20 posts tagged “birthday”

Yesterday was one of my favorite days at The Aerie – it was the Beloved’s birthday!  As a treat to herself, she took the day off from work and we decided to spend part of the day using one of her Christmas presents that I had gotten for her – a VIP tour to the Wild Animal Park.

So, after a lovely breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon, we made the 20 minute drive out to the park and met our private guide, Jonathan, who would take us around.   Jonathan was a self-proclaimed “animal nerd” and worked on the education staff for the park.  We had our own private golf-cart and got to go behind-the-scenes in some of the enclosures.  The best was certainly the elephants, where we got to see the caretakers at work and were able to get really close to them – essentially just out of trunk reach.

It was incredibly cool and we were definitely being checked out as much as we were checking out.  What gorgeous graceful creatures.

We also got a tour of their African savannah, which is larger than all of Disney’s California Adventure theme park.  It was a beautiful day and the animals were grazing and hanging out – though the most interesting thing was when they were spooked by mules on a ridge (the park is thinking about incorporating mule rides into the local back country) – many of the animals had never seen a horse or mule (other than a zebra) and weren’t sure what to think.

One that didn’t seem to care was Nova, the northern white rhino – sadly, one of the last of her species.

We were also able to get back to the okapi area and meet one of the females there – this nice girl was pregnant and getting a little exercise.

Our tour finished up with a visit with the animal “ambassadors” – the ones that make it to schools, or fairs, or even TV shows.  We got to see a cheetah being lead into her “crate” for traveling (just like Penny!) and touch a snake and meet Cliff – who surprisingly is not an owl, but a Tawny Frogmouth – a close relative of flycatchers and nightjars.

It was really a great tour and went by in a flash.  I’d been to the WAP several times since moving to San Diego, and worried a bit that ther was nothing new to be learned or enjoyed.

How silly of me.

Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

Charles Darwin, born 12 February 1809

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abraham Lincoln, born 12 February 1809

Today would have been my mom’s 84th birthday.  Also, she died three years ago this week, so she’s been in my mind a lot.  So, I thought a little about what my mom might like/dislike if she were here with us this week.

Dislikes:

The media coverage of this campaign.  She would say that too much time is spent covering each side attacking the other – that it’s terrrrrrrrrible.

The greed and stupidity that precipitated this current financial crisis… though honestly, it wouldn’t have affected her – we never had any money, and the little we had was in nothing more complicated than a savings account or CD.

Likes:

The Phillies in the World Series!  She’d be soooo excited about that.  Especially if she could pick up the radio broadcast with Harry Kalas.  She would have really liked last night's 3-2 win in Game 1!!  She would also really like that the game was over at 8:30 here on the west coast.

Going to Sea World – she loved going there especially after she realized that I’d be happy to push her around in a wheel chair.  She loved seeing the Shamu show and dolphin show – and the wheelchair got her special seating.  Bonus!

Going out for pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) – which was something she learned to like very late in life.  I was always proud of the way she tried new things.

Hearing me play the piano.  I think she would have really gotten a kick out of that, and like a good mom, she’d say that I sounded great (no matter what I sounded like).

Happy Birthday, Mom!!  I love you!!

So this past weekend, The Beloved got her final birthday present, which (unbeknownst to her before Friday) was a weekend’s trip to Chicago. Why Chicago? Well, mostly because we’d both lived there before we knew one another. I cut my professional teeth working for Abbott Laboratories in the late 90s and the Beloved earned her PhD from Northwestern in the early 90s. I think I got a good surprise in, because she was giddy with excitement when she found out where we were going. Travel was easy coming and going (20 min late, and 15 min early respectively), and the weather was good (clear with highs in the mid-70s). Our hotel was swank and comfortable – when the cab let us out, I knew that I’d chosen the right place for us.

Some highlights:

Public spaces. Chicago has to one of the best places to see world-class art and architecture for free. Really, all you need to do is walk around some and look up from time to time. One block has a Picasso AND a Miró.

The architecture is so monumental its almost desensitizing after a while (oh look, there’s another marvel…).
We spent a good deal of time in the new Millennium Park (which I guess was a year or two late, but who's counting...) -- a great open space with couples stretched on lawns, kids playing in fountains, and the sculpture "Cloud Gate " or as it’s simply known as, "The Bean". From a distance, the Bean’s curved, reflective surface gives an interesting perspective to the sky and skyline and from near-in puts them within easy reach of the viewer (with a cool fun-house sort of aspect to boot). The Bean is great because it is both something to look at AND something to interact with.

We walked further down Michigan Avenue, which I remember as being pretty remarkable back in the day, but now really seems more like a high-end mall. So we hoofed it over to one of Susan's favorite pizza joints for lunch, which I gather used to be in a pretty dumpy area, but that is now a design center. It was nice being off the beaten track and we might have found chairs for our living room. Plus at the end, there was beer!

Food. We were able to eat a Chicago dog on our initial foray after checking in, and Saturday provided the aforementioned deep-dish pizza. Me? I'm an east-coast, fold-over-and-form-the-river-of-grease sort of guy – but the sausage (sorry, saass’-ij) and onion pizza was pretty tasty. The best meal we had was Friday night at Blackbird. Minimalist, accessible place -- small, but not tiny -- really aggressive menu of interesting things in cool preparations and with delicious, unusual accompaniments. Bonus: Awesome cocktails. Double bonus: Fantastic desserts. Perfect night.

Inside art and theater. In addition to the large public art, we also got tickets to see "Wicked" on Saturday night. This was a show, I'd always been a little hesitant to embrace, since I thought the book had a clever premise, but I grew to dislike the convoluted plot by the end. Well, the playwrights kept the fun stuff and jettisoned the baggage and made what I thought was a wonderful and dazzling production with great performances and clever writing. Really fun.

By Sunday morning we were looking to power down a little and decided to cap our weekend with a little time at the Art Institute of Chicago. We had a few hours, so each of us chose an area to explore. The Beloved’s choice was 16-17th-C European (think Dutch masters) – and my choice was 19th-early20th-C American. My choice was so much cooler – many fewer cherubs and not one Saint Jerome or severed John the Baptist head.

All in all, it was a great, great time. Very special for us to “rediscover” a place together that had been home to each of us for a while and see in a whole new way.

So, I’ve never been the kind of guy that needs the latest gadgets.  I didn’t own a cell phone until 2002.  I don’t replace it every year with a new model.  I don’t download games or take pictures with it.

I was slow to get an iPod and use iTunes.  I mean, I was a PC-guy.  I had a trusty Dell that came with MusicMatch Jukebox.  It worked fine.  I’ve used a PC at work my whole career.  Microsoft products?  Why be a hater?  Word, Office, Excel, Powerpoint, Project – like falling off a log.  I’m quick with the right-click.

This is in contrast to the Beloved, who having come more from the academic world than my corporate-dominated life had gravitated to Apple products.  Look how beautiful, she would say!  (Look how expensive, I would retort)… Look!  No viruses, she would cheer! (Protection software works fine, I’d grumble).  I was sticking to my guns, dammit.  Apples had always seemed a little too much style over substance, perhaps and there was a whiff of “hippie” that kept me resisting.

Then, I got an iPod a couple of years ago, and realized that ok, sure – iTunes is really a lot easier than what I had been using.  Fine.  But I could use it on my PC with no problems.  It wasn’t like I was giving in, right?

And then my Dell started getting a little long in the tooth and there were noises about getting a new computer for my birthday.  And then about a month ago – despite my protective software – there was a  bad bad virus infestation.  My trusty old Dell ground to a halt, and the choice was made.

So, I welcomed a new gadget into my life – a gorgeous 20” iMac.  It’s big, shiny, pretty and super-fast.  This weekend I spent some time moving over files (music, photos, financial, etc.) from the Dell to the new computer.  Pretty easy.

Now only if I could stop myself from right-clicking.

Don't judge me.  It's a better choice than the bottle of scotch I received as a present.... :)

Happy Birthday to The Beloved today!!  She is the love of my life and gifts can't come close to expressing the joy and love that I feel every day.  I'm the luckiest guy in the world.