Things I've Seen

Local customization artist featured on Gizmodo

My buddy over at Pairadocs Design Lab got his customized Optimus Prime featured on Gizmodo, along with some other tech sites. Way cool and way to go, dude!

How do I know a guy who customizes action toys? Well, he's a web developer in his day job, and I worked with him at my last job, where he was a temp while I was an editor. He got an offer over at Priority Health a few years ago and he's been there ever since. I freelanced at PH quite a bit last year before taking my current job at Davenport University, but we've been somewhat out of touch over the past year.

In fact, last I knew, we were getting together for lunch sometime ... now that he's 'famous,' maybe I should make sure that happens. Whaddya say, Vince? 

Up North

View from the dining room window. It's why she lives here.

On Friday, my friend Clare and I went Up North to visit another friend of ours, who lives on the shore of a smallish lake in Benzie County. Leah lost her husband suddenly last fall, and though we've kept in touch (Clare better than I), this was the first chance we'd had to visit.

The three of us worked in different offices of the same ad agency years ago. Clare was PR, Leah a writer-turned-account exec and I started out proofreading. After I fanagled my way into  a copywriting job, I worked with both of them. Most of my assignments at first were for Leah's projects, and she played a big part in molding me into the writer I am today. She was and still is a stickler for detail, and in the days before widespread email use, we'd spend hours on the phone going over my copy, tightening, clarifying, making every word count.  Much of my own insistence on excellence today is the result of mentoring by her and a couple of the other communications pros we worked with.

Back then, the cottage was a summer place, but when the agency was struggling and had to close its satellite offices, she and her husband Jim sold their house mid-state and moved to the lake. Jim retired, and Leah held a marketing job at the nearby music camp before landing as marketing VP at a northern Michigan hospital.

The village is pretty typical of small towns up and down Lake Michigan's eastern shore: busting out with tourists and vacationers from June to September and fairly desolate in winter. Most employment is dependent on tourism, and many of the locals, if they're not retired or independently wealthy, commute to cities 30 or more miles away for work. Leah is the consummate networker and in addition to her immediate neighbors, she knows practically everyone else in town: the guy who owns the cool market with the fresh bread and great wine; the woman who runs the gift and kitchenware store and who rents out upscale tourist apartments upstairs; the couple who run the local bed and breakfast; the municipal maintenance guy and the car repair guy; plus local artists, musicians, real estate people. 

Even though she's got a wonderfully suppportive circle of friends, her family's far away and winter can be long. Leah says there's been many a night when, driving toward home on drifted-over or ice-filled roads she's wondered, "What am I doing here?"  Then the car crests a hill outside of town, the lake comes into view, and she remembers.

                                                                           
 

April foolishness

At first I fell for it. Then I laughed.

A friend called with some disturbing news. Not the kind of thing you  usually joke about. For a minute I fell silent. Then there was laughter on the other end of the phone.

"April  Fool!"

For about a half second I felt a little peeved. Then I had to laugh. It's a good Fool's Day joke if the other person falls, even for a few seconds.

We don't do April Fool's Day in our family. I honestly never even think about practical jokery until I get a trick played on me. Why? Because the time others spend thinking up their pranks is time we spend in panic mode that typically  leads up to a birthday celebration: What to buy this year? (Mom, you always buy Whitecaps tickets!) Where to go to dinner? (No place too expensive this year) What kind of cake: scratch, box, or bakery made? When will everyone be home so we can sing Happy Birthday?

Yeah, my lucky husband was born on this day some 40 odd years ago. As you can imagine, he's heard all the jokes. And practical pranks just have never seemed like a fair thing to pull on someone's birthday. On top of that, his mother's birthday is just a few days later, on the 4th, as is that of one of my dear brothers-in-law. Easter or Palm Sunday have been thrown in the mix more than once in the last 29 years. So you can see why the tomfoolery of the season is lost on us.

Now that you know this, you also know (as my friend does) that I am one person you can get on April Fool's Day, simply because I'm  not paying attention. And when you're laughing 'cause you tricked me, take a minute to call my husband. And wish him a happy (fool's) birthday!

Go hear 'em tonight

My friend Greg is big into the local music scene. He's the drummer in three bands: The Icicles, Los Cobras and Truckstop Cobras.

Truckstop Cobras is his newest, and earlier this month The Press did a writeup on the band that has coined the term "truckabilly" to describe their sound:

A dancey mix of rockabilly spunk, sunny surf, blues, honky-tonk and old-school country twang, the recently formed band is a fun addition to a slowly burgeoning nostalgia-rock element in West Michigan.

Truckstop Cobras will look familiar to fans of local surf rock band, Los Cobras, as the Truckstop Cobras essentially sport the same lineup -- guitarist Michael Miller, bassist Ron Boot and drummer and backing vocalist Greg Krupp -- as Los Cobras, with the addition of (Brian) Higgins, a singer-songwriter.

Though the band shares most of the same members and a few common musical elements, the Truckstop Cobras is a project that can stand on its own, steady legs. While Los Cobras offer up dreamy, instrumental tracks, the Truckstop Cobras have a grittier sound, coupled with down-on-your-luck lyrics sung in Higgins' husky, honky-tonk drawl.

"It's Americana rock," Krupp said.

As you can see by the poster, Truckstop Cobras will be playing tonight at the Annual Fools' New Year's Eve party at the Clique. Greg says they'll be on stage at about 10:30. I can't make it, but you should.

Hear the Truckstop Cobras.

 

Flickin' Fun

       

Pairadocs pointed to this. Just type something and the program pulls corresponding letter and number photos from Flickr . Fun!

Where there's smoke

In the Fox Sports Bar at Detroit Metro

People are drawn here from all corners of Detroit Metro Airport for one thing and one thing only: an increasingly hard-to-come-by permission to smoke. To my knowledge this bar is the only place within the airport's sprawling confines where smoking is allowed.

As soon as you turn a certain corner off Concourse A, you can smell you’re going in the right direction. Several storefronts down on the left, a thick haze greets you as you walk into the bar “reserved for Fox Sports fans.” The place is packed with people, and all of them – all – are there for just one thing: to suck into their lungs as many puffs of their sweet sweet drug of choice before their plane takes off. Bics having been confiscated by security (or, as in Raleigh Durham, deposited “voluntarily” in labeled plastic bins just in front of the security scanners), matches flame at table after table as smokers light one, then the next in attempts to ingest enough nicotine to get them to the next airport’s smoking area.

Patrons nurse beers, pick at sorry plates of nachos and chicken fingers, and stare blankly if blissfully at nothing in particular. Bigger than life posters of Jimmy Johnson, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Mandel and James Brown from Fox NFL Sunday look down, jokingly, amused (Bradshaw is wearing the sharpest shiny navy suit with a navy windowpane pattern). Football jerseys encased in smoke-clouded Plexiglas line one wall. A bank of TVs atop the cases all are tuned to various sporting events. The smoke hangs blue.

Though it was mid afternoon and we hadn’t yet eaten, food just didn’t seem possible. In fact, we couldn’t bring ourselves to order more than a couple of diet Pepsis. “I’ve smoked two and it feels like five,” David said a few minutes later. Then he paid the tab and we left.

More from the shoot

Looking through the horse barn

David and  friends

Blossom

David and Richard

Photoshoot

Watching Andy work

I'm in Raleigh this week on an interview/photoshoot. Actually, there are four of us here today; tomorrow three others will come in to do a short video shoot with us.

It's great to be out of the office (and out of town) for a few days, even though air travel can be iffy and the days we're on location are really long. I love the change of pace, the company is  always good and our host/subjects generally go out of their way to make sure we get what we need. Not a bad work week, in all.

After-fish party

Chloe Bubbles Esther Williams Tanis

We decided to get together at Lisa's to sample our catch. Lisa provided the entire spread and everything was delish.

No group photos this time though, 'cause though Pam got there first, Dan called in his regrets at the last minute -- too much birthday on Friday, I guess. Greg came and left before some people showed up (his band, Los Cobras, had a gig near Paw Paw.) David and Rhonda got stuck in traffic on the south side of town and arrived more than fashionably late. I got lost (and this is my own neighborhorhood, mind you. WTF, it's so confusing up where Lisa lives!) And Bob came even later than that.

So the only suitable pic I got was of  Chloe. She had lots o' fun, too.

Thanks, Lisa!

Happy birthday, Dan

Tomorrow is Dan's birthday ...

... but he's taking the day off. So we celebrated tonight at Blue Water Grill.

Day away

Helpin' Dan land the big one

About a week ago, the creatives on our team at work decided it would be fun to make our own version of a day away. So we rented a fishing charter out of Grand Haven and set out to catch the great chinook.

We caught nine salmon and one sheep's head (whatever the heck that is), which David threw back. Of course three of the biggest got away, including one that David swore would have been charging the boat had he not let it off the line. Dan took home the prize with one that musta weighed in at around 20 lbs.

Many thanks to Captain Brian and his Dad/First Mate Terry of  Sea Flea Charters for a great day of fishin'. Go check out the rest of the photos and see proof that our team, while notorious for causing strife and unrest, actually can get on quite swimmingly. Oh, and don't forget, comments are open and I always appreciate gettin 'em.

Gone fishin'

Back: Dan, Kathy, David. Front: Pam, Lisa

More on this to come ...

Guys' dinner

Beer can chicken, by Pat

Drew's friend Pat came by this afternoon, packing a large grocery bag under one arm. "Is it OK if I cook some food?" he asked me, to which I answered, "Sure."

"Hey, Mom," said Drew. "There might be a couple of people here later on to eat if that's OK."

Well, I took a little Sunday snooze and when I got up an hour later, there were six boys sitting around on the patio, all of them eating hamburgers and drinking (my) Diet Cokes.

Pat, however, was tending to the feast that was cooking on the grill: three or four foil-wrapped potatoes and a whole fryer perched upright on a rack over an open can of beer. He had doused the bird in whatever marinade he and Drew found in the cupboard and had sprinkled it it with a couple of spices that seemed right.

He obviously knew what he was doing as he waited patiently for the chicken to roast, checking it, turning it, brushing it now and then with more marinade. Four of the boys left after finishing their burgers, and still the chicken slowly cooked. After nearly two hours it was done to his liking and he and Drew removed the thing to a plate.

With no ceremony whatsoever, he cut into the breast right there at the grill, removed what he wanted to eat and put it on a paper plate. He unwrapped a baked potato, dressed it with butter, salt, and pepper, then sat down in a chair and ate. Drew stepped up and did the same. Then Pat invited me to eat.

"I have a plate there for you," he said, indicating the last paper plate sitting next to the grill. And I helped myself to some of the juicy chicken and the last potato.

No table, no place settings, no napkins, no side dishes, vegetables, or garnishes. Just a paper plate, a fork, a good-sized helping of chicken and a baked potato oozing butter. Good stuff. What else do you really need on a lazy Sunday afternoon at the end of July?

Day in Chicago

Near our hotel

Lori and I went to Chicago on Friday. It was a one-day trip with overnight accommodations at the Hyatt on Wacker St.  She lived in the city for five years, so it was fun to go there with someone who knew her way around. For the first time, I didn't wander up and down Michigan Ave. looking at a bunch of stuff I couldn't afford. Instead we walked her old neighborhood and took in some of the charms of the city. More photos.

Make it, Take it

Passing the time with a game of make it, take it

What do 20-something guys do for fun? Mostly I don't want to know. But sometimes they hang out here and they act pretty normal -- you know, eat whatever food is available (not much, according to my son), play some hoops, watch a little TV. Of course on a Friday night like this, they're just biding their time until the parties start. Not long after I took these shots, a car full of girls stopped by to pick them up. I probably won't see either of them until midafternoon tomorrow. (Click on a photo to see it full size)

Workin' overtime

Photographer Brian, art director David, graphic artist Greg

Sometimes -- not often -- the job requires a little work after hours. This week I'm spending Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings downtown at a conference writing "blog" copy and photo captions for the company website. Working extra hours isn't too bad, especially when I'm stuck working with comedians like these guys.

Looking good ... as cadavers go

Who could stay away from a birthday party called "The Viewing"?

What a great sense of humor my friend Chris has! Really, I've often thought she should have been a copywriter instead of a production manager, or traffic manager, or paper rep, or whatever ...

So naturally when I got the email from her announcing that she was throwing a 40th birthday party for herself I put it on my calendar right away. I mean, how can you not go to a party for a woman who throws herself a "viewing" -- an event where she sits in the yard, drink in hand, while people drop in from all over to see the 40-year old "body"?

In fact she's inspired me and I'm thinking about something similar along about Oct. 22. Maybe. We'll see. Stay tuned. And happy 40th, Chris.  Here are just a few more photos.

Got a haircut

Sporting my new, easy 'do at Michigan's Adventure

Ok now, this is a catch up post. Because I've been on vacation this week and being really lazy about this blog (although I have written in the other one, which I may or may not tell you about some other time.)

Hair (If this topic bores you, skip to the next subhead.)
Tuesday I decided I just had to have my hair cut right now. I hadn't had it cut since February in prep for my trip to Hawaii. I don't know why. I've never let my hair go so long between cuts; Ive always been an every 5-6 weeks kind of gal. Guess it's true, as one friend suggested, that I've been letting myself go of late. LOL!

Anyhow, I like this cut 'cause I don't have to do ANYTHING with it if I don't want to, other than mess with the bangs a little. Too late I realized it is exactly like my sister Loraine's hair, but oh well. She's a blonde. And I never see her anyway. (Sorry Lor. Just kiddin'. Really!)

GR Blogger (If you don't like this one, you're so in the wrong place.)
I finally went to my newsreader today (didn't get very far, however) and saw -- wowee! -- TWO new Technorati search results for this blog. One was from my buddy at work, who links to me every now and then, especially since I quit blogging for my company :-).

The other was from a blogger here in GR whom I've read a couple of times and who is a member, as am I, of the Grand Rapids Bloggers Webring (oh, the buddy above is a member also). Matt VanDyk is an attorney here in town who seems to have started a blog rather recently. He's done a waaaaay better job than I have of ferreting out local bloggers, and some worthwhile reads, too. Well, Matt has me on his blogroll right now, which is cool. He's got several recommendeds on his site, which I'm going to check out. Trouble is, they all seem to be Calvin grads. (As is he. Hey, Aaron, you should be on the list -- do you know Matt?) Well, I guess that's not really a problem.  And anyhow, I do sing at Calvin in the Oratorio Society and my last name begins with Vander ... Maybe those two things make me meet the criteria????

Reading (This one's for Lori S. and you.)
A couple of my friends have tried to encourage me to read more, one by loaning me a bag of books (which I have yet to read or return) and another by telling me pointedly, "You  need to read more." So right now I have three books with bookmarks showing progress made in each since oh, January. Pretty pathetic, I know.

The one I'm working hardest to get out of the way is the worst: Scar Tissue by the Red Hot Chili Peppers's Anthony Kiedis is getting pretty ho-hum after 335 pages (only 130 to go!) of fired guitar players, drugs, sex, shows, drugs, girlfriends, sex ... I mean, how many girls can possibly be the sweetest angel ever in Anthony's world? Quite a few, evidently, but it's geting old.

I'm also reading  a free pdf version of Lawrence Lessig's book, Free Culture, and I'm going to say that the reason I haven't finished that one yet is that my pdf is stored on the flash drive that I ruined ... no, that excuse won't work for a downloadable file, will it? OK. Anyhow, I'm about halfway through Lessig's look at where art and culture are headed in the digital age. If you've ever illegally downloaded even one song off the internet, you need to read it. It's scary. Truly!Which is maybe the real reason I haven't finished it. (You're not buying that either, are ya?)

The third book I really just started this week (OK, so I lied about January). It's a fiction work  by Goldberry Long called Juniper Tree Burning. The name of the novel is also the female protagonist's name, and so far most of her problem seems to stem from a troubled upbringing that is exacerbated by (and obviously signified by) having been given such an odd appellation.  So far the woman mostly just irritates me -- she's a real hard-ass bitch. I'm thinking she'll redeem herself though, so I'll keep reading.

Weekend (You're almost done. Hooray!)
The daughters and their cousin are spending the weekend at my folks' house in Muskegon. My brother-in-law (the niece/cousin/god daughter's dad) is here entertaining my husband. There's nobody online -- NOBODY -- to talk to, so I'm just taking it easy. Reading, walking the dog, taking little naps, lounging in the sun, half heartedly catching up on stuff online. For two nights now I've  gotten away with refusing to do much in the way of fixing dinner. OH -- I do have some laundry I'd better get busy on, but other than that it's been a nice, lazy weekend. A fitting wrap up to a pretty laid back week off.  Well, the dog is whining at me, so I guess I'll take her for a walk before it gets too dark. Can't neglect all my duties, don'tcha know.

Lori's camera

I'm using Lori's Canon G2. Because she got a cool new Nikon.

Wow wow.  This is really cool. I have such a generous friend!

Lori takes great photos. I've always envied her eye, her skill. And ever since I've known her I have never failed to apologize for my own lack of same. And for my crummy camera.

So, when she got her super cool new Nikon and got used to it and all, she offered me the use of her "old" camera on a sort of trial basis. She hadn't used the G2 since getting the new one so she thought maybe she'd see how she'd do without it. She does have three other cameras, after all.

Now the only excuse I have for bad photos ...  is a lack of all the things that really go into taking good ones! Now she's gotta give me some pointers. (Watch out, Lor! I'm gonna be buggin' ya.)  ;-)

Family of three

Lori, Scott, and Devin became an official family yesterday. Congratulations!

End of a contract

Tony, Lori, Tom

You work knowing that the work won’t last. It’s the way of the contractor – you go in, do a job, if they like you, you come back the next day; if they don’t, oh well, there’s other clients out there.

But then the days turn into weeks into months into years. And you get really good at doing the work of this place. You never stop at doing simply what’s asked of you; you’re always taking the initiative, challenging old ideas, looking at things differently, offering solutions nobody ever thought of. You become one of the drivers that can push the team forward; your thoughts and ideas are integral to moving the team’s work to the next level. You work willingly on everything that comes your way, even the little shit jobs. (You are the contractor, after all).

Yes, you become part of the team – some might say an indispensable part of the team, but we all know there’s no such person, even among the staff. Your coworkers become your friends, even confidantes. You feel at home here with this work and these people you’ve come to love. And you know that as a contractor this is a dangerous position to be in, because one day it all will come to an end.

That day was yesterday for Tony. It’s not that the team doesn’t need him anymore or that he outlived his usefulness. It’s not that there’s anybody better on staff who is stepping in to take his place. But as business climates change, focus evolves, priorities get adjusted, and inevitably, the status quo gives way. The contract has ended, as he always knew it would. And he has to move on.

For my money, this has been a baby-and-bathwater thing, and what we need to do is run out and scoop up the baby, hopefully unharmed, and make the adoption permanent. But in spite of any championing I might have done (never enough, I know), I, in my position, am powerless to change any of this. So all I can say is farewell to a contractor who became more of a coworker than many of my coworkers. Don’t be a stranger. (Like I told you, I’m terrible at calling.) God speed to a good friend.

GR looks good on a sunny day

My friend Lori has some great pics of downtown Grand Rapids. Hey, looks like a nice place to live!

Office party

The first warm sunny Friday in spring calls for a get together outside after work. In Michigan, 65 degrees is certainly warm enough -- if it's April 8.

(Make us sit outside in July when it's 65, however, and we'll complain.)

UPDATE: Lori has a great pic of Dan.

Lori & Pam

He's One

Devin's first birthday party included a traditional Tol celebration.

On Saturday I was honored to attend the very special first birthday party for Devin, son of my friend Lori and her husband Scott.

Special because the occasion was marked by the traditional Tol, a celebration that dates back centuries in Korea. It is observed at a child's first birthday in part to celebrate the fact that the baby made it to his first birthday.

For this ritual, several representative objects are arranged within the baby's grasp. The idea is that the baby's future will be foretold according to which objects he reaches for first. It's said that Korean parents will put objects closest to the baby that are indicative of good fortune.

The baby is allowed to grab at any number of objects, but tradition says that the first two or three objects are most telling for how the child's future will go. Devin chose:

• Spool of thread, signifying long life
• Harmonica
• Computer mouse

He wore traditional dress for the ceremony, sent from Korea by a former coworker of mine who now is working at the Korean affiliate of our company.

Afterward, mom Lori removed the uncomfortable (but darling!) outfit in favor of jeans and a onesie, the better to smear cake all over himself with! 

Cake, yum!

Soup @ 60 College

My friend Clare had her annual between-the-holidays soup party today. It usually starts at noon on a weekday and goes as long as people hang around (which, since we've mostly all got families and kids, isn't much past mid afternoon).

She always fixes two big pots of soup -- one with meat, one vegetarian -- something different every year as I recall. She adds some crusty bread, opens a couple of bottles of wine, and puts a big cooler in the corner of the kitchen for cans and bottles of whatever we bring. We also supply various desserts, cookies, appetizers, and what have you.

Then we all stand around slurping soup and talking, talking. Occasionally a few of us gather around the dining room table, but mostly we congregate in the cozy heart of the house, the kitchen. Clare and husband Tom have beautifully rennovated one of those big ol' Heritage Hill homes, and I mean no detail on the main floor has been overlooked.

The invitees pretty much all have one thing in common: at one time or another we worked at Sefton, a (now defunct) local ad agency. Most who come to this party worked at the agency at the same time -- during its "heyday" in the early and mid nineties when it boasted three offices in three cities, plus several Best-of-Show awards in the local addys.

I look forward to this party all season, because even though we have one or two other get togethers during the year, it's a sure bet that all the people you really want to see will show up at Clare's. An APR (that's an accreditated public relations professional) with the gift of social grace, she always was and still is the glue that holds this group together.

Of course there are always the regulars: Kevin and his wife, Van and his wife (who never remembers my name, bless her), Chris, Keash (no Art this time), Gary and Tina, Lisa Mac.

Catlin and Dolly showed up; they've been a now-and-then presence. Larry was there, who I haven't seen in two years. Leah came down from Beulah. Then there was Lisa, who I hadn't seen in the seven or eight years since I left the agency. And former owner Gary, who I've only talked to once in all that time. There were others, too, that I'm not remembering.

Most of them freelance now, although some, like me, went the corporate route. Leah is a marketing VP for an up north hospital, Lisa hates her new job, Larry's been out of work for several months now, and Van (didn't I go to his retirement party?) is driving a floral delivery truck.

I was trying to express to one of my writer friends the other day just what it is that makes this group special. I suppose part (most?) of it is nostalgia. But not all, surely. Copywriting was a second career for me after teaching high school English became an impossibility. I cut my teeth in the business at this agency and with these people. I've never seen a more talented, smart, on-the-ball group of professionals (account guys and creatives alike -- hard to believe, huh?). And I'm sorry to say it, but on that score corporate life doesn't quite measure up. It tries really hard -- and I love the folks I work with now. But the edge just isn't there. I think it's a fact of corporate life.

So I'm thankful for Soup @ 60  College and for people like Clare who remind me that there still is an edge out there -- and I can come walk it if ever I want to, even if vicariously.

Joy of the season to all of you, my friends from the past -- and present!

Last dance

Suze and Dani each had a date for this homecoming dance (Dani's cousin and the cousin's friend/Dani's "boyfriend"). Apparently it wasn't much fun. The DJ played mostly country and the kids just stood around in the hallways, I'm told. The kids called Dani's mom to come get them at 9 p.m. They went to Dani's and watched videos until 2.

I love what I see in these two photos. Girlfriends forever.

Dani and Suze

Suze and Dani