Work has finally started to slow down (for now) and I've been able to set aside some time for the finer things in life.
Lia Daniele Kerner-This goes without saying.
She & Him Vol. 2- I really love this album and I find myself listening to it a lot at work. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward continue to refine their sound, making the best Indie record Nancy Sinatra never made.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox- Lia and I watched this the other afternoon and thought it was absolutely hilarious. We've been quoting it to each other ever since. Wes Anderson needs to make more movies--one per year will do (as long as the quality holds up).
The "Perfect" Townhouse- Shhh...(Lia and I think we found it--but we're trying not to jinx it).
Springtime- Now that the snow has melted away and the grass has turned from tan to deep green I have no problem walking the dogs. Deep breaths of semi-warm air is good for the soul.
Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago- This record hasn't gotten old yet...and I dont think that it will ever.
Flying Dog Pale Ale- The best beer ever, in my humble opinion.
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers- I started this a while ago and work got crazy so I had to pause. But seriously this book is incredible and I recommend it to everyone.
The Pacific on HBO- The sister miniseries to Band of Brothers, this engaging miniseries tells the stories of three marines during the Pacific campaign in WWII. It's brilliant, thought-provoking, and extremely well-made.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
David and Lia’s (5 Year) Bucket List
1) Pay Off Credit Cards
2) Leave the Country (Twice)
3) Attend a music festival
4) Attend a film festival (Cucalores doesn’t count)
5) Take a road trip (longer than 2 days of driving)
6) Potty Train Marlee
7) Go to one Steelers game a season
8) Buy a house
9) Find jobs we like (or advance in the ones we do)
10) Visit California
11) See more concerts
12) See all best picture nominees each year
13) Read (at least) 5 books a year
14) Write a screenplay
15) Learn an instrument
16) Go to Europe
17) Get a big screen TV (and a blu-ray player)
18) Enter one short story contest
19) Volunteer
20) Do something special with our siblings
21) See EVERY Bruce Springsteen tour
22) Exercise together more
23) Go skydiving
24) See a broadway play
25) Vacation every single summer (and get a tan)
26) Visit our friends more (buy cowboy boots when visiting Lindsey Johnson in Texas
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Consistency is Good
So lately things have been crazy. Work has been crazy. I haven't had much chance to breathe as we are writing 3 different proposals for the government and I've had to work late nights, weekends, and early mornings. If I could say one thing that is a bummer about my job it's the not knowing what comes next. But then again that makes it fun, to a certain extent. It keeps things interesting and stops it from being mundane. But sometimes consistency is good.
For instance I love that when I come home I can count on the dogs jumping on me, wagging with excitement to see me. I love that my fiance comes home everyday with hilarious tales from the NRA (it is still funny to me that she actually works there). I love that every Tuesday from 9-10 my favorite show, LOST, comes on. But alas, this is the final season of LOST--so the impending end of another consistency is near. Of course LOST will, one day, be replaced after it's end--and if it isn't Lia and I can always relive the fun on DVD. But for now, in the show's final weeks, Lia and I will tune in faithfully every week.
Perhaps this is why sports can be so easy to love. The Steelers play, every sunday (save for one bye-week) during football season. They are always there. They may not always win--they may dissappoint you, but they always try the next week to make up for it. Consistency like that is absent in a lot of people's lives.
Changes are coming up in my life. We have a wedding that is less than half a year away, we've begun house hunting, and talks of kids have emerged (we have agreed to wait a few years however :-) ). While it may seem with all that happening my life may be far from consistent, somehow knowing that I will come home to Lia everyday is all the consistency that I need. (That and maybe the Steelers maintaining winning records)
For instance I love that when I come home I can count on the dogs jumping on me, wagging with excitement to see me. I love that my fiance comes home everyday with hilarious tales from the NRA (it is still funny to me that she actually works there). I love that every Tuesday from 9-10 my favorite show, LOST, comes on. But alas, this is the final season of LOST--so the impending end of another consistency is near. Of course LOST will, one day, be replaced after it's end--and if it isn't Lia and I can always relive the fun on DVD. But for now, in the show's final weeks, Lia and I will tune in faithfully every week.
Perhaps this is why sports can be so easy to love. The Steelers play, every sunday (save for one bye-week) during football season. They are always there. They may not always win--they may dissappoint you, but they always try the next week to make up for it. Consistency like that is absent in a lot of people's lives.
Changes are coming up in my life. We have a wedding that is less than half a year away, we've begun house hunting, and talks of kids have emerged (we have agreed to wait a few years however :-) ). While it may seem with all that happening my life may be far from consistent, somehow knowing that I will come home to Lia everyday is all the consistency that I need. (That and maybe the Steelers maintaining winning records)
Monday, March 1, 2010
Are There Rollercoasters In Heaven?
People have told me that Im stragely comfortable with death. I think a lot of it has to do with my faith, but also for some reason I have always just thought of it as another part of life. Something that we all will have to go through at one point or another. Lia's grandmother passed away last week, bringing up all sorts of new discussions about death, dying, and the grieving process.
It is interesting to be on the fringe of the whole process. Grace was certainly a part of my life, but not nearly to the extent that she was of Lia and her family's. To watch each person in her family deal with this tragedy in their own way was interesting. Some people decided to take on everything--all of the responsibility of getting everything done for the ceremony. I wondered whether they were doing it for themselves or for their grandmother--coming to the conclusion that it was probably both. The pastor at the ceremony stated that these days, funerals seem to be more for the living than the dead. And I think that is true.
Other people decided to grieve in their own personal way, smiling and going along with everything, letting a tear fall whenever they thought that no one was looking. I dont think that there is anything wrong with this. Some people would say that they are bottling up their emotions, but I think they are just trying to avoid having to say things that other people won't/can't understand.
I dont have any of my grandparents left. The last passed away when I was around 16 years old. Thats about 7 years since anyone connected to me by blood has left the earth. I remember it was strange--expecting to be going up to Pennsylvania in the summertime to visit my grandparents, only to spend it vacationing in Asheville or someplace else. Though I know they are still with me, I cant help but wonder what they are doing now. If celestial bodies actually can "do" things.
One of the hardest things for me to come to grips with is the actual idea of heaven. Not believing whether it exists or not--I know that it does--but just what people do up there. I always seem to be coming to the same paradox. How can there be no sadness? Would we even know what happiness is if we have nothing to compare it to. Isn't it the bad times that make the good times so great. How can things be fun if there is no real risk involved? Wouldn't roller-coasters be redundant in heaven?
Just to clarify--Im not wondering how heaven can exist. Im just wondering what it would be like. I guess it's just that Im thinking of this in human terms--where our minds work by using limitations and boundaries. In heaven neither of those things exist, therefore trying to figure these paradoxes out is pointless. Its impossible to solve them with our human minds.
The only thing we can do is wait.
It is interesting to be on the fringe of the whole process. Grace was certainly a part of my life, but not nearly to the extent that she was of Lia and her family's. To watch each person in her family deal with this tragedy in their own way was interesting. Some people decided to take on everything--all of the responsibility of getting everything done for the ceremony. I wondered whether they were doing it for themselves or for their grandmother--coming to the conclusion that it was probably both. The pastor at the ceremony stated that these days, funerals seem to be more for the living than the dead. And I think that is true.
Other people decided to grieve in their own personal way, smiling and going along with everything, letting a tear fall whenever they thought that no one was looking. I dont think that there is anything wrong with this. Some people would say that they are bottling up their emotions, but I think they are just trying to avoid having to say things that other people won't/can't understand.
I dont have any of my grandparents left. The last passed away when I was around 16 years old. Thats about 7 years since anyone connected to me by blood has left the earth. I remember it was strange--expecting to be going up to Pennsylvania in the summertime to visit my grandparents, only to spend it vacationing in Asheville or someplace else. Though I know they are still with me, I cant help but wonder what they are doing now. If celestial bodies actually can "do" things.
One of the hardest things for me to come to grips with is the actual idea of heaven. Not believing whether it exists or not--I know that it does--but just what people do up there. I always seem to be coming to the same paradox. How can there be no sadness? Would we even know what happiness is if we have nothing to compare it to. Isn't it the bad times that make the good times so great. How can things be fun if there is no real risk involved? Wouldn't roller-coasters be redundant in heaven?
Just to clarify--Im not wondering how heaven can exist. Im just wondering what it would be like. I guess it's just that Im thinking of this in human terms--where our minds work by using limitations and boundaries. In heaven neither of those things exist, therefore trying to figure these paradoxes out is pointless. Its impossible to solve them with our human minds.
The only thing we can do is wait.
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