Feels like home....

As some who know are already aware, I'm originally from Alabama. I was born in Huntsville in 1962. I lived there with my family until August of 1974 when we all moved to a small town called, Vina. We moved there because Vina was where my father had been born, and both he and my mother thought it would be a better place to raise children than Huntsville. Now, I didn't & still don't agree that Vina is better than Huntsvulle for raising children. As proof, I offer all the adults who've lived their entire lives in both places and are good people. It's not so much about the place as it is the parents (imho), but that's not the point of this post.

To this day, I still feel that Huntsville, Alabama is my home town. Regardless of the fact that I've not resided there since 1974. Upon graduating high school and later after leaving the military, I tried to get a job in Huntsville in order to move back. It was never successful. I do have a fondness for Vina, but I always felt like the new guy there. Even now when I go back to visit my family & friends, I'm warmly received by all of them, but I don't feel like I'm home.

In 1998 I got a job in Columbus, GA, so I moved to Phenix City, AL. It's on the Alabama side of the Chattahoochee River, just opposite Columbus, GA. I lived there for eight years, and made many great friends. However, Phenix City/Columbus never really felt like home either. I was comfortable there but didn't feel at home.

During that period of living in Phenix City, I took a vacation with my Mother to Seattle, WA. Mom was born & lived there until she was around 9. Then, her family moved to Auburn, WA, which is about 20 miles away from Seattle. At the time it was pretty rural (like Vina), and I think that's why she likes living in Vina. When I got to Seattle for the first time it was awesome. I found a 2nd place that felt like home to me. It was weird; though I'd never been here before, Seattle really felt comfortable. It felt almost like I'd always been here. I like to think that I was genetically programmed for Seattle thanks to Mom. On our second day here Mom asked what I thought about it. Remember I said, "This is awesome. If I can find a job here, I'd move here in a heartbeat."

Fast forward five years to 2006. I did get a job in Seattle, and I did move here. It's felt like home from day one. The climate, though cooler & wetter than Alabama, suits me way more than the high summer heat & humidity of Alabama. When you add in all the great stuff Seattle has, it's a no-brainer. Seattle is my home. I don't see myself ever living in Alabama again. I might've been born a Southerner, but I'll die a Pacific Northwesterner. ;o)

Arnin'....

Today was just a day spent inside. Just a lazy Sunday of watching the Seahawks lose (sucks) & doin' laundry. I wasn't blue or bored or staying out of the rain; I just think it's important to have some good time with yourself... and I had a ton of laundry to do. :)

In truth I had ALL the laundry to do. I've collected enough clothes over the years that I can actually go 2 weeks without doing laundry, though I don't normally do that. I usually do the wash on Sundays or Saturdays.

That's a habit that's so ingrained that I've not had much success breaking it. You see, for a long time I didn't have a washer/dryer in the house. So it was wait the entire week & take the clothes, (usually) Sunday morning, to the laundry-mat and do laundry. I did this so long that even when I actually owned a washer/dryer (as now) I still wait until the weekend to do laundry. If I ever get in the habit, I could knock out a load or two during the week & have the whole weekend free for once. Maybe some day. :)

One aspect of the laundry that I do most times is ironing; in the south it's pronounced "arnin'." Most folks are surprised when I tell them I iron my clothes; actually I really only iron my button-down shirts (no need to iron my jeans or dockers). I was taught to iron by my Mom, but I really learned ironing while in the military.

It is kind of a chore, but to me there's a zen-like quality do it. You can do it with little or no thought, and it has a repetitive motion that kind of eases tension. I also find vacuuming to have the same quality, back & forth, no real effort or thought needed. These two activities are so zen-like for me that I can actually sort out a lot of things that tend to be jumbled. Matter-of-fact, I've gotten some of my best ideas for the programs I write while vacuuming (none while ironing... yet).

The nicest two things I get out of ironing is a) the satisfaction when it's over. It always feels like I've done something. & b) the nice creases on the sleeves of my shirts. I don't like them starched or anything like that, but I do like to have creases. It must come from the military days.

Well, time to put the board away. :)

F1 Sundays are Great...

After feeling sick all day Saturday, and pretty much just laying on the couch watching television, I was hoping to feel alot better on Sunday. I did. :)

Of course it helped by starting Sunday off with viewing the TiVo'd F1 race from Singapore. This was F1's first night race, and it was a great success all around. But I'll speak more on that aspect in a bit. The race was fun to watch even though my favorite driver, Kimi Raikkonen, crashed out within the last 10 laps. Kimi is the current world champ, and I hoped he would repeat this year. However, it seems that fate & other things are conspiring against him. Well, he's signed with Ferrari for the next 3 years I think, so there's always next year.


The success of Singapore will probably start a trend for all of the far-east races on the calendar (Japan, China, Australia, India?) in future seasons. From what I understand, F1 chief, Bernie Ecclestone, is pushing for turning the races in these locations to night races. He wants it in order to put the races on at a better viewing time in Europe where viewership is high. I can't say I blame him for that line of thinking overall. Europe's where the bulk of the money is for the sport, so he's going after it.

However, it does bug me that one man, Ecclestone, pretty much has say over what happens in F1. Oh, there is the FIA, the governing body of F1, but they pretty much do whatever Bernie says, and everyone knows it. I'm never a fan of one person dictatorally holding sway over anything. I think all sports commissions should be governed by a body of people who are not owners or sponsors, and they should have finite periods of service. Five years at most. Those five year terms should also be staggered, so that only one or two people are changed at a time. From that commissioning body a president or chairperson would be elected by the body. Also, that chairing election would be each year as well, and the current chair could not serve successive terms. They could serve multiple terms, but only every-other year.

I don't see that happening in F1, the NFL, Baseball, or any other organized sport. However, I think it would be the most fair way to run a sports organization. That way no one person could play favorites for years on end as has happened in other sports before.

Cleanin' House...

Well, I spent the bulk of today cleaning house. By that I mean, I pushed & actually put away about 90% of all the stuff that's been in boxes since I moved here two weeks ago.

The reason for this is that I'll be having a house-guest for a week starting on Monday. He's the ex-husband of my friend Junkie. Scavenger has been working for a mining company in Alaska since April. He works for about 3 weeks straight and gets about a week for a break; he stays at my place when he's in town so he can see his daughter Ariel.

So with that pending, I was motivated to actually straighten up the extra room in order to make it habitable. I think he'll survive his stay now.

It's been a while since Scavenger stopped by. In July I was taking vacation, so he spend his break in Alaska. Then in August, I was moving, so this will be his first look at the new place. Of course, I've explained to him that the building is undergoing a renovation, so there will be workmen and noise all during the day.

I think I'll work from home on Monday afternoon in order to inform the sight-boss that someone will be in the apartment during the day all next week. I don't want workmen to just be barging in on him. I may also put a sign of some sort on the door to make sure they knock instead of just coming in.

Now that the place is cleaned up, I have a ton of garbage to take out... it's always something. :)

It Just Keeps on Gettin' Better...

Well, the cable guy came today. He was supposed to be here between 10am & Noon, but he showed up about 10:30. So now I've got TV once again, and since I'm a total addict to TV, it's all good. The days without cable were filled with extra internet time, but it only goes so far. :)

Now I'm jonesin' for the F1 race tomorrow from Belgium (vroom, vroom).

After spending half of this beautiful day inside setting up my cable & TiVo, I think I'll go downtown & do some shopping. I think I might go by the Bose store & pick up a center speaker for the home entertainment center (if it's not too much).

I've also got to get in touch with my old landlord to see how he wants me to get my set of keys to him. He did text me yesterday to ask if I still had them, I replied that I did and asked how he wanted me to get them to him. However, he didn't respond to my reply. That's actually par for the course with him, but that's a long story for another time.

Now, where are my shoes???? :)