Journal : OpenRoadWorks

I look outside, and it is a beautiful day. I look into my email box, and it is full but promising to be cleared. I look across my desk, and I see some working room to get some things done. I look forward to what the end of the day means - some celebrating with Wendy and Rose outside of this stuffy office environment. After all, it is my birthday - and I have un canzone da (ie. a song by) 883 in my mind. For those not as familiar with Italian culture, 883 is an iconoclastic Italian rock band led by Max Pezzali; his work acts as an anthem for many of my generation, catchy pop tunes with a bit of a clever edge in lyrics and hooks. I'll let Max take me into a happy and reflective mood - uno in piu', happy birthday to me, happy birthday to you...

We all have one place we call home - be it a birthplace, place of hardship, place of kinship, or current place of residence. Every place leaves its mark, and we respond to what we connect with and what we feel most strongly about. Of course, that one place we call home can change - but it is always that one place above others. In the case of my current situation, home is feeling more like the townhouse in Maryland. As much as Ohio has special memories and San Francisco captures my imagination, I am rooted in the place where I take up residence with my wife. I was reminded of this sensation when I returned last evening from a weekend visit to my parents' house. Rose (our special new family member ) signaled the return from our long car ride with a certain vitality - she was almost bouncing off the walls in recognizing her familiar stomping ground. Her visible excitement in celebrating home was a good representation of what we were both feeling - a calmness and a connection to ...

I am in a conference call right now. There are a number of people talking, and I have a headset on. I am trying to check some emails, but I am not able to complete the tasks in front of me. I am wondering what happened to the week (it is now Thursday), and I am wondering what my wife is doing at home. I am somewhat disposed on what it is that I need to accomplish today, and I have an action item that I have been tracking for weeks now that needs to be completed. So I will leave this entry where the day starts - the end of this conference call. Now that it is done, I have no excuses for the talking heads!