Journal : OpenRoadWorks

My wife got me a balance ball chair for the home office.  As I sit on this bouncy ball and type a morning blog entry before the day gets started, I think about all the potential that the day holds - and how I am inclined to sit a little straighter as I get aligned on the red ball beneath my hips.  I shift and tilt, contemplating the next words that I will put down on screen, and I ponder what else I should accomplish today. I suppose everyone has some sort of routine that governs their life, starting with the morning ritual.  I am part of that group that does not really have such a routine, and it's something that I am curious to experiment and change.  So, I am typing this entry, sitting on this new chair, and warming up.

New Year’s 2012 has come and gone. All the resolutions have been cast, and the rituals of starting anew have started to bear their initial fruit. For some, the resolutions have already been cast aside, but that’s not the point – renewal is the thing. And so, with the same feeling of renewal, I return to the blog with the hope of jump-starting a more regular writing schedule. I have to admit that it can seem daunting, considering my past attempts. Every so often, I gain a spark of inspiration and run with it to produce a string of thoughts that get my creative juices. Then, the spark fizzles. I am left with aspirations unfulfilled, filled again by my domestic life and work life, both of which are highly rewarding and all-consuming. Yet, there is something more, and so I yearn to discover it this year. It will be a turning point for myself – as every year is, after all – and I look forward to pursue more than career. The goal is 100 entries, and this is the first.

Let’s start the year with a play on words.  It makes extra sense since I am spend my days trying to reduce the need to carry a wallet at all in the future , but today I reached into my back pocket and rifled through the main pouch that holds my driver’s license.  I updated my car insurance cards and stumbled upon a treasure trove of choice fortunes that I have collected from years (at this point) or eating out with my wife at any number of Chinese restaurants in the area. Here they are, in no particular order: You will inherit a large sum of money (a nice thought, I suppose – who knows if that will be true?) A thrilling time is in your immediate future (of course!  I’m home with Ruby , what else would I need from that?) You are busy but you are happy. (true that) Culture and customs of China attract you. (I should hope so, it has made me a wildly happy guy thus far) You will have no problems in your home. (true, until I forget to put one small plate in the dishwas...

Admittedly, I am biased - I am a de facto Penn Stater.  After one of the most trying months on record with the explosive allegations that broke in the mainstream media in early November, Penn State and Joe Paterno have taken a beating.  I wrote about the anger and sadness that this caused at the time and still causes upon further reflection; it provoked me to assemble the facts about the "Penn State scandal" that I could in order to truly understand the evolving situation and learn from it. Then Syracuse happened , incidentally because of the allegations that broke at Penn State.  And Jim Boeheim denied that he was Joe Paterno .  Admittedly, I had an initial hunger for retribution - if Paterno got fired for not doing enough of the right thing, then Boeheim should definitely be fired for doing nothing at all and further defending a man "he knew could not have possibly done what he had allegedly done". But this is THE momen...

Sandwich at Musee d'Orsay , a set on Flickr. A week ago, I was standing on the steps of the Musee d'Orsay, stretching my legs before tunneling and shuttling on the RER back to the airport for my return flight to the US. I had one last craving to tame, that of taking a bite out of a baguette panini that comes from any number of bars, carts, and patisserie that huddle around trafficked areas in the city. With a jambon fromage in hand, I stood calmly and savored the mixed flavors of a fine sandwich, fulfilling my final wish. And when I was done, I looked around to capture the moment as a personal postcard before heading down the tunnel for catching the commuter train out to the airport. It was a fitting end to a successful week of reflection - both work and personal - to catapult me through the end of the year. And it is this reflection on a simple panini which is especially appropriate for Thanksgiving - namely, that the simple pleasuress are for what we can all be ...

Thomas and Bettina on a Paris Evening , a set on Flickr. One week ago, I wandered the Seine on a clear night illuminated by a full moon. Illuminated further, I was returning to my hotel after visiting with friends that I will inevitably spend a lifetime following as we traverse our respective paths. We both converged on Paris, enjoying a fine lunch buffet at Bon and a fine exhibit at the Grand Palais on the Steins (Gertrude et al) collecting artwork of the Parisian avant-garde , in between a perfect walk from Avenue des Champs-Elysees to the Louvre Museum . I reflect to remember that the setting befits the more important point that friendships are worthwhile to cultivate and to affirm in our efforts to connect with the world around us. In short, the perfect sort of blueprint for how to spend a Sunday.

Remembrance of evenings past  In the fall of 1998, I arrived in Paris for the first time.  As much as the overnight train from Milan dulled my senses, it was exhilirating.  The world opened in front of me, one of the world's great cities unfurling itself, the menus and the language and the people and the movements of those who were living their Parisian lives before me, just another backpacker passing through. I reflected on those days this week as I returned to Paris, this time for work and a trade show.  It is no longer a new city to me; I have lost count on the number of returns to the city but estimate perhaps 7-8 by this point.  In many ways, the city has changed - it is much friendlier to English speaker, I am much better versed in traversing foreign cities, and the fast-growing metropolises in Asia which I have since visited make Paris feel older and less dynamic.  But more poignant, I have changed.  Of course, I am no longer a young st...