my anablog (analog blog)

Inspired by my fellow bloggers I will do a meme ... something that I don't usually do.

Fill this out about your years of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be.

Who was your best friend?

Matt. He was my nerdy counterpart in every way except that he seemed to do slightly better with the ladies somehow. We were both selected to attend the Governor's Honors Academy and neither one of us wanted to tell the other because we were afraid it would hurt the other's feelings because it was very difficult to get a spot to go. I told the Vice Principal who announced it and Matt came up and said "why didn't you tell me you boob." The next day the Vice Principal announced "Accompanying Mr. Jawa to the Governor's Honors Academy will be Matthew X." Matt came up and punched me after homeroom and said "now it sounds like I'm going as your valet to carry your pencils or something you doofus." I miss Matt.

What kind of car did you drive?

I got to borrow my dad's red station wagon. I'm not a car nerd so I can't tell you what type that it was. I can say that it was awfully convenient to have a station wagon on a date in high school.

It’s Friday night, where were you?

Playing in the band at the football games.

Were you a party animal?

No.

Were you considered a flirt?

Oddly, yes. I had no inhibitions about going up and talking to the most popular or the prettiest girls. My guy friends would star in disbelief when the majorettes or the girl who won homecoming queen would say "hi jedi" when they'd pass us in the hall. I suppose that the girls didn't see me as a threat but just as a nice guy ... sort of like you might say "look at the cute little puppy." Consequently, this puppy had lots of female friends but very few girlfriends. It was a trade-off.

Ever skip school?

Not really. It was hard to skip when your dad dropped you off each morning because you were an out of district student going to a high school that was in the middle of nowhere. I may have managed to skip a couple of times though. I can't remember.

Were you a nerd?

God yes! I was both the clarinet section leader all three years AND I was an officer in the Thespian club. Do I need further proof?

Did you get suspended/expelled?

Not from high school. Certainly from elementary school if you can believe that. I was a hellion.

Can you sing the fight song?

No, but I could play it on my instrument and often did (not by myself though).

Who was your favorite teacher?

Mrs. Synder, who happens to be related to another person on my blogroll.

Favorite class?

French 1-3 with Mrs. Fleek (my second favorite teacher).

What was your school’s full name?

Capital High School. It should be noted that it was a peeve of ours that nobody knew how to spell the name of our school. Thus, I will forever remember that when you spell it with an "o", as in "capitol", it specifically refers to the building that houses the seat of state government and only to that building and it's surroundings.

School mascot?

A cougar.

Did you go to Prom?

Yes.

If you could go back and do it over, would you?

Um. No. College - definitely!

What do you remember most about graduation?

It was long.

Who was your high school sweetheart?

N/A.

Where were you on senior skip day?

I don't remember the name of the little park that our seniors chose to go to ... but I went. It was way out in the middle of nowhere.

Did you have a job your Senior year?

I was a lifeguard at the YWCA. You could get yourself clean, have a good meal, you could do whatever you feel.

Where did you go most often for lunch?

Either Mrs. Snyder's office, the bandroom, or the theater teachers' office. Nerds exhibit pack behavior for self protection.

Have you gained weight since then?

No, I still weigh the 120 pounds that I was when I graduated. Or not. ;-)

What did you do after graduation?

I went to NYC and saw "Phantom", "Miss Saigon" and a bunch of sights with my parents (sis was left behind for some reason). I remember that I had to translate for my dad who didn't understand the heavy accent of so many of the people who we encountered in New York. Dad also thought we'd save money by driving everywhere we wanted to go until we got onto Manhattan Island and he had to pry his whitened knuckles off the steering wheel upon arriving at the hotel.

When did you graduate?

1992. I was the first class to completely go through my high school.

Who was your Senior prom date?

My good friend Malinda ... who used to go to school with me in Jr. High but moved away and I met up with her again at the Honors Academy.

Are you going to your 10 year class reunion?

No, I didn't go. I would have but I was busy with a bunch of other stuff at the time and didn't really want to fuss with it. I'm wondering if I should have gone now.

Who will repost this after you?

Nobody, because probably nobody will read this post.

Return to "This is not my blog."

I wrote the original article below as a long email to some family and friends in May (before my blogging days). The email got passed around to some other people and I got some feedback that caused me to edit the original into an article and elaborate on some points. I passed the new article along to my running club who decided to publish it in their newsletter with no further editing (though I offered to shorten it). Here is the final product, more or less, as it was published.

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I managed to run in my first marathon this weekend. It was the 29th Annual Cleveland Rocks n' Runs Marathon held in Cleveland, OH and the event included a full marathon, half-marathon, and 10k. My time was a little shy of 6 hours for the 26.2 miles of the full marathon course. I am now a marathon finisher!

I had dreaded this marathon for a while as I wasn't sure that I was ready for it. Without a doubt, I wasn't as ready as I could be but I've decided that I'm a "Penguin" in the John Bingham fashion - that is I run because I enjoy it, not because I'm hoping to be competitive. Hence, I know that I'm slow so I might as well start somewhere for my "first time."

I woke up at 4am on Sunday morning to get ready to depart for the race. It was raining as I left home around 5am so that I could make the drive to Cleveland in time for the 7am start time. I arrived and parked in a garage overlooking the finish area and pushed away the thoughts of dread as I hoped it would warm up and dry out enough to make the race enjoyable. No such luck as I had to finish pinning on my race number and gather my gear on the way down to the starting line. My wife had loaned me her new biking jacket which was a bright yellow, fairly rain/wind proof, lightweight shell that could fold up into its own pocket that could be strapped around the waist. I was wearing the jacket and it was a real life saver as the morning temperature was in the mid 40's with a light rain as we gathered at the starting line.

I found the pace team that was supposed to help me to get through the race holding a 12:36/mile pace so that I could finish the race in my goal time of 5:30:00. Had I gotten in as much training as I had wished over the winter I may have shot for a sub 5 hour pace but my fall-back goal was to finish in the 6 hours that most marathons allow for completion (Cleveland allows 8 hours for completion due to its walking division). I found the pace team for 5:30:00 and saw that it consisted of two pace leaders and one other runner who had signed up like I had (we had an extra bib that indicated we were working on a goal pace). The first gun sounded at 6:50 for the handbike competitors while our gun sounded at 7am and I crossed the start line a little over 2 minutes later and quickly lost sight of the pace team which immediately shot off at a faster pace than was indicated by our 5:30:00 goal. Oh well, I had a nifty little wrist band that gave me all of the mile split times and a Nike Triax Speed Distance Monitor that would tell me if I was on pace or not as I ran through the streets of Cleveland.

On my run I also had my MP3 player which gave me great motivation with an 8+ hour mix of favorite 80's music that I had been compiling for the last 3 months in preparation for my long run. I don't usually run with music but it was a real benefit this time as some of the songs that came up were just so appropriate for the run. Some of the songs were just fun by their subject matter: "Footloose"; "I Ran So Far Away"; "Man In Motion"; "Run to You"; "The Race"; etc. Other songs came up at funny moments just by odd luck as I got "Here Comes The Rain Again" just minutes after the rain that we started the race in had gotten heavier and "Walking On Sunshine" came up within 10 minutes of the sun coming out later in the race. Other songs with strong beats came up when I really needed a good pick-me-up to keep moving up a little hill or just to get myself moving again: "Walk Like an Egyptian"; "The Heart of Rock & Roll"; "My Sharona"; "Tainted Love"; "Whip It"; "The Safety Dance"; etc. I also savored the thought that I was bopping along in the city that hosts the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

We started the course by running down the Shoreway on the west side of Cleveland and I got to see the Lake Erie beach for the first time. Though it was in a drizzle, it did look pretty in the morning light. The rain let up a bit in the first mile or so and runners started to shed clothing and the makeshift raincoats (i.e. trashbags) that many were wearing. I saw so many discarded gloves, bags, long sleeve tee's, sweats, etc. over the first half of the course, particularly after the sun came out and started to warm things up a bit. It truly was a dreary morning but I was staying on my pace as each mile came and went without my seeing any sign of my pace team. Around the 4th mile, heading toward Edgewater Park, I saw the lead marathon and half-marathoners returning on the other side of the Shoreway having turned around at the 6 mile point to head back downtown. By the time that I got to the 6 mile point the rain had started up again and was quite steady for about 10 minutes. I had noticed two interesting runners in this stretch of the race, one was a man who was wearing a shirt that said in large letters "DEAF RUNNER" who was just having a great time waving to people and enjoying the race, the other was a young woman whose shirt said on the back "The best way to get me to do something is to tell me that I can't." I drew inspiration from them both as I plodded along and eventually lost sight of them over the next several miles.

About 2 hours into my run I was still on pace and had just passed the 9 mile marker when the sun came out and the rain stopped. A cheer went up from the runners around me as we started to snake our way back to downtown Cleveland. At this point I passed one of the other people who was on my pace team and didn't see her again until after crossing the finish line. I took off my jacket and folded it into its little pocket where it strapped around my waist nicely. We ran over the Carnegie Bridge, one of the uphill sections of the course, which was a neat experience as we crossed over the Cuyahoga River and the Flats. As we approached Jacobs Field and the 12th mile marker I noticed that the traffic cops and race volunteers started to encourage others around me that they were near the end. I realized that the woman who I had crossed the 10k timing mat with was not going to be with me for the full race and wished her well as she split off, looking strong, toward the half-marathon finish line.

Now and it was the moment of truth. I knew that if I wasn't feeling good by the time that I got to the half-way point that I would have to give it up as the second half of the marathon course was not an out and back but was a long loop that ran down Chester, looped around University Circle on the extreme east side of Cleveland and then headed north toward the Lake Erie shoreline before following N. Marginal west past the Burke Lake Front Airport and back downtown. When I hit the half-way marker I felt good and I was still on pace. Up to this point I had been doing a Galloway walk-run method of running for 4 and half minutes and then walking for 30 seconds. This method was keeping me lose and feeling good so I crossed the 13.1 mile timing mat at 2:44:05 (55 seconds ahead of pace) and kept going. I am accustomed to carrying my cell phone on my runs and received two phone calls not long after crossing the half-way point, one from a co-worker wishing me well and then from my wife a mile or so later. Both of these were very encouraging and helped me to know that I made the right choice by pressing onward. Of course, both calls were also brief as I had begun to huff and puff a little by this point.

By the 14th mile I started to notice that I was losing time and the first feelings of fatigue started to set in. I had been staying hydrated by taking sports drink at each of the watering stations but the miles were starting to wear me down. I passed Case Western University, Severance Hall, the Art Museum, and all of that other stuff around University Circle before heading down Martin Luther King into Rockefeller Park. Somehow this race course seemed to have very little uphill and a lot of downhill as I started to notice that Martin Luther King was mostly downhill for several miles. This downhill started as a blessing but ended up being a bit of a curse as I started to notice that I was beginning to feel discomfort in my feet and shins from the constant downhill stresses. It was just before heading down this stretch that I had switched to running 4:15 and walking 45 seconds and I was now wondering if I was going to be able to maintain my pace for much longer. By the time that I crossed the 30k timing mat (at about 18.6 miles) I was about 6 minutes behind my goal pace and was soon to be in for a big surprise.

I left Rockefeller Park and found myself at the exposed lakefront a little past the 19 mile marker (heading into Gordon Park) when I was suddenly hit by a huge gust of wind that almost stole my hat. I had heard that the winds would be 20-30 mph gusts in Cleveland and now saw this first hand. I was glad to have had the jacket that the wife had loaned me and put it on once again as the wind was chilling me to the bone. As I turned the corner to head west back downtown the wind was at my head working against me every step of the way. At times it felt like I could walk faster than I could run as the wind would try to pick me up on each running step. Twice the wind gusted and almost blew me down as my jacket flapped so loudly that it sounded like a flag blowing in a strong wind. I lost my hat 4 or 5 times over the last 10k of the race and had to go chasing it each time. Lake Erie also smelled terrible being so close to it. I learned later that there have been a lot of fish kills in the Lake so far this spring and that was why the coast smelled so bad...it smelled like a combination open sewer/fish market! I was glad to get a little farther away from the lake as we crossed over I-90 on our way down the 3-4 miles toward the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Browns Stadium.

I say "we", but I was running this section of the race quite alone. I had passed many people over the course of my run and had lost sight of other people who I had been running with who had gotten ahead of me. Now I didn't see many people around either in front or behind me. I tend to draw comfort from seeing familiar people who are moving along around the same pace as me and because I use the Galloway method I end up seeing different clusters of runners as I progress through a race. These people become familiar faces and I tend to consider them my road companions and I even engage in short conversations where the conditions permit. Now I was out in front of one cluster and way behind another and felt very alone on this stretch of trail. Solitude made this stretch as difficult as the high winds and I began to wonder if I was going to finish.

I had passed one of the two pace leaders from my pace team at about the 16 mile marker...she came across the finish line about 20 minutes after I did and I never saw the other person from our pace team again. There were two guys in orange jackets, who seemed to be experienced runners, who I had run with off and on from about the 9th to the 17th mile who I lost track of as I entered Rockefeller Park. I never saw them finish the race and I hope that they didn't give up due to the nasty wind. There was also an older guy in his 60's who kept staying about a quarter mile ahead of me for a lot of this windy trek. He lost ground to me as he periodically stopped to sit down looking exhausted from battling the wind. I eventually passed him, assessing him mentally to make sure he was okay. I was very glad to see this road warrior finish the race later and I was also glad that there had been bicycle medics along that lonely stretch of course in case this gentleman had any serious problems. I lost track of my walking and running ratio during this time and might have done as much walking as running over that windy, desolate stretch! Cleveland was supposed to be an easy first marathon but that wind really took the fight right out of me and made it awfully hard to finish. In fact, I was seriously thinking about cutting the race short during this battle, but I pressed on knowing that there were plenty of people who had believed in me and would ask me about my finish.

I was very glad to turn toward Public Square nearing the 24 mile marker and when the wind died down a bit. I now felt like I could actually finish the race with only about 2 miles to go. I was able to pick up my pace slightly but I had lost a lot of time and was more than 18 minutes behind my goal, and very tired. As I struggled to finish the final miles one of the women who I had run an earlier stretch of the race alongside came up behind me and I was able to kick up my pace a bit to stay with her as we neared the finish. This was just the motivation that I needed to finish my first marathon in a run and my new companion looked as tired as I felt as we made the final turn toward the finish line and expressed our relief at seeing the end. I heard the announcer talking about the huge fan club that was waiting for my cohort and I asked if they were talking about her. She nodded that they were and I indicated that she should go ahead of me as we reached the last 100 yards and I saw the mob that was her family waiting to welcome her. As fate would have it, I later learned through a friend of a friend of a friend that this runner was also running her first marathon that day. Hi Erin!

I crossed the finish line a few seconds later and was glad to have come in under my 6 hour goal, considering the circumstances. My feet and legs were sore and I later discovered that I had some nasty toe blisters and a black toenail from my downhill trauma. In the mean time I was seeking water, food, and some shelter from the cold gusts of wind. The jacket was helpful, once again, as there was no good place to really get shelter while I waited for other runners who I had seen on the course while running my race. I stayed in the finish area for about an hour before heading to my car where I watched for a bit longer before driving back home. One of my favorite finishes were two guys who were dressed in elaborate bathrobes and funny hats who had labeled themselves the Couch Potato Patrol. I passed them around the half-way point and they were just having a great time and even looked like they were still enjoying themselves at the finish. There were many other runners who were announced, along with the causes that they were running for, as they neared and crossed the finish line. Each one was an inspiration and made the experience all the more meaningful. I had passed (and had been passed) by plenty of runners who were running for a particular cause, person, or to celebrate an event. Each one was out to achieve a goal and I was glad to see so many reach their personal milestones as they finished their race. I drove home feeling quite a bit lighter than I had felt on the morning drive.

That night I slept some 12 hours and still felt like I could use another 12 when I got up to head into work. I walked around like Frankenstein's monster for a few days and I made it through on Advil and caffeine. Going down stairs was quite a chore and my blisters kept me from running the rest of the week. All in all it was a good experience that I enjoyed notwithstanding the wind. I have to say that the Team In Training people did a very nice job having support groups stationed several miles apart through the entire course to cheer their participants on for their cause. Of course, they cheered non-members on as well and it was much appreciated. I also thank some of the people who brought their funny dogs along to watch the race with them. Some of these supporters, particularly the furry ones, caused me to laugh and made me feel lighter in my stride.

I will probably do another marathon in another year or so but I think that I'll focus on other stuff for a while now...like sleeping...and eating...and training for the next race. I think that I'll do a triathlon next.

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Scroll down for my complete 80s marathon song list.

Because I've gotten so many helpful, and not so helpful, comments about the music that I selected for my 8 hour MP3 mix of 80's music that I compiled for my first marathon earlier this year I have decided to post the complete list of that music for better or worse.

This list is in alphabetical order and not in playlist order.

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- 867-5309/Jenny - Tommy Tutone
- 99 Red Balloons - Nena
- Addicted to Love - Robert Palmer
- And We Danced - The Hooters
- Another One Bites The Dust - Queen
- Axel F - Harold Faltermeyer
- Back on the Chain Gang - The Pretenders
- Birdland - Weather Report
- Burning Down the House - Talking Heads
- California Girls - David Lee Roth
- Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon
- Cars - Gary Numan
- Centerfold - J. Geils Band
- Come Dancing - The Kinks
- Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners
- Cruel Summer - Bananarama
- Der Kommissar - After the Fire
- The Devil Went Down To Georgia - Charlie Daniels Band
- (I Just) Died In Your Arms Tonight - Cutting Crew
- Don't Forget Me - Glass Tiger
- Don't Worry Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin
- Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds
- Don't You Want Me - The Human League
- Down Under - Men At Work
- Escape (Pina Colada) - Rupert Holmes
- Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung
- Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears
- Footloose - Kenny Loggins
- Freeze Frame - J.Geils Band
- Ghostbusters - Ray Parker Jr.
- Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
- Hazy Shade of Winter - Bangles
- Head Over Heals - Go-Go's
- Head Over Heels - Tears for Fears
- Heat of the Moment - Asia
- The Heart of Rock & Roll - Huey Lewis and the News
- Here Comes The Rain Again - Eurythmics
- Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
- Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar
- Hold Me Now - Thompson Twins
- Hungry Like The Wolf - Duran Duran
- I Can Dream About You - Dan Hartman
- I Melt With You - Modern English
- I Ran So Far Away - A Flock of Seaguls
- I Think We're Alone Now - Tiffany
- I Want A New Drug - Huey Lewis and the News
- I Want Candy - Bow Wow Wow
- Jeopardy - The Greg Kihn Band
- Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
- Jump For My Love - Pointer Sisters
- Just A Gigolo/I Aint Got Nobody - David Lee Roth
- Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
- Let's Hear It For the Boy - Deniece Williams
- Love Is A Battlefield - Pat Benatar
- Love Shack - B-52s
- Luka - Suzanne Vega
- Man In Motion - John Parr
- Maneater - Hall & Oats
- Maniac - Michael Sembello
- Mickey - Toni Basil
- Missing You - John Waite
- My Sharona - The Knack
- Neutron Dance - Pointer Sisters
- Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship
- Oh Yeah - Yellow
- On Our Own - Bobby Brown
- One Thing Leads to Another - The Fixx
- Our House - Madness
- Out of Touch - Hall & Oats
- Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes
- The Power of Love - Huey Lewis and The News
- The Race - Yellow
- Relax - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
- Rhythm of the Night - DeBarge
- Rock Lobster - B-52's
- Rock This Town - Stray Cats
- Rosanna - Toto
- Run to You - B.Adams
- The Safety Dance - Men Without Hats
- The Search Is Over - Survivor
- Shake It Up - The Cars
- Shattered Dream - Jonny Hates Jazz
- She Blinded Me With Science - Thomas Dolby
- She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals
- Shout - Tears for Fears
- Sister Christian - Night Ranger
- Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
- Some Like It Hot - The Power Station
- Straight Up - Paula Abdul
- Summer of 69 - Brian Adams
- Sunglasses at Night - Corey Hart
- Sussudio - Phil Collins
- Tainted Love - Soft Cell
- Take On Me - A-Ha
- Talking In Your Sleep - The Romantics
- Tied Up - Yellow
- Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
- True - Spandau Ballet
- Vacation - Go-Gos
- Valley Girl - Frank Zappa
- Venus - Bananarama
- Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
- Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham!
- Walk Like an Egyptian - Bangles
- Walk This Way - Run DMC & Aerosmith
- Walking On Sunshine - Katrina & The Waves
- The Warrior - Scandal
- We Built This City - Starship
- We Got the Beat - Go-Go's
- Weird Science - Oingo Boingo
- What I Like About You - The Romantics
- Whip It - Devo
- Who Can It Be Now? - Men At Work
- Who’s Johnny - El DeBarge
- Workin' for the Weekend - Loverboy
- YMCA - Village People
- You Keep Me Hangin On - Kim Wilde
- You Might Think - The Cars
- Your Love - The Outfield

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8-7-06 7:30am Mon. - Day 10 (the return)

It sure felt nice to sleep in air-conditioning last night. We got packed up and ready to leave the campground by about 1pm or so yesterday. We got home around 3pm and it took as much or more time to unpack and stash all of our gear back in our storage space. Then it was time to take the mother of all showers where I had to clean myself in layers. The pizza arrived and we started watching through the hours of video from our TV programs from last week. Now it's time to try to check the email and get back on-line and reacclimated to the world before tomorrow.

8-6-06 7:15am Sun. - Day 9 (the last day)

It is the final morning of our camping trip and it is yet another beautiful and cool dawn. I'm listening to a NPR program called "The Thistle and Shamrock" which is like a Scottish and Irish variety hour where the hosts play Celtic music, give interesting news bits, and I think I've heard them interview people before. It has been a while since I've heard it and this one may be different from the one that I've heard on Cleveland Public Radio which was local and hosted by two guys - not a soft spoken woman.

So this is the last morning and I've dreaded it for many reasons. I will enjoy being home and clear again but I hate the process of breaking down camp. So far we've managed not to have any sniping or fighting (which is pretty remarkable) but I don't think that we've ever managed to have a camp tear down where we haven't fought about something. Tensions run high, it's tough work, usually someone gets bent out of shape about something (I'll include myself in that). This is part of the reason why we extended our trip one day past our anniversary so that we could enjoy it (which we did). This means that I won't go to work till Tuesday because it is important to have a day to reacclimate to the speed of the real world before jumping back into it.

What we’ll do with the rest of the day today should be interesting. We've gone to back to back movies when good ones have come out while we were camping but we've also ordered pizza and stayed in to watch all of our programs that we've taped for the week (this year that would be "The 4400", "30 Days", "Stargate: SG1", "Stargate: Atlantis", "Eureka", "Dead Like Me", and "Ebert and Roeper"). Of course, the very first thing that we'll do will be to bathe the dogs who are every bit as filthy as we are - if not more so. I'll unload the cars and then we'll have to shower ourselves and eventually wash all of our clothes from the trip - whether we wore them or not (they'll all smell like campfire).

I'd better get back to enjoying this last morning before I have to start doing hard work. I'll close until I get the chance to figure out what to do with this "anablog" - wouldn't that be a catchy blog title?

8-5-06 8:00pm

We're closing our last day of "primitive" camping (using that term a bit more loosely than usual). I have a fire going for what will be a cool night to a very pleasant day - though it was supposed to have been in the low 90's today it didn't feel like it. We're starting to hear some of the 2 bands that are playing at Deerassic across the valley tonight (not at the same time). We have to laugh at the idea that our anniversary will probably always be celebrated here and that some odd Deer-killer festival named after a poor adaptation of a Michael Crichton book will possibly accompany that celebration as this event continues to grow. We don't mind - It's just funny.

Speaking of funny I just finished Sarah Vowell's latest book "Assassination Vacation" and have decided that I have to review it. I think that it is her best book to date and I love her wit and clever way with words. I laughed out loud at least half a dozen times while reading which is something that I tend not to do.

I didn't get through all of the books that I had contemplated reading and will probably finish the weekend typing up what I've been writing this week. That's okay though because I really enjoyed nature this week even though the heat cut into my book reading time by making me sleep, go on drives, or to the pool. Something else that I enjoyed that I hadn't anticipated was all of the writing that I did (like this very item). I haven't touched pen to paper so much since my last week of law school final exams a little over 5 years ago! Imagine that, 5 years! I've filled a 5x8 note pad mostly front and back. Not only have I kept this journal - my anablog (get it? analog + blog), but I also wrote a lot of what will probably form the core of a new legal article that I'll try to get print published. The last time that I wrote and published such an article it took a solid 2 months of research, writing, and refining and then there was a let down as it took almost a year before the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) actually made good on their promise to publish my piece. This time I did the same or more in terms of my research but the goal wasn't the article that I've put off writing. Again, I have to thank all of you for my renewed interest in writing (and I'll have to figure out a way to put you in my acknowledgements). Time to feed both the fire and the dogs. Tomorrow is my return to civilization, daily showers, and a relatively bug-free environment. Alas!

8-5-06 10:45am

Mrs. Jawa and I did our anniversary gift exchange. Now she's cooking breakfast (second breakfast for me). She liked her necklace and earrings - both the toy set as well as the real ones. I also got her a book of quotes and remembrances about Jim Henson and his Muppets called "It's Not Easy Being Green". She got me a 7 iron (golf club) and an iron puzzle called "patience". I had a moment of panic when I was about to open the club and she asked if I could figure out what it was based upon the traditional gift for our anniversary year. "Shit," I thought, "was I supposed to follow that ... I thought that was for other people who wanted to give us gifts - besides an iron necklace isn't romantic = an Iron Maiden might have worked though...." She must have noticed my deer-caught-in-the-headlights gaze because she interrupted my thoughts by saying it was okay if I didn't follow that (did she mean it though). I think that she liked her necklace and earrings a lot, the camp owners sure did as they were complicit in my getting it delivered here so I showed it to them.

Mrs. Jawa said that the raccoons came back last night but didn't get into anything. We left no food out and I imagine they made successful raids on the new campers before they got to us. Our useful younger dog, who barks at anything that dares to walk past our house apparently watched the coons in silence again last night while I slept. At least they didn't create a mess. She said they were here for about 20 mins. before walking right by our tent (and our big, dumb, silent dog) while chattering to each other. How funny!

Oh, and this is sweet too. The camp owners also gave us an anniversary card today and invited us to keep coming back to celebrate our anniversary with them each year, and in the primitive location that we get to exclusively use now. They tell the other campers that we're okay to camp on the hill because we're family and they sure treat us that way. They're such nice people!

8-5-06 8:00am Sat. - Day 8 (the last full day)

It is another quiet and beautiful morning on the last full day of camping. I've rekindled the fire from the considerable embers remaining from last night. I have been listening to "A Prairie Home Companion" but now the depressing news has come on via "Weekend Edition" so I think I'll find something else to listen to. Right now they are talking about our abysmal failure in Iraq and how the Bush administration can't admit a mistake and change tactics - this author is proposing that Iraq be divided into 3 countries along the lines of historical ethnic divide. I think I'll switch over to Dave Brubeck or Vince Guaraldi instead.

Today is my wedding anniversary (we always camp over our anniversary). The necklace that I ordered from Nova Scotia, Canada arrived here on Monday so I'm looking forward to surprising her with it as she probably won't expect it because I told her that I probably wouldn't have it shipped till we were back from camping - the father-in-law often forgets to pick up our mail when we're out of town. I did wrap a piece of toy jewelry from the grocery store toy section as a place holder and have the nice box of real jewelry stashed away till after I get what I hope will be an amused reaction to the toy.

One of my dogs is dreaming which is one of the funniest things to watch. His paws and legs are twitching and little muffles barks are starting in his throat and barely escaping his lips. I wonder what he thinks he's chasing as he isn't a chaser during his waking hours?

8-4-06 9:00pm

Today was a much more pleasant day as the high was about 83 degrees. That meant we could choose to be in the sun or retire to the shade where it was very comfortable. This is how we are used to the weather while camping. We went to the pool in the early evening and then decided to get dinner at The Dancing Donkey again since we now felt clean and didn't want to do all that cooking and cleaning (how strange is it that a restaurant in the middle of nowhere has a website). We haven't been quite as primitive this year as we have been in the past. Usually we only make two trips out of the camp for groceries and we might go for ice cream one other time. I think that we may have only had one day where we didn't go anywhere this time.

I have a big fire going tonight and we can hear two noisy dogs off in the distance from people who are camping near the camp showers on the other side of the grounds. Deerassic should be in full swing but we aren't hearing it yet - unlike last year. We looked at the poster today and saw that there will be all sorts of "celebrities" from those TV hunting shows as well as some expert archers who will be demonstrating products and showing off. One of the big bands this year is something called Grass Roots which the camp owners said was big in the 70's. I don't know how much of that we will hear as we haven't heard anything so far tonight - not that we mind. The campground has really filled up with people attending the event and probably some regular campers like us.

The camp has dried out and we have one more full day of camping to look forward to before we have to do the unpleasant task of breaking down the camp before returning to civilization.

8-4-06 8:30am Fri. - Day 7

It is another beautiful and cool morning at our campsite on primitive hill. The sun is starting to shine into our campsite, the birds are singing and I'm listening to the British band Marillion out of one ear and to nature with the other. We never built a fire last night as there was supposed to be a 90% chance of rain. Instead we played two games of Cribbage - I lost both - over a bag of Jiffy Pop made on our Coleman propane grill/stove combo. Around 1am our raccoon friends returned to make a mess of our dinning area. There wasn't much to mess up and no food was left out so we didn't chase them off until they returned at 2:30am and were making noise as they tried getting into our bungeed coolers. The rain returned at 3am and persisted for 30 minutes or so - maybe more but I fell asleep as it was a light rain.

This morning I got up around 7am to assess the campsite, feed the dogs and myself, and to get the weather report. It should be cooler the rest of the week only in the 80's with no more rain. I checked my voicemail and found I probably have to call into the office today as an Appellant in one of my cases is trying to pull a fast one in my absence. Attorneys can be such assholes sometimes.

Today should be an interesting day at the campground. For the last 3 years our camping trip has fallen during the weekend of "Deerasic Classic" which is billed as the largest White Tail Deer Expo in North America. We're not hunters so we don't get excited about this but it is held about 2 miles away across the valley outside the entrance to Salt Fork State Park so the campground has been booked solid by people who don't want to camp at the Deerassic event (which was huge last year). People started arriving as early as Tues. and Wed. for the event that starts tonight and runs all day Saturday. They have live music and last year they cranked up the big acts and we heard them across the valley in our "cheap seats" (too bad we don't like country music). Last year they had some big names like the Charlie Daniels band and I haven't looked to see who is playing this year. They also have a huge raffle where tickets cost $150 (and have all been sold out for weeks) with numerous and big prizes - this year the grand prize is a Hummer H3 (which I thought was designed for women - maybe not). The camp owners are excited about it but mostly for the raffle I think as they are not hunters - actually they are bird lovers.

We have 2 more full days of camping before we pack up to return home on Sunday and then take Monday off work to clean up and to recoup. One year we came back, showered, and went to see 'The Manchurian Candidate". As we were sitting in our favorite Mexican restaurant afterward, waiting to order we both started to feel jittery and our hearts started to race. When we talked about it all that we could figure was that we were experiencing sensory overload from all of the sights, sounds, and lights of the movie and busy restaurant. We ended up getting out of there and have been careful to transition back to civilization ever since.

8-3-06 6:00pm - after the rain

The rain came and it rained hard. It likely isn't over as there is still a high probability for tonight and the morning. Around 4pm we started hearing thunder and the sky began to darken by 4:30. We began to tarp everything and batten down the camp. Within 10 minutes the temperature dropped and high winds started to kick up as we scurried around bringing in our chairs and anchoring our tarps and shelters. We finished just in time and got hammered for about 30 minutes. It wasn't the worst storm we have weathered as we had one where we had to retreat to a shelter during a tornado watch (one touched down a few miles away that time). This time we had some violent rain and a lot of wind and thunder. I haven't ventured out to see how things are but we haven't spotted any leaks in the tent yet (if it rains for a long time you'll find them - they seem to change every year). With luck, it will be clear for a while and we can cook and have our fire.

Earlier today, at the hottest part of the day, we went for a drive - Mrs. Jawa, the dogs, and I. We drove through rural Ohio and visited a local lake area and enjoyed the breeze of driving. It was a nice diversion and we got ice cream on the way back. What I liked most about driving over the hills and dells of rural Ohio is how much it reminds me of the back roads of my native West Virginia (except the roads are better marked here). We are in the foothills of the Appalachians and that is a favorite part of this campsite for me as I tend to miss my WV hills the longer that I'm away from them in Northern Ohio.

Before the rain I read a fairly short book by "Dilbert" author Scott Adams. The book is called "God's Debris" and it is non-fiction (sort of) and non-humor. It was more of a philosophical argument and he calls it a "thought experiment." I would suggest it. It reminds me of something by Douglas Adams without the irony or satire. My next book will be "Assassination Vacation"* by Sarah Vowell which starts with a quote from "We Can Build You" by Philip K. Dick and a recap of her attendance of the Stephen Sondheim play "Assassins"!

*Read my review here.

8-3-06 7:00am Thurs. - Day 6

We had critters last night. At about 1:30am we woke to a crash and shone our light out to see two raccoons rummaging on our picnic table. They looked right at us and went back to what they were doing. We knew there wasn't much they could get but eventually we went out to inspect and heard them chattering from their retreat position. They made off with our bananas and a bunch of grapes left over from dinner. This is odd as they usually don't touch fruit as they prefer junk food.

Tonight we will get to do that rain dance too as the forecast is 50% chance of rain today and 90% chance of rain tonight with possible heavy bursts. Friday is a 30% chance but our last two days look clear. This means that for the first time this week we'll have to lay out our tarps so they are ready and we'll have to cover exposed things and pull our chairs into the screen house before we go to bed - if we aren't already being rained on. While our tent has a rain cover that is designed for it we will have to put out additional tarps in case it gets really heavy. We've never done this but if it gets really bad or we start getting lightning strikes we would abandon to the cars and/or a local hotel. Luckily, we'll get a chance to dry out before we pack up. The years we've had to pack wet tents and tarps we've always had to pull it all out back at home so that it doesn't mold in storage. Sleeping in a moldy tent does not sound fun.

I finished that Paul Campos book, "The Obesity Myth", last night. I still think that his book is misguided in its efforts. I've seen that a later edition of his book called "The Diet Myth" which seems more appropriate than "The Obesity Myth" as his book is mostly a rant against the tactics of the modern diet industry. I don't disagree with him there - I just think he goes about it in the wrong way.

8-2-06 6:00pm

We got back from the camp's pool about half an hour ago. Again it felt good to be in cool water on the 4th day in a row of heat advisories and upper 90 degree temperatures. You just never know what sort of weather you'll have while camping. We were worried it would be soggy and damp after all the rain we've had in NE Ohio but it hasn't been as bad down here. The camp owners tell us that this is the worst hot streak of the summer. During the mid-afternoon today it was hot enough to make us seek shade, curl up, and sleep. Still, it is nice to be "off the grid" and relaxing. I finished Bob Byrd's book "Losing America" today and am even more disgusted by the Bush administration. I'm going to have to read something fun now to get that taste out of my mouth. Mrs. Jawa is making dinner now - a Zataran's chicken pasta thing. We had PB&J sandwiches for lunch as it was too hot to turn the grill on. The sun is starting to set so it will be time to build the fire soon. Maybe I can practice any golf chipping first.

P.S. In a bit of a coincidence I heard a report on NPR tonight that some auditing has uncovered that billions have been lost to corruption in the rebuilding of Iraq and that the Bush administration was unprepared for such a large undertaking. This is precisely what I read about in Senator Byrd's book today when he asked the Senate not to hand an 87 billion blank check to the President in 2004. He predicted this but somehow the feeling of "he told you so" leaves me feeling cold and hollow. I have a sick feeling that we'll be saying that a lot over the next decades.

8-2-06 7:15am Wed. - Day 5

Day 5 - it is another peaceful and cool morning and I'm listening to the sultry song stylings of Anna Nalick out of one ear and a woodpecker and late morning crickets out of the other. The remnants of last night's fire are also sizzling in front of me - it was a good one too with a good base and heat projected forward by standing wood chunks as I had hoped.

It is supposed to be another hot day in the high 90's and that is fine. Two things I haven't written about yet are rain and rodents. Let's do rain first. Rain sucks. Someone asked me last week what happens if it rains? My reply was that you get wet. Two or three years ago it rained every day of our trip for at least several hours and often for a big chunk of the day off and on. That year I think that we had 2 breaks - when we were setting up and again when we were breaking down camp (which was nice). We had tarps on everything that year and the tent became so saturated that we had to abandon the part that was lowest due to water pooling as it came in slowly from all over. It was damp and cool and I had to try to keep our fire hot all the time if we were going to have one at all. Our favorite time, sitting around the campfire at night, had to be given up several of those nights.

When it starts to rain unexpectedly it always creates a commotion. Mostly when it happens while we're sleeping. One of us will wake first to the splashes of rain coming through the screened roof and will raise the alarm. Both of us will throw on shoes and head out to throw the rain tarp on the tent (it comes designed for the tent). We will also have to zip up the tent windows and throw various tarps on our other exposed items like the grill and other areas. It is quite a commotion.

The other type of nocturnal commotion is when we get critters to our kitchen. By critters I mean rodents with cute tails - squirrels but more so raccoons. If you don't secure your food supply at night then you deserve the havoc those little bastards can cause. We bungee our pantry and coolers and hang any trash where it will be difficult to meddle with it. We will still wake up hearing "thwap" as they try to pull the bungee off or "crash" as they knock our plates over. We may shine our lights at them and the dogs may bark but the little shits will look right at you with impudence until you actually exit the tent and then you'll hear them cursing you in the trees. Once when we were camping at another place the people next to us, not blessed with an abundance of smarts, cooked all of their hamburgers for the weekend and left them out between 2 plates (yes, it does seem odd). By the morning they had been divested of their burgers as well as other things. So far we haven’t had rain or critters - but the week isn't over yet.

8-1-06 8:15pm

Cotton sucks! The problem after that is that cotton doesn't spit - it swallows. Okay that was needlessly graphic but today was freakin' hot in the high 90's with a heat index of over 115 degrees. The longer that I have been back to endurance athletics the more performance wear that I've collected because whether you are in the extreme heat or in the extreme cold cotton is bad stuff. Unlike cotton - which absorbs sweat and holds it close to the body, performance wear pulls sweat away from the body where it then moves out of the clothes to evaporate - leaving you feeling cooler and not water soaked. I am thankful that I brought almost all of my performance wear on this trip - shorts, shirts, and even underwear.

That being said, it is starting to cool now which means fire time soon. The contrast between night and day makes it feel cooler than it is. Going from a heat index of 100+ to the low 70's feels like a huge drop! I still welcome it though. This afternoon we went back to Cambridge to get a second of those fans I bought on Sunday. Marked down from $20 to $11 it is a great buy, particularly as it can double as a night light for both our dining canopy and our screenhouse. We didn't eat out though, we just got the fan and more D-cell batteries to run it. We had a grilled marinade which left me with a mess to clean (it took a while). My accomplishments for the day include: working on chipping with my pitching wedge, finishing "Finding Serenity", replacing batteries in several things, working some Scrabble anagram puzzles, taking a shower (which didn't "take" as I was sweating again immediately), and driving the 5 miles to Cambridge to get that second fan.

On the anagram puzzles, I've been staring at a list of word building Scrabble drills today. In the ones I'm working on you get 5 letter words to which you must add a new letter to make a new 6 letter word (re-arranging the original letters). For example PETER + X = EXPERT or BONER + Z = BRONZE. A few that took me a while today were SHEER + Y; EATER + K; and MITIS + F (I'm not telling the answers either but I'll trade for one of these that I can't get OHIAS + F; ROSIN + H; and TWINE + H). Time to go start the fire as my manly duty. Good night.

8-1-06 8:00am Tues. - Day 4

Even though I slept a lot yesterday I still had a hard time getting up today. Part of this was due to my back still being sore from Sunday. I've had breakfast and fed the dogs so now I'm enjoying the quiet morning and cool temperature while it lasts. Mrs. Jawa sleeps much later than I do which is a complete reversal from my law school days. According to the radio today will be another heat advisory day and there is some concern about the amount of power consumption and brown outs. Well, we won't be consuming any power here except for battery power!

I've found WV public radio on my MP3 player this morning which reminds me of my days working in Charleston. I listened to some of the local NPR yesterday and was quickly reminded why I've tried to avoid mass market news over the last 5 years - it's too depressing. If they aren't covering the crap that this Bush administration is pulling then it's something else equally depressing like the war in Lebanon with sound bites from our Imperious Leader. I was hoping to hear more about Floyd Landis and his drug test.

I don't know what my prospects are for getting on my bike today but a run is out of the question unless I can do it first thing in the morning before the temperature climbs. I'm going to try to finish my "Finding Serenity" book today and maybe I'll finish Senator Byrd's book "Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency" as well. Either that or the Paul Campos book, "The Obesity Myth" that I need to finish also.

Last night was nice. The temperature dropped again and I got a good, hot fire going. The bugs didn't seem to be as bad as they have been but they tend to leave me alone anyway (I don't know why). I'm going to try to soak up this morning before the heat sets in.

7-31-06 7:30pm

We've just finished dinner, I've washed the dishes and the dogs are eating - oh and it's hot! Today was supposed to be a high of 95 degrees and there wasn't much of a breeze to speak of. That fan that I bought yesterday was real handy today as I lay in a hammock in our screen house with it hanging over me. I started reading a new book despite having many unfinished books with me. It was the book of essays about Joss Whedon's "Firefly" TV show and it has been good so far. I kept falling asleep while reading either from the heat or overall lethargy. We didn't do much today.

After writing this morning I felt inspired to start writing an article that I've been putting off. Earlier this year I did extensive research into the "evolution in schools" controversy for my local Inn of Court. Our group presented on the Scopes "Monkey" Trial and my research was for the benefit of a thorough presentation. When it was time to present our material we used my idea to do it like we were a school board conducting a public forum on the topic after the Dover case was decided last year. I served as the school board attorney in our exercise and fielded questions from the audience and our mock board members. Many told me afterwards that I should write an article on the subject for publication. It has been a while since I've written a legal article so I've been reluctant because of how much time it takes. Now with plenty of time and the writing bug I figured that I'd jot down some notes. I wrote several pages.

Today we went to the pool to cool down. It was nice to be in a pool of cool, clean water after being in pools of salty sweat for the last 2 days. I'm sweating like a pig again now and Mrs. Jawa is actually cold. I'm going to have to light the fire in a minute and I feel like Frosty the Snowman in that I will need to stay away from it. Perhaps I'll get up early tomorrow and run or bike if my back feels better.

7-31-06 8:00am Mon. - Day 3

It was very quiet last night and a bit cooler too. The first fire went well as the wood is dry. I don't build bright fires like some of these guys who build the flames 5 and 6 feet high. I build my fires from the bottom for good heat and my flame gets nice and blue at its base. The first grilled meal was good too, hamburgers and a pasta mix. I mentioned washing dishes yesterday but forgot to mention that our closest water source is 1/3 mile down the hill and is not meant to be where you wash dishes. Rather, I carry a 5 gallon jug of water up the hill and use that over a dishpan. When every gallon of water weighs a little over 8 pounds that you had to carry up the hill you try to be careful how you use it. Yesterday I was refilling one jug (the one with the spigot) from the other and tweaked my back which still hurts today. Shit like that reminds me that I'm getting old.

The morning is peaceful as was last night. In the evenings and sometimes during the day we listen to public radio on our solar charged radio. The station down here plays a lot of folk, world music, and alternative soft rock/folk music. Now I'm listening to Norah Jones on my MP3 player while the dogs and Mrs. Jawa sleep. The dogs let me sleep till 7am today which was nice. They get pretty tired when they aren't sleeping in their crates all day and have to watch what we do all the time.

What's on the agenda today? Well, camping. I'll break out my books and get started on those and at some point today we'll probably pull the dog crates out of my car, put the dogs away, and walk down to the camp pool for some mid afternoon heat relief. We'll likely chat with the camp owners while there and may have to buy ice cream just because. I brought my mountain bike this year to do some work on these Appalachian hills that remind me of West Virginia, my ancestral home. Until my back feels better I probably won't be going any where that way.

Is it terribly geeky of me to be keeping a digital journal in analog form? Yes, probably. However, my writing instincts have been stirred of late and that bug has bitten me hard. Maybe I'll edit these before posting them - but maybe I won't.

7-30-06 5:00pm Sun. - Day 2

Last night was peaceful and surprisingly cool considering how hot our non air-conditioned house is (except for the bedroom). Our tent is an Eddie Bauer (see, yuppies) and has a top that is mostly screen which allows you to look up and see the sky, trees, and stars (this is why we love primitive camping). We are the only people on the hill for the third year now after some campers vandalized the place 3 years ago and the owners closed it (except for good friends - which we were flattered that they considered us as such). Looking around the huge space that we now have to ourselves you could never tell there used to be about 15 campsites up here. Now I use that space to practice chipping (golf), Tai Chi, and Kung Fu weapons forms (swinging a 6 foot bo staff around your living room is not appreciated by the other occupants of the house). We discovered this campground by accident 5 years ago while I was on my way to Columbus to take the Ohio Bar Exam and we've returned each year because we love the primitive hill area and the people who run the campground are so nice.

This morning we went on our mega shopping spree to stock up on groceries for the week. About $400 later we returned with a car loaded to the brim with groceries, supplies, and toys (and the 2 of us and 2 dogs). That might sound like a lot but our Coleman X-treme 5-day coolers work so well that we can really buy for the entire week now instead of twice. Cambridge has a really nice grocery store that is always clean and impressive. I waited in the car with the dogs while Mrs. Jawa ventured inside keeping in touch via walkie talkies. When she returned we loaded the car most of the way and then drove to the Super Wal-Mart where I went in to buy the things that Mrs. Jawa forgot and additional camp supplies. In addition to Purell, face cleaners, mosquito bracelets, ibuprofen, and dish pans I also found a few more pieces of camp gear that we could not possibly live without: a Coleman hanging fan/light for our dinning canopy (we have a tent fan and light already), an electronic Soduku game (for Mrs. Jawa), batteries for the two lights that we make our dark colored dogs wear so that we can see them at night, and another Coleman light (because we only have a dozen or so).

Loaded and content, the yuppie hunters returned to their primitive oasis to sort and store their kills. It is now time for me to go fulfill my manly duty of preparing the fire while Mrs. Jawa makes dinner (which she always does because she hates cleaning the dishes and I don't mind).

7-29-06 6:00pm Sat. - Day 1

We've set up our camp and we're exhausted. The dogs let me sleep in this morning (till 6am) and then it was time to start packing for real. Last night was spent washing clothes, paying bills, and watching my "Clerks." dvd twice (the second time w/commentary). This morning it was time to start putting together the clothes, athletic gear, and other stuff before venturing out to the back room to pull out all of our camping gear. We're yuppies with gear/tech fixations so we're invested way more than necessary into camp gear that is compact and easy to set up (with shock cording, etc.).

I loaded the cars with the following camping gear: 8 man tent, screen house, dining canopy, 8 bag chairs, 2 roll up tables, 2 pop-up tables, Coleman picnic table, air mattress, sleeping bag, 3 storage bins (one large one we use as a "pantry"), gas stove, bag of propane bottles, propane lanterns, solar radio, solar shower, assorted battery lights/lanterns, 2 5-day coolers, tent shelving, 2 5-gallon water containers, grill stand, pop-up trash can, 2 stand-alone hammocks, our bags of clothes, the dog's bags w/food, the dog's crates, and my mountain bike and accessories. When the Mrs. Jawa insisted last year that we could go camping with just her new Toyota Highlander I must have laughed for 5 minutes. When she wasn't amused I tried to explain the packing process, Tetris, and the laws of spatial physics. Despite the fact that she had bought even more gear she was unconvinced until the morning that I laid all the gear out in the yard.

We got to a late start as we were both tired and it was very hot. While packing I started listening to a new book called "The Ape In The Corner Office: Understanding the Workplace Beast in all of Us" by Richard Conniff which is interesting if not a little pop-psychology-like. On the way there I started listening to "Eragon" by Christopher Paolini which I saw was coming to theaters as a movie soon...it is good so far. We arrived at our campground around 3pm and started setting up, 3 hours later it looks pretty good. We're spent though and have no desire to make our mega grocery run. We've decided to go down to a little BBQ place, "The Dancing Donkey", that we passed a couple of miles from the campsite for one of our few store bought meals this week (very uncharacteristic of us). I'll leave it at that for now.

P.S. The BBQ was very good. We got back to the campsite near dark (after chatting with the owners) and decided to go right to bed rather than build a campfire. We have 7 more nights for camp fires and no real rain in the forecast. Oh and as an added bonus we didn't have our usual setting-up-the-campsite fight which made today a very good day.

Hi all. It's been busy since getting back from vacation but I did write quite a bit while camping. As you can see from my blog, I have at least two problems: 1) I've enjoyed trying to post something every day and 2) I can be a bit wordy when I'm talking about something that interests me.

This problem will be magnified by the fact that when I was camping and communing with nature I took along a 5"x8" notepad that I filled with daily journals, comments, and the genesis of a new legal article that I've been meaning to write for publication purposes. The problem with posting that stuff is that it is long and probably fairly boring to anybody who doesn't give a shit what happens at a primitive campsite where you have to entertain yourself every day for more than a week.

With that, I give you my anablog* which is my own geeky wordplay based on the fact that I was blogging in analog form while camping (get it ... analog + blog = anablog). I'm trying to finish getting my notes from 8 days of camping together to dump them in to this space. In the future, when I have something that is way too long, boring, or written off-line I will dump it in there and save your fingers and wrists from having to do so much scrolling while seeing if I'm talking about you on my main blog page.

*(tm - all rights reserved ... ha!)