The kids caped up and whirled to programmed songs on the keyboard. After she was dragged off to study Chinese, he ran around the house as a ghost. The beanie-veil combo is a fresh innovation in our house.
-
OPM.42 Fence Sitting
Make a decision!
The Owner needs to decide.
Already?
Right now?Yesterday? (oops!)
But if decision isn’t ripe yet,
The OPM should live with the discomfort of uncertainty.
Straddle the fence.There’s at least three parties on a project:
Users
Contractor
Architect.Three of agendas to juggle.
Yeah we’re a big happy team.
But each of us are beholden to the demands of our organizations.
Who signs whose paychecks?The OPM’s job is to sort through the conflicts and develop a synthesis.
Part of this game is to play the game.
To develop a good conclusion.It might take a some fence sitting to sort it out.
Ponder each team’s agenda.
Understand why they conflict.
Inhabit their perspective.Time’s up.
Then get off the fence.
Make a decision. Communicate clearly.Delay further and it’s opportunity cost.
Time’s a wastin’.~
Some Links
I’ve been following Jeffery Saddoris ever since coming across his long running podcast with Bill Wadman.
On Taking Pictures went on hiatus for a few years, but they recently returned to bless us on a sporadic basis, whenever the guys feel like turning on their microphones together.
In the meantime, Jeffery hosts several podcasts and writes an introspective newsletter. Iterations consistently make me ponder my own life, choices, and art.
~
Far West boy feeds a swan, Taronga Park Zoo, Sydney, 1935. Ted Hood ~
Thanks for reading!
Justus Pang, RA -
He snickered as his sister berated him for ruining today’s game.
Arriving home, I was greeted by Wordle.
The kids snuck off with the iPad.Giggling in the playroom,
They connected to the living room TV.Stop playing with the iPad!
I have to take my shower first.Coming out to play,
He already took four guesses.AUDIO
AUDIO
AUDIO
AUDIO
□□□□□
□□□□□䷚䷧
carry a burden
ride a carriage
invite mischief -
Royal Prep Academy (Sofia the First, 2013) and Dr. Seuss Thing Two and Thing One Whirly Fun (Dr. Seuss, 1016), Wonder Forge
Both of these games are stuck in the mediocre middle. They have decent components and a reasonable starting concepts, but they don’t create compelling experiences.
The kids enjoyed them for a moment, but they’re just OK. With tweaks, I suspect we could unearth a decent game within the pieces.
These perfectly middlin’ products make me ponder my own career. It feels unfair to demand excellence from my purchases but not from myself.
I’m good at what I do. I put in the best effort I got while I’m at the office, but I’m not willing to sacrifice the time to get to the “next level”.
Should I be chasing something beyond the horizon? Am I maximizing my potential? Am I making the most of this time?
Maybe, the questions shouldn’t be applied to work. I’m in a good spot at work, do I really have to press for more? If I was single and unattached, maybe the pursuit of career greatness would be warranted. It could be a great way to serve the world and enrich myself. Heck, it might be worth a big roll of the dice.
Is there an epic quest waiting for me?
Sounds enticing, but I’m not skipping out on my kids to find out.
-
She insisted on showing us how she induced that green pillowcase to don a pair of dark grey socks with black stripes.
She sat on the kitchen tile,
pulled the pillowcase over her legs
put the socks on her feet,
slid out and hopped up,
proudly displaying
a topsy-turvy skirt wearing socks.A few minutes later,
I wandered into the living room.
Two kids wriggling inside
the stretched out skirt.
she looked up, grinning,
“a chrysalis!”I grabbed my phone,
but the older butterfly was
already chasing her brother.
Twirling a chrysalis
over her head,
a lasso.䷤䷩
auspicious woman
children dally
great crossing
elephant laughter -
They embarked upon two suburban safaris to exotic places of prosaic commerce.
We left the world as it shut down.
Three years later, we decided to visit the library.
For a Japanese koto concert
(we lasted one song)Shopped at the friend’s bookstore,
Browsed the stacks,
While we were out, we went shopping.
(our first time with the kids)- Marshalls
- Ranch 99
- 168
- Sprouts
He rode the shopping cart seat,
She scrunched in the basket.
She got out and pushed him,
(he got out and tried to pushed her)Bought my first new pair of shoes in five years.
Picked up staples, veggies and meat.
He called out the name of everything he saw.
(delighted by the mundane cornucopia of produce)
We saw live fish,
looking miserable.
And crab, clams, and lobsters,
(presumably miserable too)Crackers,
Lots of crackers.
And aisles of snacks and candy.
(mama said no!)I ran into an classmate from my old kung fu school.
He recognized me, even with a mask.
We hugged.
(school still going strong)Left for home at 7 pm.
Mama made Mac & Cheese at 9 pm.
Kids fell asleep at 11 pm.
(made it to 12am to close year 43.)(what will 44 bring?)
Woke up to wrap presents
Made pancakes with the kids
They unwrapped my gifts
We started a puzzle
I took a nap
Made birthday noodles
Cleaned the kitchen
We went to Ikea.It’s been forty months,
Since I rushed through for
Utensils and Swedish meatballs.
(exiled from family before the world shut down)The four of us
leisurely meandered
through both floors
(he loved the escalator)They sat on every couch
Before we picked up the pace
To the toys.
(mama let us buy a small stuffie)Downstairs
He rode a shopping cart,
Twice in two days!
(after so many years)We picked through the goods,
Checked out,
Entered the dark.
(two hours after we arrived)He exclaimed
Wow that was fast!
Yes it was.
(all of it)䷎䷦
modest expedition
through neighbors
no disadvantage -
My Birthday Haul
Eight books for age 4+4
- Opus, Satoshi Kon
- Boring Postcards USA, Martin Parr
- World Atlas of Cheese, Nancy Eekhof-Stork
- 99 Variations on a Proof, Philip Ordlin (the last two were recommendations from post.news over the past few months)
Not shown:
- In the West, Avedon, a big birthday splurge (let’s hope the “cheap” $100 copy from Amazon isn’t totally beat up when it arrives)
- How to Say Goodbye, Wendy MacNaughton. The preorder was just announced. Unfortunately this subject will be all too relevant as I cross through my mid 40’s.
- Absolutely on Music, Murakami & Ozawa
- I Think, Therefore I Draw, Cathcart & Klein (the last two were lucky library finds from yesterday’s excursion).
-
Blake Street Garage Apartment
After college, I moved into a small garage apartment. At $450 per month, it was a steal to have my own place, a 168 square foot studio with a free parking spot in the driveway.
I tried to start a container garden in that driveway. It faced north so nothing survived except onions, but it changed my life one morning by attracting a feral bunny (as I headed out to inquire about an internship at Dwell Magazine). I never saw that little guy again (and Dwell never called back), but the moment of staring deep into the eyes of another creature led to adopting two rabbits and a season of volunteering at the House Rabbit Society.
The interior of this converted single car garage was painted light yellow to maximize the natural light. Even though the window orientations were not ideal, it still had glass in two directions with a window over the kitchenette and a big glass patio door looking into the back yard.
I built custom bookshelves, borrowing a table saw from the Berkeley tool library to with split 2×2’s clamped around PVC pipes. I maximized every cubic inch for my books and my rabbits. It was tight, but there was just enough space to clank out fifty thousand words for a NaNoWriMo T-shirt, clean up on Monday Nights for Irish dancing at the Starry Plough, and assemble portfolios for graduate schools.
Twenty years ago, I drew this top down, single-point perspective as one of the projects in those portfolios.
When I left, I swore I’d return to this city that I loved so dearly.
I’ve visited twice.
-
Celestial carabiners clanked across charming cliffs, calling coyly, “Come climb, come climb.”
My parents dropped by our place in the morning to give the kids polished stones from a roadside stand on the way to the Grand Canyon. After they left, the girl sorted the collection before coming inside for breakfast.
-
OPM.41 a Glaze of Blory
I wrote this in August of 2021, on what should have been the first day of instruction in my new Education Academic Building at Nevada State College.
~
I walked onsite to address an issue that popped up in the new building.
I wondered if first day of school would bring a legion of students sharing the latest version of the newest germs.It was dead quiet.
Just like the last eighteen months.Ain’t that how life messes with our dreams?
We imagine a blaze of glory.We get a puff and a fizz.
Next time won’t be a pandemic, but it’ll be something.
Moments are never pristine in real life.But if the work was done right,
Maybe that imperfect flash might leave a lasting mark.~
Following my music theme from the past couple of OPM letters, I just came across this Bandcamp Weekly show. It’s exactly what I consider “cultured” music — eclectic, jazzy, world-ish, safely edgy. I feel seen. The girl calls it “restaurant music”.
Surfing on Bandcamp, I stumbled across Mille Morceau which has a surreal, architectural album cover. As I stared at it, I suddenly felt destabilized. Is this AI? The ground fell out from under me. It was a physical reaction even though I was just lying in bed. I need to explore this further.
I’ve been excited to read the newsletter 23 Sherwood Drive every day. Jo Paoletti collects journal notes over the years, interspersing it with commentary. As I slide past middle age, I treasure reading the reflections of someone who is a few steps ahead of me. It’s voyeuristic and edifying.
~
Madame Curie in Her Laboratory, 1921 ~
Thanks for reading!
Justus Pang, RA