Missing in Action

Well...it's been a long time since I posted. I've been absent, but busy.

I started at VSAIA on October 8. Since then I have been ...occupied. Even when I didn't have all *that* much to do at work, it was tiring. I'd forgotten how tiring it can be to be in a new job and just trying to soak in as much information as you can.

So far I like it quite a bit. It has many things that are novel to me...structure, clarity of mission, resources. I'm getting to know the staff, and getting busier by the day.

The main reason I'm busy and will be for a couple more weeks is that our major event of the year, Architecture Exchange East, takes place November 7-9.

So far I like all the people I work with. There are a couple with some idiosyncracies, but nothing truly weird so far. Just odd enough to be interesting. The CEO is very smart and very politically astute. I can learn a lot from him.

What else is new? Well, I bought a new laptop. After having one for several years that belonged to my employer, I got really used to having one. Then I didn't have one anymore, and three of us were jockeying for the one desktop computer, and it got to be too much, so I bit the bullet and picked up an HP Pavilion on sale.

Also, I went back to Weight Watchers. When I was going there over the summer, I lost 15 pounds, then I lost my job and started eating everything. So I went to my first meeting again the other day, and my weigh in was 6 pounds up from what I had lost. not too bad, I expected it to be more.

OK, that's enough for now. more later

A Walk In The Woods

Every once in a while I have to go out and walk through the woods. I find it provides me with a certain amount of re-centering of my thoughts, and my attitudes toward life, the universe, and everything. Given everything that’s gone on in the last few months, I had a strong urge to do that this week, and fortunately yesterday was open...the only day this week with nothing else on the calendar. Except hearing Lyra at Christ Church, but I felt I could give that up for my mental health.

I've visited various places depending on how much time I have available and how much I feel like driving, but one of my favorite places to go is Shenandoah National Park. So yesterday I drove up there and got onto the ridge by around 11:00, and the fog was just burning off. I wasn't looking for particularly strenuous hikes or anything, just some places where I could get out among trees and breathe that wonderful air. So I did the first three hikes I came across, Turk Mountain, RipRap, and Blackrock Summit. Probably less than 7 or 8 miles all together, but just exactly what I needed. I am so refreshed today.

Here are a few pics of my wanderings yesterday.

The view from Turk Mountain:



The view from Blackrock Summit:




A couple of deer by the road:




A Mama bear and three cubs! This was so cool!



I walked up to about 100 yards from them to take this picture. A good rule of thumb with bears, or any wildlife, is that if you're close enough for them to notice you, you're too close. I was just about that close. As I was taking the picture, I saw Mama glance up in my direction. I beat feet out of there after that.


If you're interested, Bill Bryson's A Walk In The Woods is a wonderfully funny book about hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Fret factor: Very low

Music factor: Gomez (good call, Nat!), KT Tunstall, Fountains of Wayne, Alison Krauss