I can’t imagine having a fine meal without an equally fine wine – moderation is best – meaning two glasses are perfect!
We got our first dusting of snow here in Blacksburg, and I must say my first impulse was to pack things up and move back to Southern California. Yet this assignment is so damn lucrative, it would be unwise to leave. All I need to do is pick up a winter coat, gloves and hat when I am back in Piney Point next weekend and all will be fine – I think. It is still quite comfortable there, and even the forecast here calls for sunny mild autumn weather for the next few weeks.
Unlike so many boomers, the demand for my skills does not seem to diminish (I sometimes wish it did). I am compensated whatever I request. Yet, there is little stress in my work; I come and go as I please and take direction from virtually no one. But still, I can think of a dozen of more meaningful things I’d rather be doing.
Perfectly prepared Vegetable Samosas – kind of an eggroll from India – only better!
I am planning next year to finally be different, joining a consortium of former Boeing guys that were able to retire early, but are still in demand around the world. The idea is to pool our resources so that we have at least half our time free to do what we want. I hope that works, as I will to return to Barcelona and the Almafi Coast and hopefully make my first trip to India in 2014.
Meanwhile, like many, I live for the weekends. Blacksburg has an amazing new multi-media arts center with world-class events at small town prices. Bill Clinton was in town last week campaigning for the upcoming governor’s election (I failed to get my ticket early enough) and Ted Talks is coming to town.
Chicken Mango Walla – I’m up to a medium hot level and this makes for two meals!
Even the mundane seems fine, if it is a mundane of one’s choosing. I upgraded the “Beast” to Windows 8.1 yesterday, while watching a documentary of J. D. Salinger (it was only mildly interesting as I am not a big fan).
I have become a hardcore Kindle fan however, even though I download my books to my iPad. This week’s readings: Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential within Us All by Tom and David Kelly (of Ideo fame) and Unlabel: Selling You Without Selling Out by Marc Ecko – a fashion designer of some fame (who of course I have never heard of until I downloaded the book). Both are exceptional reads if one is looking to enhance the design process and develop a brand.
Indian Hot Tea and Mango Kulfi – a perfect combo to close a meal!
I still find NPR to be my best source of new music during my morning and evening commute. This week I discovered The 1975 – again late in the game, but who cares? I found myself losing interest in music, which cannot be a good thing. So new discoveries are key!
So I have the calm sense of hunkering down for the winter in a fairly cool place. I continue to sharpen my design skills and I am still obsessed with launching a second career building cool stuff out of this carbon fiber stuff.
It’s great to, at whim, walk a few blocks to a good dinner, whether it be Indian, as this weekend, Thai, Vietnamese or Italian (not to mention killer Fish Tacos). And then come home to a cozy apartment near the center of a great university.
Hopefully I can task myself to accept life in the present, as simply mundane is certainly better than the horror, violence and misery that we see daily in this so-called “connected” world. Even so, I can’t wait for 2014!
A saddening footnote: Lou Reed died today at age 71. My heart goes out to his wife (and my favorite artist) Laurie Anderson.
