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It’s been said these are interesting times we live in. And no doubt this is an interesting place I live in. But those words don’t seem to do justice to what I observed on my way home.
First: in a busy train station, a bullet-proof vested uniformed officer stands at guard with an assault rifle in hand.
Second: one of the neighborhood homeless, who hangs out in front of the deli down the block, belts out “jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way… the batmobile, lost its wheel…”, all the while laughing and greeting me as he usually does (and asking for spare change).

The officer of the law, standing there to protect us, I assume. To make sure we get home safely, to ultimately make us comfortable. Seeing someone with such a serious weapon in such a public place – and this is not the first time I’ve seen as much – scares me. Is this necessary? Is this the world I live in?

The homeless man, in most places considered a threat… bringing a chuckle and a smile on my way home.

What should inspire confidence, scares me. What should threaten me, brightens my day.

Perhaps my stereotypes need reconsideration. How did we get here?

I am literally on my way up to Boston to meet Adrienne for a short weekend vacation. And Bolt Bus, one of the new transportation options ($19 or less for the 4 hour ride in a brand-new bus) is good enough to provide wifi in the bus. Cool.

Congrats to one of the other D&As, for their rebirth of their blog! Now you gotta keep it current!

Adrienne and I got into NYC around 10pm last night (home around 11), an hour and a half later than scheduled. Most of the time was spent sitting at customs waiting to clear the border. But other than that, the train ride was relatively nice. I did add a couple more pics to the post below, so check ’em out if you like.

I feel like my heart knows the answer, but my mind fights it: if you’re lucky enough to have your work be your passion, how do you balance work and your passions? Because no matter how passionate you are, work will sometimes still be work…

Put it another way: would you rather sacrifice your work (professional career) for your passions, or would you rather sacrifice your passions for your work?

Could this be any more convoluted? Hmmm, maybe that’s why I feel this way.

We’re getting a nice little summer storm passing through… thunder, lightning, and the sound of hard rain hitting the air conditioner. That’s a sound I associate with living in Wichita, I guess because we got a good amount of summer storms. Too bad the storm isn’t bringing cooler weather – in the 90s still the next couple of days.

I caved. A/Cs went in this morning. Right now it’s 94. Took a nap with a blanket on. Well, at least it looks nice outside!

Of the people I know that view this blog, it looks like we’re the only ones with sunny skies this Memorial Day morning. And not to make you jealous, but boy, is it beautiful! If I could bottle this weather up… hmmm, actually, now that I think about it, maybe I wouldn’t appreciate it as much if I always had it in store. Anyway, this is the kind of weather that reminds me of cool-breeze summer mornings of long ago… it makes me feel productive – so I know I must get that from Mom. Because with this weather, you know Mom would have been up an hour ago, and already be planting something in the garden, or have half the windows washed (from the outside!) or something. Even though I’ve already washed the dishes, I’m going to try my best to only be somewhat productive, because this is a holiday. Enjoy it!

Hey you Midwesterners – any of you Biking the Drive Memorial Day weekend? Adrienne and I will be doing a tour of Brooklyn…

Just minutes ago, in wafts a fragrance of skunk. Just goes to remind you, the city is a pretty wild place…