Me...1998 (Part 1)

In 1998 I published a manifesto of sorts in that year's Farmly Fester. I had recently become a father and lost my own father within the course of a year and felt the need to define myself in writing. Here are a few excerpts:

Taking a Swim - In Lake Bill!

Who am I? Do you know me? You may think you do, but don’t be so sure. I’m not even sure I know sometimes. Many days, I feel like the Robin Williams character in “Deconstructing Harry”; out of focus . . . fuzzy . . . blurry. Am I defined by my true beliefs and ideals or by how I portray myself to different people at different times? If I am inconsistent or purposefully deceptive in my portrayal, does that make me a hypocrite, or just human? If I choose to share my core beliefs with others, will it bring us closer together or drive us apart? Does having a civil discourse mean that I must hide my feelings from the scrutiny of those less tolerant?

The answers lie ahead as I try to set the record straight. Read on and immerse yourself . . . in me!

Politics

I have been a registered Democrat since high school. In hindsight, the choice was between a lesser of two evils. I would like to register Independent, but then I wouldn’t get to vote in the cool primaries. I might switch anyway, though, because I have lost faith in the two-party system. I believe the leadership of both parties is idealistically corrupt, morally bankrupt and out of touch with reality. The folly of Clinton’s actions and the witch hunt being conducted in Washington is proof of this. I think the pre-Bob Dole sell-out Jack Kemp would have made a better President than Bill Clinton. But they both made their deals with the devil, and the economy is thriving, so who cares? Steve Forbes in 2000!

Religion

I think that organized religion is a good thing for the masses (all intolerance, zealotry and warfare aside). It’s just not a good thing for me. I was raised Protestant in the United Church of Christ, where we were a C&E family — Christmas and Easter. In the past 15 years, I have moved from organized religion and a casual belief in God to atheism to agnosticism. I now consider myself a humanist. I believe that human interests, values and dignity are of primary importance in achieving the greatest good possible in human kind’s finite existence by way of education, free inquiry and enlightenment. I do not believe in God. I believe in myself and taking responsibility for my own actions, failures and successes.

Architecture

Although I sometimes loathe the practice of architecture and the state of the profession, I love being an architect. It is unfortunate that most people see buildings as objects and have not been educated in the value of good design. I would like to be more active in public education, beginning with my friends who aren’t architects. To this point, however, I can claim no particular influence on my work. In fact, my work is devoid of any significant meaning, a situation which I hope to rectify in the near future.

Favorite Architects	Least Favorite Architects
Louis I. Kahn	Richard Meier
Christopher Alexander	Robert A. M. Stern
Frank Geary	Michael Graves
Peter Eisenman	Robert Venturi
Frank Lloyd Wright	Frank Lloyd Wright

Entertainment

I love watching TV I can’t get enough of it, and I would never apologize for it. However, I find that my must-see-TV list is shrinking, and it concerns me. Thanks to Alex, we don’t get out to the movies much anymore, so I rely on video and three channels of sweet HBO for my mindless entertainment. I don’t read much (other than periodicals), but when I do, they are works that I consider significant. If I’m going to expend the energy, I want to read or watch things that will make me think, affect me emotionally and have a positive impact on my life.

Must-See TV	Must-Read Authors
Friends	Ernest Hemingway
Seinfeld	John Irving
South Park	Ayn Rand
King of the Hill	Gary Trudeau

Favorite Movies	Favorite Comedians
After Hours	Dennis Miller
Raising Arizona	Jeaneane Garafolo
Pulp Fiction	Sam Kinison
*Field of Dreams	E. Murphy/Chris Rock
*It’s a Wonderful Life	Don Rickles
*Mr. Roberts	David Letterman

* Always makes me cry.

Woody Meets Window

A long...slow...day - highlighted by a few moments of excitement. Every year I need to spend a day hoeing out the mounds of paper that pile up in my office. A day just for general organization. A day just to toss the crap I don't need (or has expired) and make a series of "to do" lists. Along the way, I planned our secret 20th anniversary trip and met with two potential landscapers.

My only excitement was when I heard a "thump" mid-morning and went investigating around the house to see what had happened. What I found was a motionless bird lying below our front windows. Upon closer inspection I learned three things - it wasn't dead, it was a Palliated Woodpecker (very rare I am told) and the cat, not ten feet away, was still asleep. What to do? Do I leave it and hope if flys away? Wake the cat so he can take care of it? Or just club it over the head and be done with it. I decided to let nature take its course and within 20 minutes, the stunned bird regained it's senses and took flight.

Alex got off the bus, we went and picked up Max and their cousin Ethan from roller skating, and came back home so I could whip up a quick dinner of Fast Mac and Hot Dogs (yummo). I then dropped the kids at the in-laws and headed to East Rochester in a driving rain to meet a potential client. It's hard to believe I'm closing in on the end of my first week off...

Day Two

Now, that was a busy day... I'm back in the groove baby! I got the kids off to school, answered a few emails and then it was off to work. I spent four hours documenting (sketching, measuring, photographing) an old Victorian house in Honeoye Falls. That only gave me enough time to measure the foundation perimeter, first and second floors but will be enough to get me started on the project. Once I generate the existing base plans I will know what other information I need and schedule a return trip. I can also begin exploring some design ideas for an addition to the house.

When I got home, I checked emails, got changed and headed out to the rock wall. I probably put in another two hours there and can now say that it is half done (and looks pretty good). Max helped me a little bit but mostly I made sure both he and Alex got their homework done. After cleaning up I headed in to start dinner because Alex had to be at scouts by 7pm. I made Tomato Basil Pizza - a homemade sauce of tomato, basil, garlic and olive oil over Wegman's dough. It received rave reviews from the family! After puttering around the house and taking a quick walk it started to rain and I had to pick up Alex. I think tomorrow will be an office day...

Day One

The first day of summer break is always the hardest. I lacked focus and got into trouble early. From experience, I know the best thing to do when this happens is to get the kids off to school and then go back to bed. Before hitting the sack, however, I did schedule the septic company to come clean out our tank (it has been 3-1/2 years), a doctors appointment and two landscapers to come look at the area around the porch.

I awoke refreshed but still lacking a clear direction for my day. I wanted to get those screens in but it just didn't "feel" right. I folded some laundry, looked out the window, and then it hit me. I needed to devote some time to the rock wall. This has been a 3 year project that I have vowed to finish this year. It involves dry-stacking large numbers or rocks from the old barn foundation into something resembling a low wall. I gave it two hours today and made some noticeable progress.

Exhausted, I dragged myself back into the house for lunch, a shower and (surprise) the septic guy arrived. Not being accustomed to such fast service I was a bit taken aback but recovered nicely and spent the next 1/2 hour watching him and learning more that I really wanted to know about my septic system (i.e. we are using the wrong TP). All that watching tuckered me out again and since the kids didn't want to go grocery shopping anyway, I took another nap until Lisa got home. That left only dinner, shopping and a little TV to finish out the day. I'll need all that rest because I have to do some real work tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Memorial Day

This morning I shook off the cobwebs left over from Sunday night and decided to start my own blog. We went to the Memorial Day parade to watch Alex march with the scouts and then onto the park for the ceremony. Most of the scouts were in full dress uniform, marched with some organization and looked pretty good. I hate it when they are all raggedy looking and shuffle along playing grab-ass. If you're going to pretend to be a para-military organization you should at least try and act like one. The aroma of the chicken Bar-B-Q made it hard to concentrate on the gravity of the rememberances but we made it through and decided to support out local fire hall and take some chicken home for lunch.

After lunch, I crawled up into the attic, leaned out the window and knocked a few wasp nests out of the peak of the gable . I also vacuumed up mounds of cluster fly carci from the attic floor - I hate those things. After mowing (my part of) the lawn, I took a power nap and then it was off with Alex and Max for our first bike ride of the year. Even on my new, gel-filled bike seat it was a bit painful but good to be out again. I finished up my chores by changing over my winter clothes for my summer clothes while watching Monster Quest on the History Channel (although I have no idea what it has to do with history). As I write this, our saurcraut and pork chops is almost ready so I will, mercifully, end my first blog post.

If I can get this much done on a holiday, think how productive I will be on a regular day!