GRIZZLY PEAR

written snapshots

Category: Life

  • Learning

    I had to do some difficult work for the first time. It wasn’t easy. Nerve-wracking even.

    I guess they call that learning.

    I bet it will be a lot easier the second time.

    But I suspect they hire you precisely because you will go through it that first time.

  • 5 votes!

    I know it’s cliche, but it seems worth mentioning every time it happens. The difference between the second and third place vote getters in the Las Vegas Ward 3 primary was 5 votes.

    Number three goes home, while number two gets to duke it out with number one in the general election.

    FIVE votes.

    Do it.

  • The sand between the fingers

    I’d like to think I have a complete game.

    But I don’t.

    When I cup my hands, things will still slip through.

    Sometimes the harder I grip, the more things slip.

    So the question is how do I mitigate it?

  • Behind the face

    There are those who are the face of a group. And there are those who make it run.

    Sometimes it’s all wrapped up in the same person, but I’ve usually seen these roles shared among different people.

    For better or worse, it is the way of the world to give the figurehead all the glory, but do not discount the heart within the organization.

  • Opening and closing doors

    We spent the day cleaning out the house so it would be ready for rental.

    Later that evening I went through my books and pulled out Akira and Sandman. It’s been much too long since I re-read them.

    I wonder who I’ll view these books now that my world has changed.

    But I don’t think it’s a random coincidence both happened on the same day.

    Closing and re-opening are the function of a door.

  • Hospitality

    We had a friend in town who was trapped an extra day due to flight cancellations, and he ended up stayed with my parents for the night.

    While he was grateful for the hospitality, the honor was ours, especially given the additional opportunity to hang out a little more than we would have otherwise.

    Maybe it’s an old world view of hearth and home, or maybe it’s just the plain old saying it’s better to give than to receive.

  • Generations

    I saw the photo of the founder on the wall of his teachers.

    The greatest honor the school could give.

    No one wanted to grant this so soon.

    But it was no one’s choice.

    The wheel of life keeps turning.

  • Default Settings

    What are the default settings that I work with?

    When I open up the computer in the morning, its gmail, facebook, espn, huffington post. Unless I’m a good boy, in which case it’s the new post editor for this site.

    Even though that initial four website scan is generally pretty fast, it is still ten minutes that I should be exercising, which is sorely lacking in my life.

    Same with my food. We’ve fallen into a rut of going cheap at the local Burger King, down the block from the office. I think I need to start going a little further down the street to the Albertson’s and start buying salads.

    Maybe the only default setting that doesn’t feel completely like a vice is when I’m feeling a little frazzled in the morning. If I have a spare moment, I’ll drop by the coffee shop, order an espresso and decompress. Occasionally there will be a lightning bolt of inspiration — I don’t know its the change of scenery, or the caffeine, but I’ll take it.

  • Good places

    When you find one in this world, hang on to them tightly. There is a sacredness to such places.

    Time flows slowly but inexorably, inevitably such a place will transform and change, and it may no longer be the right place for you.

    Savor the moment, and count yourself fortunate.

  • Everybody helping

    I guess I was a lucky kid, as I generally grew up with the assumption that people liked what they did with work.

    Even though I’m lucky as an adult and I’ve enjoyed my jobs, that is clearly not an assumption I would make nowadays.

    But still, that is a powerful ideal to reach for. Not necessarily overblown “follow your passion” BS, more of “find a job that you like and be a professional on days you don’t.”

    And on the flip side, when you run into someone that doesn’t reach it, have a little pity for them.