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Message Archives 2013
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He Will Be Called
Names are important. Modern parents tend to choose names based on a variety of factors. Some choose a family name, while others strive for a unique sounding name new to the family and in some cases new to the English language itself. My wife and I wanted to name our children from names in the Bible. I know! That is exactly what you would expect from a pastor isn't it? In the ancient world, parents named their children for very different reasons than we do today. The names they gave their children were chosen to identify a major event in the life of the parent or community or to convey a quality on the child.
What people called you in the ancient world conveyed more than just your identity – it highlighted your character. During this series we are going to look at some specific names that Jesus would be called and is still called to this day. Names that were written hundreds of years before His birth.
December 8, 2013 – Wonderful Counselor – Ken Gilmore – Watch
December 15, 2013 – Mighty God – Ken Gilmore – Watch
December 22, 2013 – Everlasting Father – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Christmas Eve, 2013 – Prince of Peace – Ken Gilmore – Watch
In Philippians 1:3-6, the Apostle Paul writes, "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Paul, who accomplished so much, recognized and expressed his appreciation for the generous partnership of the Philippians that made it possible.
Today, I am thankful for hundreds of people who serve at Keystone week in and week out to make a difference in the lives of adults, college students, teens, children and even little babies. None of this would be possible without you.
I am also thankful for all of you who express your thanks by giving. Your generosity provides the fuel that keeps us moving forward in our mission to lead people in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Thank you for your careful stewardship of what God has placed in your hands.
Lastly, I am thankful for everyone and anyone who calls Keystone their church home. Thank you for creating a place where people can come and see the sermon in action before hearing a word of it from the preacher. Thank you for accepting and welcoming those around you. Thank you for being such a great group of people that have allowed me to lead.
Take some time today and this week to be grateful OUT LOUD! Be specific and be public! Happy Thanksgiving.
December 1, 2013 – ThanksGiving? – Ken Gilmore – No Video Avaialable
I Mustache You A Question
Is the church a safe place for an outsider to ask their questions? Jesus was asked questions ALL THE TIME! Look for yourself. During this series of messages we will be tackling some questions people are asking.
November 3, 2013 – I Mustache You A Question – Ken Gilmore – Watch
November 10, 2013 – Free Will – Ken Gilmore – Watch
November 17, 2013 – Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen? – Ken Gilmore – Watch
November 24, 2013 – Why Isn't Good, Good Enough? – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Sticky Faith
Research shows that almost half of all graduating high school seniors struggle deeply with their faith. Studies also show that an overwhelming majority of parents feel responsible for the moral and spiritual development of their children. Correspondingly, for parents who attend church, only 1 in 5 feel that the church helps them with these responsibilities. We could throw our hands up in the air and say, "That's just the way it is!" But we won't. We can't! We won't let the next generation slip away from their faith because they are not the future church, they are the church of today.
This series talks about how we hope to develop ways to produce a sticky faith in the next generation of believers.
October 13, 2013 – Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Banana? – Ken Gilmore – Watch
October 20, 2013 – Sticky or Just Stuck? – Phil Bell – Watch
October 27, 2013 – The Cat's in the Cradle – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Culture – What You Feed Is What Grows
There is a way to be religious, righteous and also WRONG! The attitudes we foster in our hearts are the nutrients that help grow the things that eventually come out of us. What we feed is what grows! What are you feeding? If not love, then love will not grow. If not trust, then trust will not grow. If not grace, then grace will not grow. If not generosity, then generosity will not grow. We have identified four things that we want to cultivate and grow as a church. Join us for the next five weeks and share what they are and how they can help create a culture worth growing!
September 8, 2013 – What You Feed Is What Grows – Ken Gilmore – Watch
September 15, 2013 – Know Show – Ken Gilmore – Watch
September 22, 2013 – Invisible – Ken Gilmore – Watch
September, 29, 2013 – All In, Part 1 – Ken Gilmore – Watch
October 6, 2013 – All In, Part 2 – Ken Gilmore – Watch
The Legend of Joe Jacobson
What would you do if you were absolutely confident that God was with you? Not just watching you from a distance; not just moving around the edges of your life; not just curious about you but absolutely WITH YOU?
August 11, 2013 – I Don't Deserve This – Ken Gilmore – Watch
August 25, 2013 – Return of the Dreamer – Ken Gilmore – Watch
September 1, 2013 – Right Where You Want 'Em – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Even Greater Things…
Join us as Dr. JoAnn Lyon, the General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church, shares with us the truth that Jesus intends for us to do Greater Things than even he accomplished during his earthly ministry. How is that possible? Listen and find out.
August 18, 2013 – Even Greater Things – Dr. JoAnn Lyon – Watch
In The Beginning
The Book of Genesis is one of the most ancient books in the history of literature. The information it contains is even older. And it addresses issues, topics and themes that will be talked about throughout the rest of the Bible and debated for centuries. So what is it all about? What can we learn from such an old book? Come and find out!
June 23, 2013 – Tabernacle – Ken Gilmore – Watch
June 30, 2013 – Hand-Made – Ken Gilmore – Watch
July 7, 2013 – Significant Insignificance – Louie Giglio (video unavailable)
July 14, 2013 – The Bite That Bites Back – Ken Gilmore – Watch
July 21, 2013 – Do Over – Ken Gilmore – Watch
July 28, 2013 – Our Late Great Grandpa Abe – Ken Gilmore – Watch
August 4, 2013 – Not Just for Laughs – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Here are two Bible verses everybody can relate to:
'I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, I do . . . For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.'
Can I get an 'Amen'?
Perhaps a 'Been there, done that'?
So what do you do when you just can't seem to do what you know you ought to do?
Fortunately, the gentleman who described the problem provided the answer.
May 26, 2013 – It's Worse Than You Thought – Andy Stanley – Watch
June 2, 2013 – Now You Know – Ken Gilmore – Watch
June 9, 2013 – Staying Dead – Ken Gilmore – Watch
June 16, 2013 – Lawless – Ken Gilmore – Watch
God's Library
Do you read the Bible? It is the best selling "book" of all time. 92 percent of all households in America own at least one copy of the Bible. Fifty-nine percent of Americans occasionally read the Bible but only 37 percent read it once a week. And only 14 percent of Americans actually study the Bible. So where do you fall in those percentages? Which has more dust on it: your Bible or your TV remote? YIKES! The Bible is more than just a "good book" – it is a great bookshelf and is worth reading, studying and living out.
This series looks at four things:
1. Why should we read the Bible?
2. Is the Bible a reliable document about Jesus and the ancient writers?
3. How should I read the Bible?
4. How do I get started?
April 28, 2013 – Listen Up! – Ken Gilmore – Watch
May 5, 2013 – From Them to Us – Chris Jakway – Watch
May 12, 2013 – Cliffs Notes – Ken Gilmore – Watch
May 19, 2013 – Bible Dare – Ryan Tarrow – Watch
You Can Change the Story This Compassion Sunday
Our church is participating in Compassion Sunday on April 21st at 9 & 10:25 AM. This is a national event that helps us grow in our understanding of God's very special love for the poor. It's also an opportunity for each of us to intervene in the life of at least one child in poverty.
April 21, 2013 – You Can Change the Story – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Hello, My Name is Jesus
A lot of people have a lot to say about Jesus an everyone has an opinion. Some worship him and other write him off simply on what they have heard about Jesus from someone else. In this series we want to let Jesus introduce himself. We will attempt to get out of the way and not speak for Jesus but allow him to speak for himself.
March 10, 2013 – The Really Really Real Jesus – Ken Gilmore – Watch
March 17, 2013 – And I Have Something to Say – Bill Wrobleski –Watch
March 24, 2013 – And I Have Something to Do – Ken Gilmore – Watch
April 7, 2013 – One Solitary Life – Ken Gilmore – Watch
April 14, 2013 – Why Did Jesus Come to Earth? – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Where Empty Equals Full
Have you ever been running on empty? Have you ever wanted a drink but found the glass empty? Have you ever wanted to make a withdrawal only to find there wasn't enough money in the account? Empty is usually a bad thing. But on Easter Sunday, Jesus, the one who said things like "Blessed are the poor" and the "First shall be last" turned things upside down again. For our world coming up empty on Easter morning is the best kind of empty we could ever ask for because now Empty Equals Full.
March 31, 2013 – Where Empty Equals Full – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Leave Your Mark
What is the meaning of life? That question. Those six simple words. They combine to form a question that has challenged humanity from the very beginning. Philosophers ponder the question, artists muse about the answer and some people have giving up pursuing an answer. It is one thing to puzzle over the philosophical question but we want to focus on a more personal aspect of the question by asking: "What is the meaning of your life?" We believe that there is an answer to that question. See if you agree.
February 3, 2013 – Leave Your Mark – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Red-Letter Prayers
Is praying ever a struggle? Do you wonder what you should say to God? Why not start with the prayers of Jesus?
February 3, 2013 – Our Father – Ken Gilmore – Watch
February 10, 2013 – The Garden – Ken Gilmore – Watch
February 17, 2013 – Don't Give Up – Jeff Eckart – Watch
February 24, 2013 – One Prayer – Ken Gilmore – Watch
Trading Up
Following the teachings of Christ has lots of benefits – financial security, relational stability, moral margin. But at some point, being a Christian will cost you something. You'll feel a nudge to start, stop, get out of, or maybe go. In this message we want to reframe the choices you have when following Christ begins to cost you something. Will it be worth it to give in to the nudge?
January 27, 2013 – Message Not Recorded Due to Technical Difficulty
Going Public
Originally, "baptism" was not a religious concept. Yet over time, baptism has become an exclusively religious idea – one that even rouses deep emotion and controversy. This message unpacks baptism, from its birth with John the Baptist to its modern equivalent. If you are a follower of Christ and baptism is still on your "to-do" list, this message may be the nudge you need to finally go public.
January 20, 2013 – Baptism Message – Ken Gilmore – Watch
This ONE Thing
We all make resolutions. We all break resolutions. But if we're honest, there is something in each of our lives – a habit, a relationship, a debt – that deserves our attention this year. In this message, we will look at the Old Testament story of Nehemiah and draw out a lesson that can be the key to finally accomplishing the one thing we each need to put our minds to this year.
January 13, 2013 – This One Thing – Ken Gilmore – Watch


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We first looked for a cat to adopt in the house of a middle aged woman in Iowa City who rescued cats. Lots of cats. At least twenty five cats lived in her house. Cats were everywhere. Cats laying on couches, cats curled up in chairs, cats lounging on rugs, cats snoozing on cat trees, cats looking out windows, cats sleeping on tables, cats walking on counters, cats darting across rooms, cats eating food, cats using litter boxes. There were enough cats in that house to make it the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The house smelled like cats: cat fur, cat litter, cat pee. We looked around for a while, not sure what cat or kitten we wanted, but certain the right cat would jump out at us, and in this house that was literally possible. No matter where we walked there were a trail of cats following us and rubbing against our legs. Every couple of feet a cat jumped off a chair or table or couch and startled us. Most of the cats meowed as we passed them. A few of them hissed at us.
Then Adam, my partner at the time, saw the cat he wanted. A white cat with brown spots who walked with a limp because he was missing his front left leg. He also twitched every several seconds with what looked like a total body spasm. Crazy Cat Lady told us that this cat had been hit by a car, and in addition to losing his leg, he also suffered brain damage which left him with the twitch. Adam told me he thought we should get this cat because nobody else would take the three legged twitching cat. It was just like Adam to do something kind like this.
It's the reason he adopted Deke, that cat who had died six months ago and the reason we were adopting a cat. Deke was deaf and Adam was certain no one would want the deaf cat. It's one of the traits I loved most about Adam: he had a big heart for the less fortunate.
But I had never had a cat before and I wanted an able bodied cat with no brain damage. I wanted a kitten, a cute kitten with all its legs and nerves in tact. Adam understood and we decided not to get the three-legged, brain damaged cat that twitched. We left the pet rescue house without a cat.
Our next stop was The Iowa City Humane Society. We looked at several cats and then I saw a woman holding an orange and white kitten that looked absolutely cute and cuddly and soft and adorable. I asked the woman if I could hold him and immediately fell in love with him. I rubbed his soft fur against the skin of my face. He purred loudly and happily.
"This one," I said to Adam. "This is the one."
I handed the kitten to Adam and Adam cradled him like a little baby. "Ohhhh," he said in a daddy talking to a baby voice, "you're so cute."
I looked at the lady who was holding him before me. "Were you thinking of getting this kitten?" I asked.
"No," she said, "if you're interested in getting him you can. I'm just happy to see cats adopted."
I was ready to cat fight her for this cute kitten if she said yes.
So that Saturday in March of 2000 we adopted the kitten named "Kitten" by the vet at Human Society. The name was so generic it made us laugh every time we said it and we knew we would change it. The woman who sold him to us told us he had been a stray cat for awhile because someone found him in an alley. He also had a BB from gun in his lower back. She told us where to touch the muscle of his back, and sure enough, through his orange fur and under his skin, we could feel the BB. We got him vaccinated and his ears cleaned for mites and the BB removed from his back. He had a large square of fur, about two inches wide and two inches deep, cut from where the BB had been.
Adam and I brought "Kitten" home to our two story duplex on Market Street. Adam had another cat, Zazu, who, in Adam's words, "might not take a keen likin' to another cat in the house, nonetheless a kitten gettin' all the attention because he's cute and adorable and playful." He insisted we separate the two cats and gradually expose them to each other. We had a large walk in closet right off the living room so we kept "Kitten" in this temporary space. We placed a chair, blanket, cat bed, litter box, water, and food bowl in there. Zazu knew new kitten, probably cute and definitely competition, lived behind that door and in that closet. She smelled him. She heard him. She saw his tiny paws poke out from under the door. She batted them with her paws when she saw them like an uptight nun slapping the attention seeking student with the ruler.
Adam's plan worked, however, because after letting still unnamed kitten out of the closet and free to roam around the living room while we kept Zazu in the upstairs bedroom with the door closed, and then placing unnamed kitten back into the closet and letting Zazu out of the bedroom and into the living room to smell his scent, Zazu acclimated to his presence. After several days later, we introduced the two of them to each other without any hissing or posturing from either cat, and for the most part, Zazu liked the kitten.
Adam named the kitten. We were sitting in the living room on our couch, the gray one designed with black and white lines in the shape of spattered brushstrokes like a Jackson Pollack painting. Unnamed kitten played in the living room, chasing a yarn ball, pulling a piece of red wrapping ribbon, bouncing in and out of a cardboard box. I had spices on my mind for his name, all the color of his fur: Ginger? Curry? Cinnamon? Cardamom? Coriander? None seemed right to me and Adam agreed. I played with Doctor Who character names: Turlough because Turlough had red hair and I thought he was cute. Maybe Adric. Ace? I toyed with Buddhist nomenclature: Karma? Sutra? Buddha?
And then Adam said, "Scooter. Like the muppet from The Muppets. The one with the orange mop of hair on the top of his head."
Yes. He was right. It was perfect. We named him Scooter that sweet spring evening.
This isn't stated as pining or waxing nostalgic or longing for something that has long passed, but those days, those three years living with Adam and Scooter and Zazu were the happiest days of my life.
It was for the best then that after Adam and I went our separate ways and I had taken care of Scooter and Zazu and lived alone with them for a year in Iowa City that I didn't take Zazu with me when I accepted my current teaching position and moved to Eagan. Scooter had always felt like my cat; Zazu like Adam's. Adam wasn't able to have pets in his apartment, however, so his friend Jeremy, who had lived with Adam when Adam had adopted Zazu as a kitten, took her.
So it was Scooter and me. Well, Scooter and me and my friend and roommate Mike for two years in our two bedroom apartment, and then Scooter and me for five years in my one bedroom apartment, and then Scooter and me and my roommate and friend Janine for a year in the townhouse where I now live.
My townhouse has a deck with a wooden fence about eight feet tall enclosing it. Almost daily, in good weather, I let Scooter onto the deck. He loved being outside: smelling the fresh air, hearing the birds, laying in the sun, chasing an occasional bug and once a mouse, which he caught and presented proudly to me. He couldn't get out because he couldn't climb the fence and there were no spaces wide enough for him to exit. Then one October night, around eight o'clock, I opened the deck door to call him in for bedtime and he didn't come running to the warmth of the house. I stepped out, looked for him, called his name, and realized he wasn't on the deck. I walked around the yard calling his name and extended my search into the neighborhood. He didn't come to my my call and I couldn't find him.
The next day I placed several signs on community mailboxes with his picture and name and my phone number. I decided it was impossible for Scooter to leap over the fence and that a falcon from the nearby Minnesota River had swooped down from the sky, snatched Scooter into its talons, and flew away with him. Scooter was terrified and then elated: he was in the air, he was flying! Yes, he was in the death grip of a fierce falcon, but he was free! Free from the confines of house and deck. Free to see the world from a bird's view, even if his life was going to end in a terrible, painful death. How many cats can tell their cat friends in their next life that they got to fly because they were scooped up by a falcon? My friend Dale, an animal and bird enthusiast, quickly disavowed me of my theory of what happened to Scooter, informing me that a falcon was not strong enough to carry a twelve pound cat.
New story then: Scooter's last hurrah. He stood on the top of the deck table, eyed the top of the fence about eight feet away and told himself he was not just a cat, he was a leopard. He could summon the strength and agility of his jungle cousins and launch himself from the table to the fence ledge, balancing with feline proclivity for a split second, and then leap to the ground.. He's seen life through windows for so long. Once, a long time ago, when he was an abandoned kitten, he lived in that world. There was the whole neighborhood to explore. There were other cats. Some of them were mean; some of them were nice. He didn't have food and water provided to him on a daily basis, but he scrounged and scraped by and found scraps here and there, and caught mice, and survived. Now he was going to do it again. What he discovered, however, was this life in the wild, on his own, without a shelter and no food or water and not a human friend to love him was really difficult. There is ease in comfort. There is contentment in security. There is fulfillment in being loved and loving. And yet, the outdoors, the wild, the unknown was exhilarating Chasing and being chased, stalking and being stalked, hunting and being hunted, killing and almost being killed—all those feline instincts, dormant but not dead, surfaced and took over his brain and his reason for being and he loved it.
Five days had passed. I assumed he was dead. If not eaten by a falcon, then hit by a car. I walked the streets of my neighborhood looking for his dead body splayed out on the pavement. If not a falcon or a car, then attacked and killed by another cat, perhaps a pack of cats, a feline gang. Or maybe a fox. Eagan frequently alerted residents of fox sightings. Once even a cougar.
He went missing in action Monday and then late Friday night around nine o'clock, darkness enveloping the day, I came home from a friend's house, walked to my front door, and near the steps heard a meow, a meow that sounded like Scooter. I had heard this meow often over the last five days. I called it the phantom meow, like the missing leg the pirate still feels despite a wooden peg for a leg. I called it wishful thinking. I called it hearing his meow because I was so used to hearing it in my life that I still heard it. But this meow came with a body, came with a cat, came with Scooter. Scooter! He was alive! I scooped him up in my arms.
He looked fine. No missing legs or twitches like that rescue cat in Iowa City. No scratches from a feral cat with razor sharp claws. Not even a burr stuck to his fur. I gave him a bath, which usually he hated but this time he relished. I think he was so happy and grateful to be home that he didn't care about his body being completely wet. It had rained most of the week he had escaped so he was probably used to wet fur, although certainly the warmth of the bath I gave him in the comfort of his home was like a spa at a celebrity retreat. He slept with me that night, as he did every night. He cuddled up right next to me left side, against my stomach, and then later my left leg.
About four days later, I was at work and my roommate Janine called me around seven in the morning. Scooter wasn't doing well. He was pulling his body along the carpet and meowing in pain. She took him to my vet and the vet called me about an hour later. Things weren't looking good, she said. He wasn't breathing properly and she had him affixed to an oxygen mask and it looked like his lungs were filled with pneumonia-like fluids. I explained to her that he was missing for five days, but had come home four days ago. "It's possible," she said, "that his time outside in the cold and rain placed too great a toll on his body and weakened his respiratory and immune system." She would keep me updated. An hour later she called back. His heart rate had significantly and seriously dropped. He was barely breathing. She believed he was dying and I should come immediately to the clinic. I found other teachers to substitute for me for the rest of the day and drove to the cat clinic about thirty minutes away. When I got to there, I went to a private room. Scooter laid on a table, oxygen mask on his face, eyelids have closed, stomach showing no sign of expansion and contraction to indicate breathing.
"He's not going to make it," the vet said. "I've seen this before in cats. They never make it. I'm sorry." She had white and gray hair pulled back into a long ponytail. Wrinkles showed her age. She seemed down to earth and wise. Yes, I thought, she's been doing this for a long time. She knows. She's seen dying. She's seen death. "You could take him to The University of Minnesota if you wanted a second opinion," she said, "but you should know that's expensive and I don't think there's anything they could do for him." I trusted her. I believed her. I appreciated her honesty.
"No, we don't have to do that," I said.
"He's not going to recover and he's in a lot of pain. He's struggling to breathe. At this point, he's struggling to stay alive and that instinct is strong in cats, but not strong enough to make it happen in his case."
It was if he was staying alive to see me one last time.
"I recommend euthanasia," she said. "It's a painless process for him. A shot, a sedative, and then a toxin that kills him painlessly."
"Yes. Okay." The words formed without the aid of the mind, the decision made without the thinking about the decision.
"I'll let you say your goodbyes. Just come out to the front when you're ready."
When you're ready. When are you ever ready? A goodbye to a life. How long should that last? What do you say?
My goodbye with Scooter lasted for about ten minutes. I held him in my arms and petted him. I told him all of the fond memories I had of him. I told him he was lucky, because he was cat and he was going to have another life and I didn't know how many he's already had, but he's Scooter the Buddha, the Awakened Cat, and I suspect a Bodhisattva who has vowed not to enter nirvana until all sentient beings are awakened, and therefore, he has an infinite number of lives.
I stepped out into the lobby and told the veterinarian I was ready. "Do you want to be there with him when he dies?" she asked. "Do you want to watch?"
"Yes," I said. We went back into the room. She injected a short needle into his skin. He blinked his weary eyes several more times and then closed them. He was dead.
Scooter had lived twelve good years. He exuded warm calm and kitten charm. He possessed infinite patience. He looked contently out the window for hours at a time. He watched and appreciated the stillness. Perhaps an autumn leaf rustled across the grass, perhaps a tree's branches waved in the wind, perhaps a squirrel scurried across the ground and up an Elm, and best of all, perhaps a sparrow lighted sprightly on the sidewalk, unaware of Scooter, watching attentively like a Zen monk, a peaceful warrior, ready to pounce on his unsuspecting prey, if only he could get beyond the confines of this house and the glass window that creates the illusion, and yet, the possibility of another world beyond this one he loves.
The yang to his yin, Scooter exhibited playfulness. Totally in the moment, he loved chasing Zazu or the red point of a laser pen or an imaginary critter running through the house. Totally in the moment, he loved fetching and bringing back a small ball, more like a dog than a cat. Totally in the moment, he loved playing with a string on a pole or a bouncy wire on a stick or his favorite, his two stuffed toy mouses, one pink, one gray, both filled with catnip. He loved batting around those two rodents and showing them who's boss and then dropping them off with a satisfied plop into his white water bowl.
Scooter exemplified love and appreciation and tenderness and cuddliness. He preferred anybody's lamp, purring contentedly. He loved being petted. When I came home, usually within fifteen minutes, I found time to let him hop on my lap where I would pet him. He calmed me. He brought me love.
He taught me how to stay calm. He taught me how to be playful and to enjoy playing for the the simple and sacred reason that it keeps us young in mind and heart. He taught me how to appreciate the moment, how to slow down and sit, and in that sitting, appreciate the stillness and the silence. He taught me how to care, how to be kind, how to be compassionate.
I am a better person because of Scooter. I am an enlightened individual because a wise soul in the guise of a cat taught me what I needed to know the most when he was in my life.
His death saddened me at the time. I wasn't ready for him to leave me. And yet, are we ever ready for any sentient being—human or animal—to die when we love them and they love us? When we have become used to and ideally appreciative of them in our lives—and us in theirs—and then, one day, that sentient being is dead? Here today, gone today. This is the reality of death. This is the reality of life. Life cannot exist without death and death cannot exist without death. The one exists only because the other exists. Death, like life, and life, like death, is an ever present reality. The more we accept and understand and acknowledge death, the more we can accept and understand and acknowledge life.
Thanks for all the memories, Scooter. I hope in your life now you're chasing mice, both imaginary and real. I hope you're giving all the love you gave me and getting all the love I gave you. And I hope we meet again. If not in this lifetime, then in the next.

subset: commoncrawl


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Drinking and driving is stupid, children. However, there's no floor on how stupid it, or the excuses for doing it, can get, and that's great news for us this Friday as we usher in the weekend. Think of these stories while you're taking a cab, or streaking home if you're not a total wuss.
First up, we've got Duane Bush, who hasn't had a driver's license for 33 years. Yes, this sexy, sexy man:
Somehow couldn't charm the DMV of New York State into letting him keep his license. Well, OK, actually it just expired three decades ago and he's too much of a drunk to have ever renewed it, but we like our theory better. Anyway, Duane was busting for drunken driving as he was reported for weaving down the road. On his rims.
Yep, turns out he'd had a bit too much of the fine white wine provided by Mogdan David and drove on the road for eleven miles without realizing he'd lost a tire, probably because his BAC was .24. For those bad at math, his blood was a quarter alcohol. Even better, he was driving a van. Sadly, we can find no information on whether or not it had "Free Candy" on the side and a total lack of windows, but we bet it did.
In our second intoxicated driving story, cricket "star" Graeme Swann, who could not be more of an upper-class twit if he tried, because that name combined with that career, just…wow. Wow, dude. Anyway, after going out with friends and getting crocked, he came home to realize that, somehow, his cat was trapped under the floorboards.
And, despite being a grown adult who lives on his own, he didn't have any screwdrivers in the house to get up the floorboards. Yes, seriously, that was his excuse. He didn't even have the decency to describe it as "I need some screwdrivers to free some p****, if you know what I mean". Yeah, the cops wouldn't have believed him, because he plays cricket, which is like vagina kryptonite, but maybe he would have gotten the cops to laugh and managed to salvage one scrap of manliness.
Just to add the complete wussitude of all this, Graeme was pulled over not because he was driving erratically, but because he had a nice car in an area noted for stealing nice cars. And to strip away any sense of being badass, he was exactly three milligrams of alcohol over the legal limit. Three…milligrams.
Dude, if you're going to drive drunk, take a cue from Duane Bush and drive it Upstate New York style.
- Duane Bush rides it tire-free, because he's just a badass that way (MSNBC)
- Graeme Swann has the lamest excuse ever for driving mildly intoxicated. (Guardian)
- In other "Sports figures that get no respect" driving news, Ray Maualuga of the Cincinnati Bengals was fined two game checks and a chunk of his bonus for driving drunk. Which really seems unfair; isn't being on the Bengals punishment enough? (ESPN)
- Meanwhile, Michigan police have put together a new tool to stop drunk driving: an iPhone app. Somehow we think Apple's hype machine has worked a little too well (NBC25 Michigan)
- Texas leads the nation in drunk driving fatalities. Which is kind of surprising because in a state with that many guns, you'd think it'd be Russian roulette (Alcohol Alert)
- Drunk driving makes up 31.6% of driving-related fatalities. But, hey, the percentage is down, mostly because we're driving more stupidly than ever thanks to cell phones. (MADD)


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The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC) has five highly interactive cancer research programs. More than 300 scientists from 11 of the 15 colleges at The Ohio State University are members of one or more of these research programs. Most of the research in the Division of Surgical Oncology is translational, in which ideas and hypotheses from the laboratory are incorporated into clinical evaluation through the clinical trial mechanism.
Through the OSUCCC five programs, the work of members includes basic laboratory studies, translational research and clinical trials. While each program focuses on a different area of cancer research, the comprehensive cancer center promotes a strong culture of collaboration. Interprogrammatic collaborations, collaborations with researchers in these Ohio State colleges and collaborations with researchers at other cancer centers and institutions are encouraged. As a result, researchers can tackle complex and important questions that require broad, interdisciplinary expertise.
The research programs continue to grow in scientific and clinical strength through recruitment and retention of some of the world's brightest minds in cancer research. The clear focus on collaborative and translational research and the availability of state-of-the-art technologies and expertise provided by 20 cores and shared resources, enables OSUCCC researchers to conduct high-quality research that leads to world-class discoveries, changes in clinical practice and improvements in patient care.
Surgical Oncology's Selected Research Grants
Carson III, William Edgar. Year 2 SWOG Network Group Operations Center of the NCTN. Oregon Health and Science University. $18,043. 03/01/15 – 02/29/16
Carson III, William Edgar. "Tumor Immunology." Year 13 T32 Provides support to post-doctoral researchers performing translational research in immunology. NCI. $254,018. 08/01/2015-07/31/2016.
Farrar, William Blair. Breast and bowel treatment protocols agreement-SUBPART-B-50-I (KATHERINE) June 2013 Addendum. NSABP Fdn Inc. $56,065. 03/01/2013 - 02/28/2016
Farrar, William Blair. Breast and bowel treatment protocols agreement. NSABP Fdn Inc. $766,622. 02/01/1999 - 02/28/2016
Phay, John. Year 3: Core A: The Ohio State University and MD Anderson Cancer Center Thyroid Cancer SPORE (Phay). NCI. $258,500 08/01/2015 - 07/31/2016
Phay, John. Core A: Genetic and signaling pathways in epithelial thyroid cancer. NCI. $892,165. 04/30/2013 - 03/31/2016
Pollock, Raphael Etomar. Reactivating of apoptosis: A potential therapeutic target for desmoid tumors with CTNNB1 S45F mutation. Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation. $50,000. 12/01/2014 - 11/30/2015
Pollock, Raphael Etomar. Yr. 4 - SARC Sarcoma SPORE Core A. SARC.$19,905. 09/01/2015 - 08/31/2016
Pollock, Raphael Etomar. Yr. 4 - SARC Sarcoma SPORE Project 1. SARC. $19,025. 09/01/2015 - 08/31/2016
Clinical Research
Learn more about our clinical research by cancer type:
- Breast Cancer
- Gastrointestinal Cancers
- Head and Neck Cancers
- Melanoma
- Sarcoma
- Thoracic
- Thyroid/Neuroendocrine
Clinical Trials
The OSUCCC – James has hundreds of open clinical trials at any given time, with some of the world's latest discoveries available to clinical trial patients right here in Columbus, Ohio. In fact, patients have access to more cancer clinical trials here than at nearly any other hospital in the region, as well as access to some of the most advanced, targeted treatments and drugs available.
The OSUCCC – James is one of only a few U.S. cancer centers funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to conduct phase I and phase II clinical trials on novel anti-cancer drugs. These trials go only to centers that demonstrate an exemplary capacity for research and clinical care, as well as the expertise to deliver the latest in treatments, and the infrastructure to interpret and track treatment results.


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What a truly pleasant and activity-filled day it is today. I am exhausted and happy.
The workout at the gym was the most intense workout I had yet. It was 30-minutes of glute-targeted exercises alternating with hydraulic weights for a total body workout. The wall squats were the most difficult at this point but I got through with it just fine. I'm excited to do more of these exercises at least 3x a week.
My favorite part when working out is the stretching. The 15-second stretching on each of the stations of the stretching circuit makes me sweat real good. I can also feel my muscles shaping and strengthening.
I also participated in the launching of an energy drink. Turns out that the Live To Feel activity I joined last Saturday was just a prelude to launch an energy drink. I got 2 of the drinks after I joined their games. The 500-ml drink contains 150 calories. Not exactly very healthy but can be a good indulgence once in a while and should be taken in moderation. I prefer to drink water. Water has zero calories and it quenches my thirst. Plus, water is definitely healthy. That said I gave the other bottle to some of my friends.
I went out with a friend and had lunch in My Thai. I had sauteed water spinach topped with grilled pork for my lunch. Healthy and good food. I love it.
We played bowling in thePaeng Nepomuceno bowling center in the 4th level of Eastwood City Walk mall. It was good fun. The last time I played bowling was back in 2003 when I was still working as a Trainer in a bakery franchise company. 12 years down the line, I still had it. I won the game today. Fun!
Another good news. I dropped another 4 lbs from the last weigh in. I was 143 lbs last February 17 and today, I weigh 139 lbs. How amazing eating right and exercising right can be. I already lost 41 lbs since I started working out in June 2014.
I bought 20 pcs of 10-g Anchor unsalted butter at the mall too. Anchor unsalted butter is good. From grass-fed cows of New Zealand comes this healthy butter that gives me good fat. Good fat is good as it gives my body the feeling of being full. Helps me with my weight loss too.
I just discovered this knowledge just last week and I am now putting this butter in my coffee. I do this once a day and I feel full. My breakfast usually is black coffee with zero sugar and a piece of small apple. Sometimes, I have 2pcs of small pandesal and black coffee with zero sugar. Since last week, I would always put a teaspoon of Cadia Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) in my black coffee. VCO is good fat. The medium chain triglycerides in coconut oil have been shown to increase 24 hour energy expenditure by as much as 5%. This increases metabolism and sharpens the brain too.
Since I started putting VCO in my coffee, I don't get hungry fast. Whereas before, 3 hours after breakfast I already need to eat another apple or a piece of banana, now I don't have to eat anything until my lunch time. I get to focus on my work without being disturbed by a need to eat.
Starting last week too, I have changed my lunch to 2 pieces of boiled sweet potato and 2 pieces of small boiled organic free-range egg. It is filling and taste very good.
I snack with a small square of 82% cocoa dark chocolate which has around 50 calories only. Tastes good and bitter with just a tiny bit of sweetness. I also snack with a piece of apple or a piece of banana.
Then my dinner usually happens before 7PM with fish or chicken or pork or beef. Good protein in the evening is good especially that my workout usually happens after work. I always end the meal of a piece of small apple, or a piece of banana, or a slice of water melon, or a cup of ripe fresh papaya cubes.
My healthy weight loss continues. I should reach my target of 125 lbs by May 2015. I'm so excited for the beach.
I am happy.


text: I was planning to spend more money on my honeymoon instead of spending a big amount on my wedding gown. After all I was going to wear it for one time only. I am lucky I found a very affordable range of wedding dresses here that were elegant and stylish as well. This dress now in my closet was the perfect one for me.


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10G FC Copper
The DS-X2-FC10G-CX4= is a Cisco compatible X2 transceiver module, for 10 Gigabit CX4 connectivity, designed specifically for the Cisco MDS 9000 Family.
DS-X2-FC10G-CX4= Support Solutions:
Specification :
Description :
10G FC Copper
Form Factor :
X2 Transceiver
Connector Type :
Part Number :
Technology Specification :
Cable Distance :
15 m
Transceiver Type :
10GBase-CX4 X2
Data Rate :
10 Gbit/s
Height :
1.09 cm
Depth :
8.84 cm
Width :
3.61 cm
Compatibility :
Cisco MDS 9000 Family
Alternative :
PLEASE NOTE: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of all information contained herein. IT Help and Support Centre Ltd makes no warranty expressed or implied with respect to accuracy of this information, including price, product editorials or product specifications. IT Help and Support Centre Ltd or its suppliers shall not be liable for incidental, consequential or special damages arising from, or as a result of, any electronic transmission or the accuracy of the information contained herin, even if IT Help and Support Centre Ltd has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Product and manufacturer names are used only for the purpose of identification.


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As usual, I m pretty much excited back Malaysia after final exam, 1 semester end. Started to pack my luggage since 2 weeks ago. The only different , we are in the same flight(Me and my course mate), which typically rare. First I planned to check in earlier in website(Malindo allow seat picking after check in for zero charge).
Things get a little bit complicated when I couldn't check in through website while I actually ran out of time. Thanks for the morning traffic jam ,took me longer time than I expected. Worst as I left one of my luggage in the cab which I dint realized . Fortunately, the driver called me, and pass it back to me in the airport.
"God please bless this driver, may he get handsome of earn."
I need to check in luggage at the counter, figured out why I couldn't check in website. Dragging 2 big luggage and 1 hand luggage ,I was rushing like a headless chicken. Much to settle when the time ticked by.
Announcement in airport calmed me ,"Flight Malindo to Malaysia delayed" .
I swept away bean- drop sweat on my forehead.
Met with them before flight. Same flight but I got seat far away behind of them, alone.
When came to Malindo airline and airasia airline, Malindo always be my first choice. It wasnt about the price, but Malindo really did better job in service. They served some snacks and drink for free, small television, more comfortable space between the passangers, and free luggage 20-30kg.
Stared at the beautiful sky.View from up, the buildings look like small little squares arranged properly on piece of earth. Still remembered 2 years ago, I was on my tear when the first flight to Indonesia. Now I finished my 3rd year study. Everything was in blinks.
I had my brunch in the plan.Certain research stated when came to high attitude tongue less sensitive, everything will less tasty. I guessed it was opposite in my case, perhaps I m too hungry (as I skipped my breakfast). Tasted not bad.


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Last night tbf and I watched The Cove, which I believe won the best documentary Oscar. It was literally the most disturbing thing I've ever seen. I was shocked and disgusted that people (anywhere) would be capable of something so horrifying. In no way have I ever considered myself an animal rights activist – quite the opposite, really, but what they do is just SO wrong. These people in Taiji, Japan literally herd dolphins into a cove while they're migrating by putting metal poles into the water and beating on them to mess up the dolphin's sonar/communication and drive them into a panic. Once the dolphins are netted in, these trainers come in and pick the ones they want for sea world or wherever (I will never, ever go to Sea World, btw), then these men murder all the others – including all the babies. You can tell that the dolphins can anticipate what is going to happen and that they're literally panicked.
The team who made this documentary hid cameras in the hills around the cove where the killing takes place and got HD video of the slaughtering. The water turns blood red; the dolphins swim and flail around trying to escape. You can see that they're in pain and they don't die quickly. It's so painful and appalling to watch.
The thing is, you can't even eat dolphin, it will give you mercury poisoning, but they pass it off as whale and are able to sell it. This documentary was one of the most painful things I've ever watched. And one of the saddest parts is the activist who wanted to make this film is the man who captured the 5 dolphins used for Flipper, which is what essentially started this whole dolphin frenzy around the world. He said he's spent the better part of his life trying to undo what he started. It's incredibly sad.
Now that I've seen this, I'm sad and disgusted and just feel helpless. What in the world can I do to stop these terrible people killing tens of thousands of dolphins in Japan?? They clearly know it's wrong, they tried and tried throughout the documentary to keep anyone from filming anything – all the video they obtained was through secret cameras and life risks. It's incredible and what's even more incredible is that this won't be stopped because it's a worldwide political matter. So so so unnerving.
Definitely watch The Cove if you haven't seen it, but be ready to become completely unsettled.


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13 February: TAXI ZUM KLO
WHEN: 7.30pm Wednesday 13 February 2013
WHERE: The Big Red Pizza, 30 Deptford Church Street, SE8 4RZ
TICKETS: £5 (£3 members)
Frank Ripploh, West Germany 1981. 95 mins. Certificate 18. German with English subtitles
Director Frank Ripploh's low-budget, hardcore gay sex comedy from 1980s Berlin. The film follows Ripploh's self-named character as he juggles work as a teacher, socialising with colleagues and neighbours, his compulsive sexual adventures and a fledgling relationship with a more domestically inclined lover.
This is a charming, filthy and wonderfully liberated film. Don't miss it.
★★★★★ "An astonishing queer Berlin odyssey" TIME OUT
★★★★ "A landmark of gay cinema" SOSOGAY
★★★★ "Scabrous, satirical, confrontational. A one-man, one-film gay new wave." GUARDIAN
★★★★ "Far from being degenerate filth, (the film) is a loving document of pre-Aids Berlin, and a touching comedy about the human desire for and struggle to achieve intimacy." TELEGRAPH
DOWNLOAD THE POSTER (pdf)


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This is a wood or cling mounted deep etch orchid artistic rubber stamp designed by Endless Creations, LLC & manufactured by Everyday Cards Rubber Stamps. most fun cubes have an approximate rubber size 0.50" H x 0.50" W each.
Designed to fit inside the DD60 stamp.
- Item #: DD57


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Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Mad Minute Math...or How Timed Testing Killed Math
Don't miss this article from edudemic, "How One Teaching Practice Ruined Math For Students," in which a 16yo shares her thoughts about how "Mad Minute" affected her as a young child...and continues to influence her feelings today.
Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
9 comments:
I am a grandmother...and I can still feel the pit in my stomach when we would do the whole class flashcards. The teacher would come in front of each student and flash a card. I was so very nervous about this that I would begin to sweat even before the teacher came near to my desk. So by the time she did reach me I couldn't add 1 + 1. The other kids would laugh and make fun. We also had timed tests and yes they made me want to throw up also. For many years I thought I was bad at math. I hated math because of it. Now, I help my daughter teach her children at home so they are not under pressure for anything, but I certainly hope that today teachers are smarter than this old way of thinking. Some kids just don't do well under pressure, real or imagined, and I was one of them.ReplyDeleteReplies
Jackie, thank you for your heartfelt response. I'm afraid that there are many, many kids out there who feel just as you did. I hope that we can thoughtfully reflect on our math teaching methods, considering ways to help kids to embrace math rather than run in fear.Delete
Timed tests used to give me such anxiety as a kid. I was so nervous that I had my mom white out one of my old tests, make copies, and I would practice them over and over. No matter how much I practiced, I would still panic during the actual test. Not the best memories.ReplyDelete
Eclectic EducatingReplies
Doesn't it make you wonder how many other kids were also in a panic and you just didn't know about it? You were sure smart...to try to figure a way around it! And goes to show that it had a LOT to do with the anxiety of test taking and not necessarily to do with the actual mathematics!Delete
Thanks for sharing!
- AnonymousFebruary 19, 2013 at 5:09 PM
It kills me that my county will only let me use 3 min timed Sharma tests for math computation scores in 1st grade! If they haven't passed 9 by the end of the 1 semester they get progressing or unsatisfactory. I've got kids who can add and subtract fine for their age but just can't do it "fast". They get all worked up and it's such a sad thing to watch.ReplyDelete
2 of my own kids hated these and didn't do well. I never would have passed them as a kid.
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
Totally get this. Just to "stir the pot" a bit, I think another piece is based in gender. As Dr. Sax points out in "Why Gender Matters," boys tend to learn better when under a little bit of stress. Girls, however, do not. So... timed math drills may actually further reinforce the incorrect stereotype that "boys are better at math" when, in reality, it's about other things entirely.ReplyDelete
Thank you for leaving me a message. I love comments almost as much as I love chocolate! And I do LOVE chocolate. :)


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Song Tree Books is pleased to announce a new book by author/educator Susan Austin—The Bamboo Garden. Her novel fills an important need in children's literature by:
- Capturing the everyday life of a historical period (1920s) not often the subject of children's literature
- Focusing attention on the anti-Japanese prejudice of this period
- Helping young readers explore the challenges of building friendships
- Creating appealing, yet realistic, characters
It is no surprise that Susan Austin has crafted such a book. With advanced degrees in social studies and multicultural education she writes with insight and authority. Although children are her primary audience, teachers and parents will value a book tied to important social issues that also tells a gripping story filled with excitement and compelling characters.
The amazing cover art by Felicia Hoshino captures so much about The Bamboo Garden – the feel of the times and the nature of friendship. Click felishino.com for a link to Felicia's web site and a view of more of her stunning work.
We invite you to explore this site to become acquainted with Susan Austin and her latest book.
Susan Austin, Author and Educator


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The housing price is right
District housing prices are rising overall, but metros depict different pictures.
Published November 1, 2004 | November 2004 issue
Jonathan Lindstrom keeps a watchful eye on Twin Cities housing prices. He and his partners at the Jonathan Lindstrom Real Estate Group saw the price of homes in exclusive areas of St. Paul and Minneapolis climb upward of 18 percent per year just a couple of years back. "We really saw some unprecedented growth in prices in the late '90s and early on in this decade," he said.
But the vagaries of any housing market can cause changes pretty quickly. Recently, advancing mortgage rates and an available housing stock that well exceeds demand have resulted in a more modest level of price appreciation. "You're still seeing some houses that were purchased around 2002 coming back on the market 5 to 12 percent higher than the previous sale price, but as a whole we just aren't seeing the kind of huge price jumps that we witnessed just a few years back," Lindstrom said. But housing values continue to rise nonetheless. As of August, median home values rose 7 percent in the Twin Cities over the last year, according to the Realtor Public Policy Partnership in St. Paul.
The Twin Cities was not alone. Housing prices throughout the Ninth District have been climbing steadily for the last decade and a half. While chic locations and increasing size of new homes help push prices higher, larger macro factors like mortgage rates, available housing stock, economic vibrancy and even regional amenities play major roles over the long term. There also was a considerable amount of variability in growth rates among individual states and especially their metropolitan areas, much of which can be traced to the relative importance of these macro forces in individual cities.
Since 1990, the price of the average single-family home in Minnesota, Montana, South Dakota and Wisconsin increased faster than the national average (which itself almost doubled during this period) according to housing price index figures published by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). Only North Dakota's 79 percent hike fell short of the national benchmark (see Chart 1). However, for much of the period the price of the average single-family home in North Dakota actually outpaced the national average.
Sources: Office of Federal Enterprise Oversight,
Housing Price
Index Q1 2004; Mortgage Bankers Association; author's calculations
The dynamics of housing appreciation changed across the board around 2000. When mortgage rates began their steady descent in 2000—bottoming out around 5.1 percent in June 2003—home prices spiked nationwide, but more so in the nation's more populous and land-constrained coastal states than in the district. For example, Rhode Island experienced an 80 percent increase in housing prices over the last five years, while California was close behind at 77 percent In contrast, Minnesota registered the sharpest increase among district states during this period at 56 percent and also was the only district state to surpass the national average of 42 percent for the last five years (Chart 2). Even with that aggressive climb in recent years, the national level of price growth is still less than the other district states for the entire 14-year period.
*Based on 1-year data
Source: Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Housing Price Index Q1 2004
Appreciating castles
While statewide statistics provide a good first read on broad housing price changes over time, they also tend to hide a lot of diversity.
Metropolitan areas in the district display a fairly wide range of housing price appreciation over the last five years (Chart 3). A closer look at the dynamics behind metro price increases reveals that housing price appreciation (or lack thereof) can be traced to the presence (or absence) of various demand and supply factors like growing populations, healthy economies, natural and cultural amenities, and constraints on housing supply.
A healthy 35 percent price increase in Rapid City, S.D., over the last five years may surprise an outsider, but it comes as no shock to Rob Miller, director of equalization in Pennington County. He noted via
e-mail that Rapid City's beautiful environs and proximity to the Black Hills and Mount Rushmore vacation area and the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have drawn many people, especially retirees, to settle in the area. In spite of "brisk "construction activity, Miller said, demand for new and existing housing has far outstripped supply.
The allure of natural scenery and outdoor recreation has attracted newcomers to other district metropolises as well. Over the last five years, housing prices in Missoula, Mont., have increased more than 42 percent, including a district-high 13 percent in the last year alone. From his office—complete with a bucolic view of grazing elk—Peter Hance, executive director of the Missoula Housing Authority, said amenities draw people to Missoula and generate heavy demand for housing. The city's population swelled nearly 22 percent during the last decade-many relocating from nearby Rocky Mountain states and more expensive Pacific Coast locales like California. "Missoula offers relatively low wages and salaries, but the quality of life more than makes up for it," he said.
Both Hance and his wife accepted substantial pay cuts and now pay more per square foot for housing than they did in also-pricey Essex, Conn. From his perspective, their move to this attractive Western conurbation was well worth it—citing the surprisingly pleasant winter weather (situated west of the Continental Divide, Missoula dodges the arctic cold fronts that blast much of the district), a vibrant downtown, a multitude of cultural offerings, lack of humidity and pesky bugs, and the wildly popular University of Montana Grizzlies football team.
Seeking to preserve this quality of life in the face of a rapid population influx, Missoula has taken steps to influence the pattern of growth and protect parcels of land from private development. Through its Urban Open Space Plan, the city has already purchased and set aside over 3,000 undeveloped acres for scenic preservation, bicycle and hiking trails, parks and recreation fields. While popular with many residents, the plan limits the amount of land available for new housing development, putting upward pressure on the city's housing prices.
Minneapolis-St. Paul saw housing prices rise more than 60 percent in the last five years. Like Missoula, the Twin Cities offers residents considerable quality-of-life perks, like an active arts scene and professional sports teams. But a major driver of housing appreciation here appears to be strong employment opportunities and relatively high levels of disposable income.
Glenn Dorfman, chief operating officer and lobbyist for the Minnesota Association of Realtors, notes that the state of Minnesota—and the Twin Cities metro in particular—enjoys a diverse job base and a comparatively large percentage of workers employed in high-skill, high-wage occupations in companies like 3M, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, General Mills, Northwest Airlines, Target and Wells Fargo. The University of Minnesota, one of the nation's top public research universities, also attracts highly skilled students, faculty and researchers to the area.
With a greater concentration of "brain power" industries like biomedical devices and finance, Dorfman said, the state relies less on older industrial sectors than surrounding states like Wisconsin or Michigan. It has also helped push up wages: Per capita personal income of $37,787 in the Twin Cities in 2002 was good enough for 17th place nationally, ahead of larger metro areas like Los Angeles and Chicago.
Because of strong employment and income growth, the Twin Cities has been a magnet for newcomers. Between 2000 and 2003 alone, the area added 46,000 households and almost 100,000 people—roughly equal to the entire population of Duluth, Minn. Local population watchers believe the metro area will add 1 million residents and a half million households over the next 25 years, continuing long-term demand for housing.
Bubble trouble?
Many believe that the sustained boom in housing sales and rising prices nationwide have helped to prop up the otherwise lethargic national economy. Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies estimates that housing wealth effects stemming from price appreciation, realized capital gains and heavy home equity borrowing have contributed more than one quarter of the growth in personal consumption spending in both 2002 and 2003.
In the long run, housing prices should move pretty much in line with incomes. A growing U.S. gap between housing prices and pocketbooks has fueled speculation about a bubble and the possibility of a major downward price correction.
Economists (including several from the Federal Reserve System) have used historical data, price-to-rent ratios and other indices to show that the risk of a nationwide housing bubble popping anytime soon is very slight. They note that recent price levels are in line with low mortgage rates and the growth in personal income registered through the 1990s.
These same experts do note, however, that price levels in some regional markets around the country may not reflect underlying property values, as determined by both the micro and macro real estate pricing fundamentals outlined above. History shows that when speculative price levels crash head-on into a sizable negative economic shock, falling prices are likely to follow.
According to a 2002 article in the Wall Street Journal, after home prices increased 89 percent and incomes only 37 percent in Los Angeles in the late 1980s and early '90s, prices tumbled nearly a quarter over the next five years when defense industry cutbacks triggered a local recession. A similar bubble deflated in Boston in the late '80s, when a technology downturn damaged the city's employment situation and prices decreased 11 percent over just a two-year period.
While alarming, these coastal horror stories aren't likely to be duplicated in the district. For the most part, income in the Ninth District's metropolitan areas has kept pace with housing prices. Chart 4 displays a simple, if crude, measure of housing affordability that looks at OFHEO's housing price index compared with annual per capita income. The relative change over time displays the manner in which growth in housing prices is matched by a growth in income (a horizontal line would reveal that both have increased at an identical rate).
Sources: Office of Federal Enterprise Oversight;
Bureau of Economic Analysis; author's calculations
Each metropolitan area has charted its own unique course while still maintaining a somewhat consistent relationship with the nationwide trend. Most cities weigh in somewhere between 90 and 110 for the period, indicating that increases in incomes and housing prices are correlated fairly closely and, by extension, the average single-family home has remained affordable—especially as mortgage rates remain historically low.
In spite of considerable population growth and stable economies, cities like Fargo and Bismarck, N.D., Rochester, Minn., and Sioux Falls, S.D., have income gains that actually exceeded housing appreciation. Strong employment bases and little constraint on housing supply have kept affordability largely in check.
Since 2000, however, rising prices have cut into affordability across the board. By 2002, more than half (eight of 14) district metros were seeing housing prices rise faster than income; the worst hit have been Missoula, Duluth, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rapid City.
In Montana, a state where per capita income ranked 44th in the nation in 2003, Missoula's homes have appreciated at rates similar to many Pacific Coast hot spots. A 2003 study by the Center for Policy Analysis and Community Change in Missoula found that less than half of the city's households could afford to buy the average-priced home; nearly three-quarters don't earn enough money to purchase a new house. While housing values increased 31 percent between 1997 and 2001, incomes rose just 6 percent.
Despite "one of the most active Section 8 housing programs in the country" and a full portfolio of homebuyer assistance programs, Hance said the Housing Authority simply can't keep up with the widespread need for housing assistance. Limited funding means the organization can help only a few. Those who are eligible for the programs are often still unable to find a home that they can afford.
"Small, 800-square-foot homes in Missoula sell for $180,000 to $200,000. If you're making $8 an hour, you may qualify for a mortgage of $120,000. With a gap of $60,000 to $80,000 per family, our funds are depleted very quickly," Hance said.
If the economy picks up and interest rates rise to stave off inflation, first-timers in Missoula and elsewhere are likely to see little relief-that is, unless housing prices moderate and stabilize long enough for incomes to do some catching up.
Outlook: sun not the only thing rising
Barring substantial economic shocks or a manic spike in mortgage rates, district housing markets don't appear at risk for sliding prices. Even in those areas facing growing affordability issues, local real estate experts don't foresee a bubble forming or popping anytime soon.
Hance believes that demographic forces will help sustain housing demand in Missoula. He notes that the need for senior housing far outstrips supply at a time when many baby boomers are nearing retirement. The city's smart growth policies and other regulatory barriers to sprawl will also keep a lid on supply and sustain pressure on prices. "Everyone is talking about a housing bubble, but I just can't see that happening. There are too many factors that will continue to push prices higher," he said.
While the Twin Cities housing market remains red hot and prices continue to rise more than 8 percent annually, the winds of change are blowing. The area's Realtor Public Policy Partnership reported that pending sales increased only 1.1 percent in June of this year and actually decreased by 9 percent in July. Consensus is also emerging among real estate professionals that builders may have overshot demand in the near term—the number of listings has continued to grow, but the number of buyers has remained fairly stable. While a normal seasonal slowdown may be a factor, recent activity has led some to speculate that the market may be offering its first sign of moderating.
Rather than signaling the collapse of a bubble, however, lower rates of housing appreciation would instead provide a welcome sign that the market is simply settling gently into a pattern of more sustainable growth, according to both Dorfman and Lindstrom.
"As long as the economy is robust, houses will retain their values and continue to appreciate, although I believe that the current gold rush days of 10 to 12 percent increases per year will soon fade. As rates inch upward and supply and demand start to equalize, appreciation in much of the metro area should return to the historic average of 2 to 3 percent increases over a 50-year period," Dorfman said.


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One of the trends on display at Cannes was more European and American movie culture mergers with felicitous results. Most movies at Cannes were preceded by a series of logos from multiple global sales, production and distribution companies that backed the films. That's how they get made these days. (A sampling of reviews and a trailer are below.)
But for every Drive or Melancholia–two superb movies directed by English-fluent Danes working with English-speaking casts–you get a This Must Be the Place, a complete misfire. When he was head of the Cannes jury in 2008, Sean Penn was so impressed by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino's masterful portrait of seven-time Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti, Il Divo, which boasts a tour-de-force performance by Toni Servillo, that he told Sorrentino that he would work with him "any time, any place."
Penn, Kirsten Dunst and Ryan Gosling are smart to recognize the potential in working with a gifted European director. It's clear how well press-averse stars like Penn respond to the Cannes ritual of photo call, press conference, the ascending of the red carpet steps before cameras, greeting Thierry Fremaux. (Penn came to town to promote Sorrentino's film and not the higher-profile The Tree of Life, because he largely got cut out of the Terrence Malick film.) Cannes is a huge boost, with its global media coverage, for stars like Penn, Gosling and Palme d'Or winner Dunst, when foreign currency means more than ever these days. A good ranking with foreign sales companies is money.
So Sorrentino did what any self-respecting, ambitious director would do when dazzled by the opportunity to work with a major bankable star. Within a year he handed Penn a screenplay with a role challenging and rich enough to lure him. Sorrentino admitted at the press conference in Cannes that if Penn hadn't wanted to do it, the movie wouldn't have gotten made. "The idea of the story comes from a Nazi criminal," he said. "I wanted to write something about a 50-year-old man who remained a child who was a rock star. I wanted to put these two people in the same film and have them confront each other."
When Penn responded to the character Sorrentino came up with, the project was easily financed by Italy and Ireland, and Penn actually made the part of the middle-aged Goth work. "Paolo had very clear ideas of the physicality, the look of the character when he wrote it," said Penn. "It's an unusual kind of pleasure to work with a director like this…one of the very few film masters going on, someone who is going to make original cinema for a long time…he plays piano, I am there to turn the the pages."
But the movie around him is too strange and disparate to be believable. Take an Italian director who does not speak English and an Italian screenplay set in Ireland and America, translated into English, starring American and Irish actors working on sprawling locations, and you have a recipe for disaster. Scenes with actors, even as skilled as Frances McDormand, who plays Penn's loving firefighter wife, and Judd Hirsch as a Nazi hunter, fall flat. And pop star David Byrne, who contributed the score, should have stuck to his guns and resisted being pulled into a terrible dialogue scene. Do check out the title song music video interlude that Byrne performs–it's the best thing in the movie. (Byrne memorably blogs and videotapes his own Cannes experience.)
With so many foreign variables and no handle on the language, it was hard for someone like Sorrentino to gauge what was working and what wasn't. The movie is about the "unrelenting beauty of revenge," but never comes together, as an American road movie section devolves into stereotypical outsider perspectives. Sorrentino had dreamed of shooting a movie in the locations of the Hollywood movies he loved, but when he got there he didn't know what to do with them.
Nicolas Winding Refn, on the other hand, was backed by smart Hollywood producer Marc Platt who gave him and star Ryan Gosling a strong script and support. And Von Trier knows how to work in Denmark with global casts speaking English. Both films will play effectively in America and around the world.
This Must Be the Place, unfortunately, is the sort of movie that will score a U.S. distributor, but only a small one that won't pay much for the privilege. Check out the Cannes review sampling below.
Todd McCarthy, THR:
"Negotiating a consistent artistic path as steadily as a drunk walking a straight line, This Must Be the Place is all over the place dramatically, tonally and thematically…Eccentric, misguided and occasionally charming and sweet, this curiosity item with Sean Penn in one of his nuttier performances is unlikely to be embraced critically or commercially…Penn dominates the film, of course, although it's a performance that slithers between the genuine and the stunt-like."
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline:
"a picture so ill-conceived and so bizarrely executed that watching it, I wondered if nine days (and counting) of nonstop movies had finally pitched me right over the edge of sanity?…This Must Be the Place is a bewildering piece of work, a picture that may have initially been guided by a sweet impulse but takes a sharp left turn into crazytown. Whatever you do — don't go to sleep on that clown."
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian:
"There's an awful lot to enjoy here and yet I couldn't help feeling that, when Cheyenne leaves Ireland to journey into the classic American midwest on a mission to find the fugitive Nazi who tormented his father in the camps, the film becomes derivative and Wim Wenders-ish. And a final twist-reveal gestures at some kind of equivalence between the suffering of Jews and their Nazi captors."
James Rocchi, ThePlaylist:
"There are laughs in This Must Be the Place, purely intentional ones, and they're minor but appreciated. Penn's performance is fairly needlessly showy—and refuted by the film's final reveal…the film can't help but feel like three movies in one—one about the regrets and present circumstances of a once-raging rocker, another about a grieving son travelling across America and a final one about the long-terms effects of the Holocaust."
Eric Kohn, indieWIRE:
"The issue with This Must Be the Place,..has nothing to do with whether it makes light of the Holocaust. That might be a worthy debate if it didn't face other problems. Chief among them: An uber-campy Sean Penn performance, a gratingly quirky soul-searching plot, and character motives that barely make any sense. It's far too much of a godawful mess to merit serious moral scrutiny."
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JLL is committed to a corporate culture that embraces and promotes strong principles of business and professional ethics at every level
Ethical practices are inherent in our values, mission and strategy, and must guide all of our interactions with clients, customers, vendors and employees. We've been recognized on numerous occasions for our commitment to ethical operations, including being named on the Ethisphere Institute's World's Most Ethical Companies list eight years in a row.
We often hear from clients that our corporate culture sets us apart from others in the marketplace, and believe this is due in part to holding the highest ethical standards in every situation, every time. Nothing is harder to win, or easier to lose, than a reputation for integrity. We have a responsibility to our employees, shareholders, clients, communities and marketplace to gain and uphold that reputation.
Board of Directors and senior management take these responsibilities seriously, both for themselves and the rest of the organization. See our
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Portuguese designer 'Giestas' recently published a series that explores different emotions in a unique and creative way. While the majority of people experience a wide variety of emotions throughout the day, we rarely stop to dwell on those feelings. This series highlights all the emotions we feel throughout the day, including the ones we don't express.
The series is called 'Soft Cover Emotions' and it originally began as a way for Giestas to deal with his anxiety. Each day the artists would record his emotions and categorize them by color. He repeated this process for 300 days, documenting everything from from the emotions he did not express to the ones that he would recall after the fact. The final product displays an emotional journey in the form of colorful illustrations.
The unique project provides a visual way for viewers to explore different emotions.
Emotional Color-Coded Diaries
More Stats +/-
Illustrated Napkin Diaries
Visual Makeup Diaries
Digital Secret Diaries
Intimate Artist-Diary Photography
3D Pregnancy Diaries
This Series Explores Different Emotions in a Visual Way
- By: Katherine PendrillOct 21, 2015
References: giestas & design-milk
References: giestas & design-milk


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I love the Eency Weency Spider in all it's versions! I needed a cute interactive spider set to go with this theme. Here's a set of rainbow spiders and a rainbow spiderweb I made a few years ago. I used the variegated yarn from Walmart and some white pipe cleaners to make my web. I put a dab of hot glue at each joint and a piece of velcro to hold the web on the board. The colorful spiders are a diecut. I cut 4 of each color. Unfortunately, their legs are a little thin and sometimes a spider loses one in the hands of an enthusiastic toddler. LOL! I made up a rhyme to use with the set, Rainbow Spiderweb.
Here's a cute, paper plate craft for a Home Extension. I bought the black plates at the Dollar store and we cut crepe paper strips for the legs. We used paper hole reinforcers for the eyes and cut out the mouth for some spidery fun! We also added a long string so that the kiddos could make their spider jump and dance! Rainbow spiders can be a lot of Fun with Friends at Storytime!
There are more great posts on the Flannel Friday Roundup. Check out the wonderful resources on the Flannel Friday Pinterest Boards. If you want more info about Flannel Friday here's the link for the official Flannel Friday blog.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Posted by Kathryn at 3:04 PM
Labels: bugs , colors , paper plate craft , spiders
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For many the promise of college can only fulfilled with one thing. Scholarships. To get them you have to start early … and I don't mean early senior year. The day you arrive at kindergarten is not too soon.
The Detroit College Promise program offers Detroit Public School students money toward college and urges all Detroit Public School students in grades K-9 to register for this universal scholarship. Go to www.DetroitCollegePromise.org then click on the Student Login button in the right hand corner, then click on New Student and fill in the form. A paper form is available at http://www.detroitcollegepromise.com/scholarshipapplication.pdf.
If you're a 9th grader the deadline is December 1 so get busy. It means some dollars will be there for you when you start college. That's the promise.
"Every year, we hear from graduating seniors who cannot get the scholarship because they did not register on time," says Nat Pernick, executive director of Detroit College Promise. "Please register today so this does not happen to you.''
The requirements for the scholarship are simple. Live in Detroit and attend a DPS school. No specific grade point required. That's it! The scholarship is good at any Michigan public college or university you attend full time. That means a minimum 12 credits. You have 10 years from high school graduation to use the scholarship.
As one would expect the goal is to strengthen the education system of the Motor City, and hopefully have some of the investment returned by the graduates. And if the city is further repopulated because of it, well then, that's terrific.
In the past four years 350 students received Detroit College Promise scholarships for a total of $110,000. The program also aids students by helping them locate other scholarships and grants that may further benefit them. So far it has supported $3.4 million worth of help.
The amount of aid given to students varies from student to student based on the amount needed in aide. Last year the amount of financial assistance received per student varied from between $110 and $550. Of course the amount each student can receive is based entirely off of how much money is available and how many are claimed. However, 100% of all the money contributed goes towards the scholarships.
All students from kindergarten to the 9th grade can sign up for this universal scholarship. However, 9th graders this year must have it completed by December 1st 2012. It is important to register by that date, since every year there are seniors who can't claim the scholarship because they missed the deadline. To actually receive the money seniors/graduates must fill out some paperwork by July 1 of their senior year.
"If you will it, it is no dream," says Pernick. "Regardless of your economic and family circumstances, you can better yourself academically and economically by getting a college education. But how will you pay for it? Start early, keep looking and be persistent, and you can get more dollars than you might have thought."
Click here to go to Frequently Asked Questions.
The Detroit College Promise is funded entirely by donations. If anyone reading this wants to donate to you can do so here: http://www.detroitcollegepromise.com/dcpcontribute.php


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You are currently browsing the daily archive for March 12, 2010.
I tried.
I couldn't do it.
Who in their right mind bakes a scallop?
If you look around at recipes, y'know, scour the internet, as it were, you will find dozens, nay, hundreds of baked scallops recipes. These recipes all seem to be a variation on a theme: drown the poor hapless scallops, possibly breaded with some cheap butter crackers or cornflakes, in a heavy buttery/creamy sauce and then bake the hell out of them until they're rubber tire tough and flavourless. Possible exception: Coquilles St. Jacques. But really, so easy to screw up (read: overcook the scallops) and ultimately over-rated.
To all of which I say a big, fat *MEH*. That's right. *MEH*.
Scallops are tender, delicate, sweet, precious. It is so easy to overwhelm them and even easier to overcook them. As far as I am concerned, the only way to cook a scallop is to sear it. It's fast, easy and preserves the sweetness and texture of the scallop. End of story. Don't mess with a good thing I say!
This is how you do it:
1. Try to buy dry scallops. They haven't been soaked in a preservative solution (sodium tripolyphosphate, or STP) and therefore aren't packing a load of extra water that keeps them from caramelizing when you sear them. Unfortunately, they can be pretty tough to find as most places sell the STP preserved kind. If you can only get STP scallops (you will be able to tell because they are very white and opaque looking even when raw), rinse them well and pat them dry before seasoning them. They won't brown up as nicely as dry scallops, but you can fake it by turning the heat up a little extra.
2. Season the scallops. I like to use a tiny bit of olive oil, kosher or sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
3. Heat equal amounts butter and olive oil (1 – 3 tbsp. depending on # of scallops) at the high side of medium-high in a frying pan. I actually prefer a regular, heavy-bottomed pan, not a non-stick pan (but you have to make sure you use enough grease!). When butter is melted and sizzling, add scallops. Cook for 1 – 1 1/2 minutes, turn over and cook on other side for 1 – 1 1/2 minutes (time depends on size of scallops). Watch the sides. You will see the colour start to become more opaque from the bottom up. The middle of the scallop should still be translucent. DON'T OVERCOOK YOUR SCALLOPS! Trust me. Better to undercook (especially at this point) then to overcook.
4. Remove scallops from pan and set aside on a plate. Reduce heat to medium and make a sauce with the browned bits. My latest favorite is: deglaze pan with a good douse of vodka, squirt in a little fresh lemon juice, toss in a smidgen of fresh tarragon, reduce, add cream (or monter au beurre), reduce some more.
5. Return scallops and any juices that have collected on the plate to the pan, toss them in the sauce and simmer for 1 minute until warm.
6. Eat 'em on their own, or serve 'em on something else – like a fresh pasta like we had for Dea's birthday last week. Eva made a brown butter, sage and olive paste sauce. I made my lemon vodka seared scallops (without tarragon). We served the scallops on a bed of baby bok choi on the pasta. Delish! Happy Birthday Dea 🙂


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We began another season of Shoreline Christian Junior High Volleyball with a lovely mix of 6th-8th graders. There were 7 girls on the team, allowing for one-on-one work in practice and more playing time for the girls in their games. The girls worked hard throughout the season and showed much improvement from where they started.
Thank you Marine, Josie, Natalie, Olivia, Sydney, Elizabeth, and Chloe for all the work you put forth to make 2013 a memorable season. All things considered, I believe it was a great season and I hope to see them all back on the court next year. ~ Coach Austin Lowell


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Bedrooms: 3 + loft
Bathrooms: 2.5
Square Footage: 1,284
Alpine charm abounds in the Snowdonia, a 1,284 sq. ft. home with a flexible floor plan that is easily customized. The first floor could be rearranged to suit your needs — maybe a classic kitchen with separate dining room? Or would you prefer the cozy feel of a country kitchen?
The comfortable great room takes advantage of scenic views, while the main floor master bedroom with ensuite bathroom offers privacy. Two more bedrooms and a generous loft round out the second floor, which also includes lots of storage space.


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When thinking Spring Break, you don't automatically think of Key West. However, I like travels that led me to farther most points, whatever those points may be. At 16 years old, I tagged Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Last summer I tagged the eastern and northernmost point in Newfoundland and Labrador.
My dad, his friend Oleg, and I decided to get a snap of the buoy that says Southernmost Point of the Continental U.S.A. in Key West, Florida. The day has finally come, but unfortunately South Dakota decided to dump a snow storm onto us. It's a good thing we were prepared; my dad and I put two bikes on the trailer behind the pickup truck and drove to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Our first mission of the day was to ride the Tail of the Dragon, also known as Deals Gap, The Tail of the Dragon is a 11-mile stretch of paved roads between the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee and the Cherokee National Forest in North Carolina. When you ride the Dragon, you keep your eyes on the road, end of story. All throughout the 318 curves and twists, there are sheer drops with no shoulder. It is quite a road and the scenery is breathtaking – if you get a chance to glance over at it.
The curves are so smooth that a few minutes in, they feel unreal because I am so in-the-zone. I slay the dragon for my first time with such a joy riding it. As I pull into the parking lot of the gift shop, the guy working there welcomes me by saying it is the opening day of the season. We look around to buy souvenirs and head to the Tree of Shame on the other side of the parking lot. The tree's branches are full of broken parts left on the Dragon and hung up with pride under the "No shame & a lot of PAIN" sign. Once we jump back onto our bikes, we continue to ride twisties alongside the mountain lakes and creeks of North Carolina all the way our first destination point, Daytona Beach, Florida.
As I unzip my tent, I instantly became one happy camper. I have never tented next to the variation of pine and palm trees. It's such an epic sight to see and be surrounded by. My dad, Oleg and I rode to Daytona Beach starting with the Old Dixie Highway. The road's scenery became my favorite, it is a beautiful road full of exotic flora and fauna. The few days I was at bike week, I saw mostly Harley riders with all kinds of shapes and colors and deafening pipes. There are bunch of sport bikes and a few adventure riders, a crazy crowd.
We ditched the crowd and entered the gate that leads to a ride on the beach. I was nervous; but sand is just as hard as pavement once riding on it, so the butterflies flew away. Daytona Beach has such a relaxing, getaway vibe that gets under your skin. It instantly makes you leisurely and happy, so when my dad asked me if I wanted to come with him to pick up my sister at the airport, I thought "Heck no!"
Oleg and I decided to chill by the ocean for a few hours until they came back. The beach was crowded with unique people all over that kept me entertained. When my dad and sister came back, we all left together to ride once more on the beach, however this time went a bit differently. We found an entrance, but there was a guy standing in front of the ticket booth saying "go this way" to the Harley in front of us. He had a vicious smile, but I didn't think much about it. I followed the motorcycle train into the entrance/exit. Right as we started riding, I noticed the beach waves seemed dangerously close and the sand seemed much deeper than a few hours ago. Anyways, you know the saying "red, white and blue represent freedom unless they are flashing behind you" – that was the exact position I was in.
As all four motorcyclists kept driving, the police yelled out, "Are any of you guys going to stop?" My dad, and Michelle on the back of his bike, zoomed away. Oleg and I weren't as daring and pulled over with the Harley guy. Luckily, by the end of all the discussion, he told us to turn around. The reason why we weren't supposed to be riding on the shore is because the beach closes due to the tides once the wind picks up. Making a U-turn to get out, I revved on the gas and suddenly felt my bike flopping side to side. I lost control and bang, I went down with my motorcycle next to these ocean tides that are coming closer with each wave.
I had a balcony crowd helplessly watching me as I struggled to lift my bike. Two teenage boys came rushing to me asking me if I was okay, but all I really needed was help to put the monster upright. As I sat back up on my bike, my knees and nerves all shaken up at this point, I realized that I simply didn't want to move. The whole time I mentally felt stuck in that spot, until a grandma on the balcony started cheering me on saying, "YOU CAN DO IT!" and encouraging me loudly. I started to hear the voice inside myself saying "I can do it, I can do it." I started moving and heard her screaming "KEEP GOING, YOU GOT IT" until I saw Oleg rush over to me, stopping my momentum of encouragement. He jumped on my bike and finished the job, getting me out of the loose sand. I don't mind gravel, but deep sand is something I was not used to.
My second day of bike week was in St. Augustine. It claims to be the oldest city in the U.S, and is also know for the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort. We spent most our day there wandering through the town. It's filled with unique stores and amazing sites throughout the many streets. We went into some of their most interesting attractions. The first one was Flagler College, a four-year private arts college. The campus is stunning with beautiful art everywhere. In some of the girls' rooms there are still antique features intact.
After viewing the college, we visited the Lighter Museum. I was so caught up in the beauty, it took me a while to realize somewhere along the way I lost my purse with my driver license, cards and money. Talk about a mini heart attack! I rushed back to all the places I recently took photos, but it was nowhere to be found. At this point, I was frustrated and the only thought going through my mind was that my motorcycle keys were in there.
After asking everyone around, a worker recommended to look in the lost and found (I know, typical place to go first) and it was there. No-one was shocked by my misplacement, it happened one too many times. We laughed and walked back to the parking lot of the fort, then decided to go explore some more. One interesting piece to the fort is that the thick walls are made of tiny sea shells. After our big loop around the Castillo de San Marcos, we jumped on the bikes and took a coastal road, A1A, to the campsite to cook a delicious meal under the stars and palms.
The next day it was time to pack up our tents and ride to America's only Caribbean Island. Along the way, we made a quick stop at Sunny Isles Beach. I had the pleasure of meeting Ricardo Serpa and his wife Nicole. He is an amazing photographer and also a tour leader with my dad at Ayres Adventures. They live in an amazing condo overlooking the beach and channels. Nicole welcomed us with shots of expresso and delicious cookies while we all chatted about our adventures outside on the balcony. Ricardo showed us his movies and photography of his adventures around the world which had me breath-taken! We said our goodbyes and went another 60 miles to Key Largo, where we stayed for the night.
Morning came early and the sun was shining, but before we hit the road we had laundry to do. But hey, that's a man's job! I shoved my clothes to my dad and lay beside the pool, soaking up the rays. With the sun beating, I unfortunately fell asleep in the paradise atmosphere. I noticed my hands developing a sun poisoning rash. I thought, "no big deal, I will be okay," and after all was done, we packed our stuff and left to Key West.
The ride was amazing with turquoise water on each side. It is a two-lane highway that jumps from Key to Key over a series of 45 bridges, one an incredible seven miles in length. The Atlantic is on your left and the Gulf of Mexico on your right. It's a ride that will forever be ingrained in my memory. As we arrived, I felt the good vibes and was excited about what the night would bring. Another feeling was the burning of my rash getting worse. I took some Advil and rubbed cream onto it, officially learning my lesson — DON'T SLEEP UNDER THE SUN. Besides that, getting down with the coolest mixture of locals and breakers was a blast.
As the sun went down the party lit up, Key West was as out of control as I hoped it would be. Once you slip into your island groove, you let loose! The night was full of live music and exotic partiers, so my sister and I decided to walk around for a bit. We watched the huge waves by the buoy, and a local mentioned that the waves have never been this strong over five years, they are so strong that water rushed all over the roads. We continued to take pictures which led me to think, who has a picture on top of the buoy of the Southernmost Point? I got two guys to give me a boost and it felt so awesome up there while scary waves roared down.
When leaving Key West, we snapped one last photo by the buoy with my motorcycle and another by the road post of US Highway 1, which says Mile 0. The weather was in our favor, making the road back easy – until I saw my dad with my sister slowing down rapidly. The bike was shaking. I sped up and saw their flat tire. Fortunately, we pulled over to the next driveway under the shady trees. My dad had a spare tube and we were back on the road in no time.
The sun set, but the moon's mysterious beauty kept us company as we rode. Driving up to Naples on the Tamiami Trail, Oleg was no longer in my mirror. It was a narrow highway with no shoulder, so we drove a few miles before we found a safe spot to stop. All along the way, I was wondering what happened. I hope he did not fall asleep, because he told us he was tired. My dad dropped my sister and I alongside Alligator Alley and rushed back to see what happened. Oleg had a flat tire as well. What are the odds, two flat tires in one day? Must have been that shoulder passing in the heavy traffic in some Keys. His S 1000 XR has tubeless tires, so the patching up process was quicker than taking the wheel off the bike as my dad had to do to change the tube.
As they took care of business, my sister and I laid on the gravel, stargazing and listening to all the creatures around us. It was so peaceful. That night we arrived in Naples as planned, but with some unexpected stops. We spotted an Olive Garden, and noticed it closed in 10 minutes. We rushed in for the nice warm bowl of soup and salad we'd longed for all day.
Our last day together was spent at the beach in Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park in Naples. My dad swam to the far distant buoy, then swam back telling me, "You should come do it!" I hesitated at first, but he told me a little secret. The secret about the buoy was the sand. It is as high as my waist where the waves crash, so I could literally stand and walk to the buoy. I swam with him and we hung out pretending we were in deep water, holding on to the buoy while my sister worryingly snapped some pictures of us disappearing in the waves. We giggled and swam back to the shore.
We ended the day in Orlando, where my sister had to fly home the next morning. My dad drove Michelle to the airport and we rode back to Chattanooga to pick up our truck. Our Spring Break Adventure officially came to an end. Tagging the most distant points on the map with my motorcycle is an extraordinary accomplishment for me – as I like to say, everything you could want to see is at the end of the world. Now it's time to go elsewhere!
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