend, Pastor Craig.

PC (AKA "The Mighty One") was the pastor at my church for 6 or 7 years and introduced the house building ministry to our church. Year after year youth and adult groups made the trek (including my own youth group member, at the time an 8th grader we call Schnoogs), but for some variety of reasons, the timing was never right for me.

Now that Craig has abandoned the fine people of Thousand Oaks and moved on to his new parish in Mission Viejo (do I sound bitter?) called Shepherd of the Hills*, the home building ministry has continued, although many of the players have changed. I decided over the MLK Jr weekend that I was FINALLY going to make the journey down to see what all of this home building buzz was about. The SOTHUMC group left on Thursday and were coming home on Monday, which was a bit more than I could muster, so I opted to ride down with my friend Tim on Friday afternoon for two intense days of house building.

The photo above does not represent my best photogenic skills (I was after all using the Blackberry!), but I am somewhat intrigued with the lighting and the story that this photo tells for me. This is the picture that I took as soon as we got to our work site; the team had been there the day prior and they constructed the shell of the house, starting from the slab that had been poured the week prior. The walls are up, but there is still a lot of work to do!

The adventures of the day were many...you will have to tune in tomorrow to find out all about it!

*For the record, all of my grousing, complaining and feigned bitterness over Craig being moved from Thousand Oaks to Shepherd of the Hills is an act because although I miss Craig in T.O., I am enjoying my assumed "associate" membership with the fine people of SOTHUMC