see as i saw

I'm not sure that I'd call my weekend eventful thus far, but I've managed to keep myself occupied despite the cold rain.  I've been having an internal debate as to whether I have to keep resetting my wireless connection because my modem or my router is bugging out.  Power cycling your modem a half dozen times each day tends to take up a good amount of time.

I'd probably rather not admit the number of Lifetime Original holiday movies that I've watched.  Last night was a revival of several actors my age that had their main glory in the early 2000s.  Tonight I was surprised to find my childhood babysitter's little brother in the lead role.  You can't turn off a movie starring someone from your hometown.

Then there's that whole concept of Christmas shopping.  My list isn't extensive, and it's half done, but it seems that I'm stumped by the prospect of buying for my brothers.  Mom and Dad are already well-aware of the experiential gifts that I'll be treating them to.

I think gift buying would be easier if you just did it on any given day that you saw something fitting or inspired.  Forcing it to occur all in one fell swoop, on a particular day, is stressful.  Especially when I'm loathe to actually visit a bricks and mortar store and engage in the insanity.  If I hadn't procrastinated, I suppose online shopping would've been a spectacular alternative.

For one shining moment or, if we want to get literal, one mile, I believed in the presence of autumn.  Real autumn.  The air smelled like dry leaves, the breeze was warm, and I was walking around in jeans and t-shirt.  I suppose it was a little stronger than a breeze, more like blowing gusts that foretold of what was to come.

By early evening, the rain started and the temperature started to dip ever so slightly.  Enough to make jackets necessary again.  In what I'd officially call the nighttime hours, I could see my breath clouding in the air as I waited for a bus.  What currently falls as rain is expected to transform into a chance of snow in the overnight hours.

Thus, we've reached winter.  Things can change so quickly.  It doesn't take a long passage of time for something to shift or transform.  It can happen in less than the full rotation of a clock's hands, or even as the popular saying goes - in the blink of an eye.  Just a thought that was running through my head, reminding me yet again to appreciate the moment and be thankful, even when it seems easier to focus otherwise.

The days are getting shorter and I'm spending most of the daylight hours in an office.  Therefore, photos have a tendency to fall into sunrise, dusk, or dark these days.  Today brings you an ominous reminder of how things look in the impending month of November, generally my least favorite of the year.  It's the month where the Midwest proves to me that sunny and 70 really is a pipe dream.

To offset the dreariness, I always have to keep my eye on a prize.  Prize = travel.  I think I've figured out how to use some well-played Monday holidays and squeeze three trips into one year.  So I guess I have my eye on three prizes.  Good thing I'm an excellent multi-tasker.

In the doldrums of winter, early 2013, it'll be time for some much needed maxin' and relaxin' during a long, sunny Puerto Rican weekend....and maybe just a dash of off the beaten path adventure thrown in.  September has long been earmarked for Croatia, a solid nine or ten day traipsing about the country.  And since I have my heart set on Ecuador, I finagled a spot for it during a week including Memorial Day.  There's nothing tentative about these plans, I'm committed.

If I can manage to fit in all of those plans and still save money, I'm thinking that it's time to start a fund for eventual property ownership in Central or South America.  For some reason, I feel more motivated to make an investment of the getaway caliber than buy a home in the U.S.  Maybe I watched too many episodes of House Hunters International.

Sometimes you get angry when bad weather interferes with your plans.  On any other day, I would've been disappointed in a canceled Spartan football outing.  On this particular Saturday, I was thankful for cold driving rain, three more hours in bed, and the potential of an afternoon nap.

If only someone had warned me before I considered those warm, fuzzy feelings.  First, I had to endure another two hours of driving with the nasty weather and the people who want to drive 15 mph under the speed limit in it.  (I know, I shouldn't bemoan their careful attention, but sometimes I just want them to get out of my way.)

And then I learned that tailgating had been replaced with a family party.  Those tend to have a high decibel and too many cameras.  I love my family, don't get me wrong, but a few of their tendencies don't meld well with sleep deprivation.  There happens to be one example of photographic proof, I'm told.  But that's what happens when someone interrupts naptime to pose me in a photo.

I was in bed by 10:00pm and I swear that my phone rang at 1:30am, citing a private caller.  When I looked at my call log in the morning, though, it wasn't there.  Perhaps sleep and waking became so blurred that I was no longer differentiating one from the other, and it never really happened.

Whenever we head to the Chicagoland suburbs, "we" meaning city dwellers, there is always an interesting dichotomy of sentiment.  On one hand, the ease of loading everyone into a car at the exact moment you want to leave, then arriving directly at the door of your destination, is a luxury that seems to fall into the recesses of your mind.  So, it's much enjoyed and appreciated.  Until you take into consideration that urban to suburban commute...and vice versa.  The daily bus and train rides seem less menacing.  At least you get to listen to music while you ride or drive in a car.

It's also a refreshing change of pace to recall the singular convenience of a mall, where all stores are located in one place.  And every store has room to walk and breathe, instead of resembling a mosh pit.  But when you're in mall land, retail therapy completed and the hunger pangs starting, the options for food and beverage start to feel very limited.  Urbanites are spoiled by the sheer quantity of options within walking distance, let alone a bus or train ride.

After spending 25 years as a borderline rural/suburban type, I can see both sides of the argument.  I hate waiting outside for a bus at 11:00pm, but I love not having to worry about safely transporting myself home when I want to have a few glasses of wine with friends.  Just as I still harbor some of my suburban preferences, I imagine that leaving the city would not rid me of all of my urban biases.

There's a couple that lives on my floor, probably around 60 years old.  He's from Australia and always addresses me as "love", probably because he doesn't really know or remember my name.  Anyways, nice people.  I ran into him at the elevator today, loading up some lumber and stuff.  We chatted about the project he had worked on all day and I mentioned how I grew up in a project-oriented home.  Long story short, he said it sounds like he'd really get along with my dad.

I started thinking about how I hear similar statements all the time: "I think I'd love your mom" or "Your parents sound fun".  This led me to surmise two things.  First, it's not surprising that my parents have so many friends and social invites; even miscellaneous strangers think they sound more than alright.  Second, I must think they're more than alright, too...seeing as I'm clearly finding plenty of time to talk them up to these miscellaneous people.  I will not, however, start carrying photos of them in my wallet as visual support for my stories.