A lot has happened this past week. I've been staying up late nights working on a little side project which has consumed me, (more to come soon) and I was offered a new job.

As my Chinese food had informed me, this is a huge and important decision to make. I've been with the same company for seven years now and deep down I really love it. There are days (like today) when the stress and pressure don't help, but on the whole it's great. I like the challenge, the pressure and having something to accomplish on a daily basis.

Without getting too much into it yet, (as none of my coworkers know yet, or most of my family for that matter) I'll know much more soon. I have a lot to sort out, and also the owner of the company to break the news to. That happens in about 30 minutes, when we head out to lunch together.

Wish me luck! (And I'll post as I know more...)

Labels: Diary, My Life

Mada and the penguins

It’s true (Wikipedia say so), there are penguins in Africa. There’s Madeleine up there hanging out with them. I don’t want to sound ignorant, but I never knew there were penguins in Africa. And I watch the Discovery channel. A lot. But this isn’t about the penguins. It’s about people I love that are in Africa, and the one I truly love wanting to go to Africa.

Carter, Madeleine, Jen and Dave are all in Africa right now. That blows my mind. Mostly because I imagine I might never get to see the things they are seeing. But it mostly makes me happy, because I know what an adventure they are having. Along with the adventure comes a deep love for people and an understanding of what is still not right with this world.

The day before we left Cape Town, we drove to the Cape of Good Hope where we saw wild baboons with babies on their back, a couple of ostrich, cape zebra and a huge whale out in the Atlantic. Earlier in the day the kids swam with wild African penguins at Boulder Beach near Simon’s Town. By the end of the day we were high from the sheer joy of it all. I have pictures, but no time to post.

We keep running into a lovely couple from San Francisco–Dave and Antonia–we were seated on the same section of the plane coming from New York. It feels nice to see a familiar face, and we laugh each time at the coincidence.

It’s so beautiful here in the Winelands, but a tiny bit sad. “I feel bad that only black people are cleaning and helping us,” Madeleine said. “No white people.” I feel the same, trying to unravel in my mind the complicated story of class and race in this country. Black or white, everyone we have met here has welcomed us with kindness and grace. We feel the blessing of warmth and the weight of histories not that different from our own as Americans.

From JenLemen.com

Back here in the states, Jen’s African adventure has re-stoked the wife’s lifelong dream of going to Africa. Amazingly enough, an opportunity has come along for her to go to Sierra Leone as part of a church outreach ministry and work at a child rescue center. She approached me about it without any hope of me actually agreeing to it, but you know, I don’t want to be the guy that kills his wife’s one lifelong dream. I’m really excited for her. It’s mind blowing really, to think she will be a world away. I’m sure the experience will be good for both of us. I hope everything falls in place, and if it does, she’ll be heading for Africa come September.

Labels: Family Love, The wife, Travel

Labels: Family Love, Josiah

This weekend was a mad crazy rush to get things done. We had the 10k to get to, a house to clean up, and friends to entertain and hang out with. With a big sigh of relief we accomplished all and had a lazy Sunday to help recover from all the running around.

The wife was this year’s 10k participant. I did it last year and had a pretty good showing, but my knee surgery kept me out of this year's race. Not only did she do it, but she kicked some serious butt. I am so proud of her. She’s a bit like me… ultra competitive and driven. I know she wasn't exactly where she wanted to be in her running regimen, but she did awesome. It inspired me to get off my butt and back in the gym, and I am officially dropping my name in the hat for next year's race.

After the wife was done running, we had a good time cheering people on, and even saw some of our friends finishing the race. It was fun cheering other people on, and giving them that extra little push towards the end.

After all that, we headed to Fuddruckers for a post race burger, then headed home to clean up the house. It was a mad dash to get everything ready, but once everything was done, we had a great time hanging out with our friends. Food, beer, fun... it ended up being a great day.

Labels: Family Love, Life, Richmond