Life's Little (and Big) Pleasures

Just a cool picture to get the juices flowing because I am out of blogging shape.... This photo (posted by kibuyu) recently won 1st place in a photo contest entitled "Translucent" -- pretty cool, eh?

Ok, that was easy enough-- juices flowing! We have a new addition to the SHoF dear friends-- Britt Koskella made her illustrious debut this past weekend while stopping by UTA to give a fantastic seminar on her research (on red queen dynamics in both snails and horse chestnuts) and visiting with her family (who, somehow, thrive in the metroplex! I can't figure out how they do it-- but they are creative, environmentally conscientious, fun, kind people and they happily call Dallas their home! I need to learn more from them....) It was a great weekend, though too fast and too short as always. Speaking of short, time is limited for future inductees who may be out there, hoping to earn a spot in the Texas edition of the SHoF. I recently got an offer to do a post-doc in Portland, OR and will be moving there at the end of August. This, of course, has some wonderful benefits, not the least of which will be the chance to be closer to my family who live out in them thar hills. The other plus is that hopefully I will no longer have to coax people to come visit by inducting them into a illusory cyber hall of fame based on spending the night in a trailer (though that really seemed to work wonders!) If you haven't been to Oregon, you have to come. It is beautiful, and very west coastly but without the hype of California or quite as much rain as Washington. There are mountains, rivers, vineyards, deserts, coastline, forests-- all for the meandering. The state slogan was recently changed to "We Love Dreamers"-- so who wouldn't want to go there? Of course it isn't all just a bed of roses, as I have become quite attached to folks here in Arlington as well. This weekend, my bosses threw a great party as they often do, and it really made me realize how lucky I have been to have this job, in this place, at this time, despite all my pooh-poohing of Texas and its strange laws and customs (did I mention that I got pulled over at a police checkpoint last week? welcome to the independent republic indeed!) In addition to my happiness at work, which really couldn't be greater, I have been welcomed into the hearts of two gentlemen (one big, one small) who make life in the Lonestar state not lonesome at all. The big one played a rockin' show this weekend at my favorite local dive bar (called Caves, and it does pretty much feel like one) with one of his bands, The Future Unlived (to listen to my favorite of their songs, Wage War, click here). The small one entertained us all the way home from a barbecue last night by singing songs he made up on the spot-- music must run in the family. Being serenaded like this? maybe I don't have to consult with Britt's folks about how to make life sweet in the metroplex afterall....