Notes In The Margin

At the jeep dealer at 7 this morning for some service. Oil change. Headlight. Rubber bumper on the hood mysteriously missing. And the tach and speedometer occasionally drop out for no apparent reason.

I waited until 8, then walked the half mile or so over to the Idle Hour Barber Shop, only to find it still closed. What is it with this city? Nothing opens until 9 or 10 (except coffee shops and jeep dealers, apparently) and everything is closed by 8 or 9 pm. This is particularly frustrating on Saturdays, when time is so precious, but nothing opens until 10. Of course this encourages creativity.

Alec Saunders mentioned the Rosemont Grenache Shiraz Mourvèdre.. Somehow, I've missed that one, althoug it sounds like *exactly* the sort of thing that I would like. Thanks, Alec.

This seems to be taking things a little too literally, but I can play along, I suppose. Alec Saungers is paying folks (blogshares money, that is) to link to his blog and drive his share price up. Well, perhaps it will work both ways.

So, it appears that I am now semi-actively looking for employment. Although running my company is what I really want to to be doing, training seems to be a pretty hard sell in this economy, particularly when we are so specialized. While I am deeply frustrated about this, I need to acquire an actual income, so that I can pay bills and stuff. I think I made less last year than any year since grad school. And my expenses were substantially higher. Leaving me wondering why I don't have tens of thousands of dollars saved up from previous years.

So, before I descend any further into self-pity, I should mention that I found THREE geocaches this weekend, two of which I had looked for at least three times before with no success. Just goes to show that life really is good after all - you just have to know where to focus your attention.

I went out to visit Camp Nelson National Cemetery today. Most people that I have spoken to are vaguely aware that it is out there, but have never visited. I was completely unprepared for the impact that the experience would have on me.

There are thousands of men and women buried out there who died to procure and defend our freedom and our freedoms. And thousands of them died without anybody knowing their name. Men who died in the Spanish American war lie beside those that died in Korea, Vietnam, and World War II. Men that I don't know, with names that clearly came from several continents, died so that I can enjoy my freedoms.

If you have not been out there, I encourage you to visit, and pay your respects to the men and women who sacrificed everything for you.