1) Carla Emeott's wedding + Jamie's bridal shower.
2) Brianna's cabin in Glenwood, MN. Tubing behind a speed boat? Why, yes, thankyouverymuch!
3) My 29th birthday + Sarah in Minneapolis!
4) 6th Wedding Anniversary + Sylia in Minneapolis!
5) Mille Lacs with Addie, King, + Johan!
6) River boat cruise and mini-vacay in Stillwater for Mom and Roger's 25th Anniversary!
7) Jamie's Wedding!
So...if you want to hang out, how's mid-August?
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
It was time...
...for Sarah's dad to be on his way home.
...for me to update the Johan stats.
...for summer to start with a bang featuring Johan running across the lawn with a couple of neighbor kids for 3 hours last night.
...for me to discover Minneapolis' dueling pianos bar. Awesome. Pretty sure I want to celebrate there again very soon.
...for me to discover Great Lakes Brewery.
...for the sun to come back.
...for me to celebrate my husband as father...whatever disagreements he and I have, he sure is a great dad and I do love to watch him with Johan.
...for me to get a Father's Day gift for my dad that I think he is really going to love (I'll let you know tomorrow!)
One last thing-
it WILL be time for me to post some new pictures of Johan. One of these days.
...for me to update the Johan stats.
...for summer to start with a bang featuring Johan running across the lawn with a couple of neighbor kids for 3 hours last night.
...for me to discover Minneapolis' dueling pianos bar. Awesome. Pretty sure I want to celebrate there again very soon.
...for me to discover Great Lakes Brewery.
...for the sun to come back.
...for me to celebrate my husband as father...whatever disagreements he and I have, he sure is a great dad and I do love to watch him with Johan.
...for me to get a Father's Day gift for my dad that I think he is really going to love (I'll let you know tomorrow!)
One last thing-
it WILL be time for me to post some new pictures of Johan. One of these days.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Schoolyard Drama - International Edition
I haven't been blogging and it's mostly because I've felt like everything and anything I would say would be trite in light of my best friend Sarah's dad's situation. If you aren't aware, you can catch up on my facebook page but he is currently imprisoned in Rwanda for words written and spoken in conjunction with representing clients. Rwanda is a police state and there is no love lost between Peter and the current regime.
I have also felt like I haven't wanted to write too much about his situation for a few reasons 1) I don't know enough background on Rwanda and Peter's work to speak with any authority on it; 2) it's not about me and what I would write on my blog would be about me; and 3) I sort of hate Rwanda right now.
It's crazy, really, to hate Rwanda. I guess better said, I hate the government that has so little regard for human rights, free speech, free exchange of ideas, due process, an independent judiciary, the presumption of innocence, and all other sorts of things I like.
And at a very basic level, I hate the Kagame regime because of the way it has caused an upheaval in Sarah's life. I mean, she's my best friend. Remember the intense feelings of loyalty to a friend in elementary school and how that loyalty would become even mroe pronounced when some mean kid started picking on your friend? And remember those primal feelings of anger and detest for the mean kid-even though he wasn't picking on you directly?
Imagine that, but on a greater scale. This time the schoolyard bully is the Kagame regime. And I kind of want to punch his lights out to defend my best friend. (Note to self: this probably counts as a threat to Rwandan national security- do not ever travel to Rwanda so long as current laws still exist.) And this time punching his lights out means cutting off U.S. aid to Rwanda until they start respecting international law and human rights standards.
Zero dollars of U.S. aid to Rwanda? How would that affect Rwandan national security, huh?
I have also felt like I haven't wanted to write too much about his situation for a few reasons 1) I don't know enough background on Rwanda and Peter's work to speak with any authority on it; 2) it's not about me and what I would write on my blog would be about me; and 3) I sort of hate Rwanda right now.
It's crazy, really, to hate Rwanda. I guess better said, I hate the government that has so little regard for human rights, free speech, free exchange of ideas, due process, an independent judiciary, the presumption of innocence, and all other sorts of things I like.
And at a very basic level, I hate the Kagame regime because of the way it has caused an upheaval in Sarah's life. I mean, she's my best friend. Remember the intense feelings of loyalty to a friend in elementary school and how that loyalty would become even mroe pronounced when some mean kid started picking on your friend? And remember those primal feelings of anger and detest for the mean kid-even though he wasn't picking on you directly?
Imagine that, but on a greater scale. This time the schoolyard bully is the Kagame regime. And I kind of want to punch his lights out to defend my best friend. (Note to self: this probably counts as a threat to Rwandan national security- do not ever travel to Rwanda so long as current laws still exist.) And this time punching his lights out means cutting off U.S. aid to Rwanda until they start respecting international law and human rights standards.
Zero dollars of U.S. aid to Rwanda? How would that affect Rwandan national security, huh?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Shopping
Johan: This store smells like poop.
Me: Is that because you just pooped?
Johan: Don't worry about it.
Me: Is that because you just pooped?
Johan: Don't worry about it.
TR Part 2
It's been a good break. I've been doing a lot of reading. Last weekend Johan and I were up at Mille Lacs with my dad. It was wonderful.
Before my last post that had the TR quote, I'd found myself becoming extremely negative about some aspects of my firm; or not really the firm itself but some of the people. This was sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy - the more negative I was feeling about things, the more I noticed the things that bothered me. And then I realized that I was becoming hypercritical about this entity and a job that I absolutely love. And what for? Nothing is on the brink of collapse. On the contrary, there is so much GOOD going on at my firm that some days I can't wait to spring out of my house just to get started. Yep, I am that lame.
So, I stepped back. I realized that me being hypercritical about some things I want changed is not the way to do it. I have been practicing law for 3 years. And I have had an ownership in this business for 5 months. That's not very long. I am not an expert.
Except for that I might be an expert on how to finagle my way out of questions about my clients' social security numbers in Depositions (Q: What's your SSN? A: The same one I had when the employer hired me. Q: Well, what's that? Me: OBJECTION! Asked and answered. Also 5th Amendment. Move on counselor.)
Just a little Saturday afternoon tangent there. OK, but the point is that my boss/partner has been running this law firm successfully for many years. So hypercritical me needs to chill out. This doesn't mean ignore the ways we could improve- in order to remain relevant, successful, and profitable we always have to be willing to modify and reinvent ourselves. That's just what this business is like. But change takes time. And patience. Patience?! As you may know, patience is not something I am an expert in. But I am trying.
And just as I was realizing all these things, there was the TR quote. With that, I decided (perhaps narcissisticly) that his words were spot on with respect to my situation and I promised myself to stop criticizing and being so harsh on every less than perfect situation. I still want and am pushing for the changes I think will help our firm prosper. I love this firm. It is great for what it has been, what it is, and what I think we are on the cusp of becoming.
So I decided to change. The change is not so much outward, but within me. It's a mental shift. It's recognizing each of our strengths as well as weaknesses, and being grateful that where one of us has a weakness, the others can pick up the slack. It's acknowledging how much good this law firm does and how fortunate I am to be excited to go to work (almost) every day; how lucky I am to feel like I am helping people, doing good and making bad situations better. I think that meaningful work is one of the keys to contentment in this life, and it is not commonplace. So, I'm trying to be the man in the arena- doing, acting, creating, making change. And it's working, which is just fantastic.
Before my last post that had the TR quote, I'd found myself becoming extremely negative about some aspects of my firm; or not really the firm itself but some of the people. This was sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy - the more negative I was feeling about things, the more I noticed the things that bothered me. And then I realized that I was becoming hypercritical about this entity and a job that I absolutely love. And what for? Nothing is on the brink of collapse. On the contrary, there is so much GOOD going on at my firm that some days I can't wait to spring out of my house just to get started. Yep, I am that lame.
So, I stepped back. I realized that me being hypercritical about some things I want changed is not the way to do it. I have been practicing law for 3 years. And I have had an ownership in this business for 5 months. That's not very long. I am not an expert.
Except for that I might be an expert on how to finagle my way out of questions about my clients' social security numbers in Depositions (Q: What's your SSN? A: The same one I had when the employer hired me. Q: Well, what's that? Me: OBJECTION! Asked and answered. Also 5th Amendment. Move on counselor.)
Just a little Saturday afternoon tangent there. OK, but the point is that my boss/partner has been running this law firm successfully for many years. So hypercritical me needs to chill out. This doesn't mean ignore the ways we could improve- in order to remain relevant, successful, and profitable we always have to be willing to modify and reinvent ourselves. That's just what this business is like. But change takes time. And patience. Patience?! As you may know, patience is not something I am an expert in. But I am trying.
And just as I was realizing all these things, there was the TR quote. With that, I decided (perhaps narcissisticly) that his words were spot on with respect to my situation and I promised myself to stop criticizing and being so harsh on every less than perfect situation. I still want and am pushing for the changes I think will help our firm prosper. I love this firm. It is great for what it has been, what it is, and what I think we are on the cusp of becoming.
So I decided to change. The change is not so much outward, but within me. It's a mental shift. It's recognizing each of our strengths as well as weaknesses, and being grateful that where one of us has a weakness, the others can pick up the slack. It's acknowledging how much good this law firm does and how fortunate I am to be excited to go to work (almost) every day; how lucky I am to feel like I am helping people, doing good and making bad situations better. I think that meaningful work is one of the keys to contentment in this life, and it is not commonplace. So, I'm trying to be the man in the arena- doing, acting, creating, making change. And it's working, which is just fantastic.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Me: Part 1
I don't have a lot of time right now but I do have some thoughts brewing. That will be Part 2. For Part 1, I will leave it to good old Teddy Roosevelt. This passage was quoted in the Minneapolis paper on Sunday in an editorial about cynicism and the need for a new commitment to public service.
To say it moved me is an understatement. It has caused some serious self reflection and introspection, of which I will share more later.
For now, here you go:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
The Sorbonne, Paris, France
April 23, 1910
To say it moved me is an understatement. It has caused some serious self reflection and introspection, of which I will share more later.
For now, here you go:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt
The Sorbonne, Paris, France
April 23, 1910
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Patron of the Arts
Thursday night was Johan's nursery school Spring Program. All four (4) of my parents were in the back of the auditorium (eh...sanctuary...the school is housed in a church) because they had other engagements after Johan's performance. As it happened, Johan was not happy that he was expected to walk down the aisle and sing songs after seeing his beloved grandparents. The only way to get him down the aisle was if my step mom carried him.
So there they were.
A group of toddlers dressed in yellow shirts with black tape on them looking like the most delicious little bumble bees on the stage...together with Johan's Grandma. It was very sweet. And makes me think that my boy may not be like his momma in her love for performance and being on stage (now manifested as the courtroom with juries and judges my audience.)
That's OK. He's a lot better at tee-ball than I am. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
Then, last night we went to the Apple Valley Middle School Spring play, "Annie." My niece had a small role but threw her all into it and she loves being on stage. Before the show started my sister in law asked if I brought books or toys for Johan to play with during the show. I hadn't really thought of that. I mean, we're here to see a show!
I was right that I wouldn't need toys to engage Johan. He was absolutely enthralled from beginning to end. Clapping at the right times; laughing when the audience would laugh; point out each time Samantha would come on stage and asking where she went when her part was over. I had thought we would leave at intermission but this upset Johan who shouted "More show!" and so I let him have a later bedtime in order to see the show to its conclusion. It makes me happy that, even if Johan is not destined to be a stage performer, he nevertheless loves music, dancing, and theater. It makes me excited for all the shows we can go to together in the next several years.
One more thing about Apple Valley- when Daddy Warbucks was making digs at Democrats (remember how FDR is part of Annie?), the laughter was a bit too genuine for for my comfort zone. This was no SW Minneapolis crowd. In my head, I was all "Dudes! FDR is the reason you have Medicare and Social Security! Not to mention that Democrats are the ones that support arts curricula in schools for your kids so they can put on performances of Annie and then go to Perkins for a cast party of pancakes and Sprite afterward to celebrate the joy of being middle schoolers!"
But that's beside the point. So I didn't say that. And when Johan and I got home, he asked me to sing him a song so I started one of our old favorites, and he said "no, not that one!" until I started singing "Tomorrow."
So there they were.
A group of toddlers dressed in yellow shirts with black tape on them looking like the most delicious little bumble bees on the stage...together with Johan's Grandma. It was very sweet. And makes me think that my boy may not be like his momma in her love for performance and being on stage (now manifested as the courtroom with juries and judges my audience.)
That's OK. He's a lot better at tee-ball than I am. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
Then, last night we went to the Apple Valley Middle School Spring play, "Annie." My niece had a small role but threw her all into it and she loves being on stage. Before the show started my sister in law asked if I brought books or toys for Johan to play with during the show. I hadn't really thought of that. I mean, we're here to see a show!
I was right that I wouldn't need toys to engage Johan. He was absolutely enthralled from beginning to end. Clapping at the right times; laughing when the audience would laugh; point out each time Samantha would come on stage and asking where she went when her part was over. I had thought we would leave at intermission but this upset Johan who shouted "More show!" and so I let him have a later bedtime in order to see the show to its conclusion. It makes me happy that, even if Johan is not destined to be a stage performer, he nevertheless loves music, dancing, and theater. It makes me excited for all the shows we can go to together in the next several years.
One more thing about Apple Valley- when Daddy Warbucks was making digs at Democrats (remember how FDR is part of Annie?), the laughter was a bit too genuine for for my comfort zone. This was no SW Minneapolis crowd. In my head, I was all "Dudes! FDR is the reason you have Medicare and Social Security! Not to mention that Democrats are the ones that support arts curricula in schools for your kids so they can put on performances of Annie and then go to Perkins for a cast party of pancakes and Sprite afterward to celebrate the joy of being middle schoolers!"
But that's beside the point. So I didn't say that. And when Johan and I got home, he asked me to sing him a song so I started one of our old favorites, and he said "no, not that one!" until I started singing "Tomorrow."
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