Gratitude – 6/1/2012

Posted on June 1, 2012 by dean

Grateful for luck regardless of how insignificant it sometimes seems. The interns that I will be supervising this summer start on Monday. Their assigned cubes were being used up until the end of the day today by other folks. I had a busy day and was dreading having to stay late on a Friday to clean them. My ‘boss’ (one of the C-level folks I do a lot of work for but don’t report to) suggested asking one of the admin folks to do it, but they were both on PTO. As I was about start in on the dreaded task, my real boss reminded me that there was a wing cleaning (a commercial company)scheduled over the weekend so there was no point in me doing any of the cleaning. Some days its the small things.  🙂

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Gratitude – 5/31/2012

Posted on May 31, 2012 by dean

Picked up some basic libations for mixing martini’s for a friend’s upcoming birthday party. Had more fun than I expected and kind of wish I was going to be bar tending. Did a bunch of research in advance to find “ingredients” that could be used in multiple types of recipes. Was also amazed at the staggering number of vodkas available – both in standard and flavored. Tough choices.

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Gratitude – 5/30/2012

Posted on May 30, 2012 by dean

Pleasant dinner with The Family tonight before hunkering down in the studio to get the scratch drums tracked on Cobalt.

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Gratitude – 5/29/2012

Posted on May 29, 2012 by dean

Enjoyed a mostly casual evening. Got another chunk of lawn mowed (before the battery ran out on my electric mower) and watched Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. While I generally have issues with Tom Cruise and avoid his movies, I liked this one.

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Gratitude – 5/28/2012

Posted on May 28, 2012 by dean

Norm and I got in a solid bike ride with 3.5 laps on Ag Hill at the end. I felt great. Got some work done on the main bath. Out with the Family to see The Avengers in the theater. Big time fun and we all loved the movie!

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Gratitude – 5/27/2012

Posted on May 27, 2012 by dean

Enjoyed a hot day with cool friends. Started out paddleboarding at Wingra with The Girls. Then we spent the afternoon in the shade on the lakefront with a breeze sipping brandy slushes at the East Side Club’s Tiki Bar. Dinner at Umami Ramen & Dumpling Bar – the food was pretty good, the mango mojito was a bit too syrupy. Capped off the day watching a movie. The Big Year was generally entertaining and a helpful reminder of life’s priorities.

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Gratitude – 5/26/2012

Posted on May 26, 2012 by dean

Had a great night’s sleep. Much needed. Relaxing breakfast and cleaned the house. Productive LLTAM studio session with Norm for a couple of hours before a tango lesson.

Had an amazing experience this evening at Shitty Barn Session in Spring Green for a great show by Pieta Brown and Bo Ramsey. Very communal and intimate setting in an old barn. People grill out together beforehand and park their camp chairs around the musicians inside. There’s no real stage. Beer is cold and cheap. The music inspiring. Can’t wait to go back.

Cook out at the Shitty Barn

Cookout at the Shitty Barn

Bo and Pieta - Shitty Barn Sessions

Bo and Pieta – Shitty Barn Sessions

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Gratitude – 5/25/2012

Posted on May 25, 2012 by dean

Grateful to be working with a new “team” at work. New in that not only am I new to the team, the team itself is new. As things become more official, I will be able to provide more details. We had our second productive planning meeting of the week and I’m excited to see where this goes.

Even though I had activities planned for the evening, I did the smart thing and just went home to bed, still not feeling 100% and need more rest.

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Gratitude – 5/24/2012

Posted on May 24, 2012 by dean

Norm and I drove to our homeland right after work for the wake of a ‘friend of the family‘. As I often say, “funerals aren’t for the dead”. While the trappings of someone’s passing are typically not necessarily comfortable, they are an excellent opportunity to reconnect with folks. That is the part I am grateful for.

Additionally, the evening was a compelling confluence of some significant life themes that Norm and I had been discussing previously. When the student is ready, the teacher appears. Just before parting, we had a powerful and insightful conversation with my brother Donnie. Perhaps the best conversation I’ve ever had with him. These moments are my most precious and memorable. On the drive home we talked to my brother Duane for nearly 90 minutes. One of the more bizarre and entertaining conversations I’ve had since grad school.

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Gratitude – 5/23/2012

Posted on May 23, 2012 by dean

Productive LLTAM recording session with Norm. Finished the clean up and arrangement on Cobalt. As always, its never just about the music.

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