Chestnuts and latkes.

Hey guys, I know you all have time off for the holidays. You totally have time to us know what you are up to. Also: I am looking at your Claire, Noah, Sarina, Julia, and Andrew. And, wait, what the hell. Why isn't Rebecca a strollicker? WHAT ARE EVERYONE'S NEW EMAIL ADDRESSES!

If this is too much thinking, can it be like those annoying surveys I used to see on facebook?

1) Where are you right now?

Three words that describe your:

2) New place of residence:

3) Work:

4) Free time:

In the past six months have you:

5) Started dating anyone new?

6) Began a new hobby?

7) Been happy?

8) Strollicked or ish?

In the past week, what is the most interesting thing you have:

9) Eaten?

10) Seen?

11) Done?

There, I tried.

Ok so, for me. I am silly happy. Chose to be out of work for two months because I hated my part time job, quit, then I realized I couldn't job search in the job wasteland that is Arcata while working on applications. For those of you who have spent lots of time looking for work on the ground, you know: too much of an emotional energy suck. So I picked the applications and just bummed around. Luckily life up there is cheap! Anyway, I am FINALLY done with applications. Just six places, there on each coast. Here's hoping I get a job quick in January.

In other news, Nathan and I are silly blissful. I suspect it's in that a-little-sickening-to-everyone-but-us way, so I'm glad I'm not subjecting you guys to it. Up in Arcata I have been mostly cooking, riding my bike, procrastinating from those applications, and smiling. We left Arata on Sunday just did the beginning of Hannukah with my fam, in SF. A glut of amazing food. Latkes, curry, sushi, Puerto Rican plantain sandwiches. I am spending Christmas with his family in Grass Valley California, which is kind of superb. Less stressful for me than my own family. After that I go back to the Bay Area for Young Friend's New Year's Gathering, which should be a blast as ever.

Last but not least, I miss you all like mad. So much.

That's all I've got, although I will complete my own survey. . .in hope. . .

1) Where are you right now? Grass Valley CA, near Sacramento.

Three words that describe your:

2) New place of residence: Hippy. Nowhere. Redwoods.

3) Work: Does not exist.

4) Free time: Circus. Bike. TV.

In the past six months have you:

5) Started dating anyone new? Nope!

6) Began a new hobby? Circus!

7) Been happy? YES!

8) Strollicked or ish? No. :(

In the past week, what is the most interesting thing you have:

9) Eaten? A steak sandwich where the bread was flattened, fried, garlic plantains.

10) Seen? A two horse drawn carriage.

11) Done? Ridden a racing bike for the first time! It went ZOOOOOM!

<3

More self promotion

I put this page together showing off stuff FCNL has done in the past year. You should check it out if you want to know what FCNL has been doing in the past year or just want to make me look good by increasing the website views (do itttt).

http://fcnl.org/donate/the_fcnl_days_of_christmas/

#self-prostitution

I started a music blog. I know you guys like music. Read it.

welp

now seems like a good time to update you folks on how my life is

The summary is largely "pretty sweet." The big news regards a couple of conversations I had a few weeks back. I was hired into QA for a recent acquisition of IBM's called Sterling Commerce, which is something probably most of you knew. We do supply chain software. I was hired with the understanding that I could eventually switch to development if I wanted to. Later, we (the four new hires, all picked up around the same time) were told that there were three positions in Dev, and we could apply for them around the new year. About three or four weeks ago my manager pulled each of the four new hires aside and told us that, actually, there were three dev positions and one QA position - so three of us were going. Later that week, I was told I was going to be in Dev.

So now I'm in Dev. Still doing training, then I'm going to be fixing defects for a few weeks, then I might actually get to do stuff like code features. I'm a little terrified at present, but I'm slowly getting the hang of things, and hopefully will have a chance to work some stuff out and get better enough to be confident.

Apart from that I've not been doing too much. I've been feeling not terrible about letting video games occupy most of my free time. I've got over an hour of commute every day (usually closer to an hour and a half), and I've been trying to listen to audiobooks with it; I got through all of the Lord of the Rings and the Old Man and the Sea, got through about half of Slaughterhouse Five and The Naked and the Dead (both had defects that made them impossible to finish) and I'm now going through American Gods at full tilt. It's really quite satisfying.

I think a new year's resolution will probably be to do more art. I made a shot at NaNoWriMo this year but fell short, and I'm having trouble summoning the energy to attempt something new - which may mean it's time for more revisions on older stuff. I've also been doing a bit of Aikido - once or twice a week - which is really fun. It's a little bit of a bummer not feeling like I have a social group in either Aikido or work, though; I love the Andrews, and we're making a few friends around here, but I don't really see many people other than roommates I like, which is a little sad. Still working on it, though.

So yeah! Juliaty is coming to visit at the end of the week for winter break, and we'll be taking a trek out to Indiana to have Christmas with my extended family. I think it'll be pretty awesome. We haven't made a lot of plans other than that yet but let us know if you feel like visiting at some point and saying hi!

How's everybody else doing?

6-Month Update!

Guys. Do you realize the 27th is going mark six months since we've graduated? Is that crazy or is it crazy (or am I counting wrong? Maybe the 27th is when I started Bard?)

Also, do you guys realize we went to a fucking amazing undergraduate institution? If so, just how much do you appreciate that? Because the more Sam and I talk to our peers about their undergraduate experiences, the more we're both like, "Oh. Wow. Why is their college more famous than ours?"

FOR EXAMPLE, I mentioned to the dean of the program today that I resented my current research project (a 20-page lit review) because I had done original research in all of my upper-level history classes. I had mentioned this to my classmates throughout the semester (because I complain, therefore I am.) One of my classmates, who plans to be a professor when he grows up, told me he didn't do any of his own research until his senior colloquium, and even that sounds like it was highly structured. A Columbia grad in my interdisciplinary class today said she had never looked at a math journal in her undergrad days. I KNOW, right?

So after class, Ric came up to me and asked me to remind him where I went for undergrad, since it sounded like I had a pretty rich experience. (PS he knows Alice Lesnick, one of the ed profs at Bryn Mawr.)
"Haverford."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"I see where you're coming from, then."

Back-patting aside, my second quarter in the program ends as of 12 noon tomorrow. I will have from that time until 6:30 am on January 3rd to work on said lit review and assorted final projects. I am looking forward to filling the time with the printmaking kit Erin got me for our first anniversary.

So what's been taking up my time? Honestly, if I was just taking these classes I'd have more time to update. But actually I also student-teach from the start of the schoolday 'til noon. Then I'm in class until 4 or 5:30. Then I have to do homework (reading two books a week and creating mock lessons and unit plans for my classes.)

Right now I'm student-teaching at this awesome school (the teacher they interview at the 1:30 mark, who keeps saying "holokawst" is a real goofball. I luv him. The school is regents-exempt, their graduate rate is higher than the city average, and their mascot is the "Aggressive" (ie Black) Panthers. I see two sections of a ninth/tenth-grade integrated class: one is general ed and the other is a team-taught integrated special ed class. My mentor teacher is an alumna of my program and is bffs with a professor that I hope to be bffs with one day because she's so damn cool (I call her Yoda and she calls me Luke. Yeah.) I don't think my teacher is an older version of me, but in terms of personality we get along really well. Our planning periods tend to be goof-off sessions.

Today, as the culmination of the first part of my time with them, I taught the last hour of their 2-hour block today. It was a lesson about the kinds of questions historians ask about history (what is true? How do we know the truth? Is it possible to know the truth?) The kids ate that shit up. It was so awesome. I stayed up for hours last night imagining worst-case scenarios and it was totally unnecessary. As much as I'm going to enjoy my time off, I'm looking forward to coming back to work with them.

NSFW... or is it?

I know this isn't primarily supposed to be an image combat sort of deal, but I just found out about a hilarious (old) phenomenon that I just had to share. Have you ever heard of "work safe porn"?

The idea is this: take pornography, then edit the image so that it isn't porn any more.

Like so:


























Now, sometimes this works better others. Patching over images willy-nilly can look contrived.

Like so:


























Or so:
























And sometimes, brilliance!

Anti-pacifism in Cal.

I don't think I've seen anything like this before. Striking.

Any thoughts?







http://sfist.com/2011/11/01/yucky_anti-violence_leaflet_handed.php

Just an update

I keep checking up on this blog and wishing it was more active, so I'm going to flip the system and post something. As Arcatans would say, "visualize the world you want to live in." Yes, people really talk that way.

Also, the government here is so left, the democrats can't break in because they are too gosh darn conservative and corporate. The sewage is treated by marsh. Marijuana is as good as legal. And so, I think the fact that there is an 'Occupy Humbolt' movement going on here is very funny.

So, my life is going really well. I have a part time job, I done with the GRE, and I finally successfully tapped into the social scene out here. In brief? 'Party with the circus' is just as good as it sounds. It is something like:

+

= fun!

(The fire ones are not the actual humboldt circus, but if they were they would be very drunk while they played with that fire.)

We are also baking/cooking up a storm, from egg drop soup, to meatloaf, to burgers, to mochi, to spinach smoothies, to gluten free muffins. The produce is a dream.

Anyway, that's about all I can think of to say about life. I miss you guys lots.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaqC5FnvAEc

Hello from Princeton!

Hi Strollickers,

I'm afraid there are a lot of updates on my life, so this post is going to be kind of a mess.

First of all, I moved to Princeton, New Jersey last week to start a new job. I am a computer programmer now. So far the job is pretty nice - I like the place I work and the people I work with. I've been thinking of going to grad school, but that won't be for a while, so Princeton will be my home for the next long while.

I don't know many people here yet. I'm hoping to become friends with people at work soon, which would be nice. I also go to Meeting, and I have ideas for other activities to do, but I still need to figure out what activities are in the area. I don't even have internet access in my apartment yet - I'm posting this from Starbucks.

You might have seen this on Facebook, but I also started dating someone named Katherine Roddy. I met her over the summer; she's a grad student in mathematics at UNC-Chapel Hill. That's pretty exciting; I think it's going well so far. So I'll be spending a lot of time visiting North Carolina in the next few months.

I think the most important point is, I am now within a couple hours of Haverford and New York City - to all of you who live around there, we should hang out! To everyone else - please visit soon anyway!

Noah

Occupy Wall Street

I wrote this for FCNL. I'd love to hear what you think of it.

http://fcnl.org/blog/of_peace_and_politics/operation_occupy_your_reps_office/

Hey Friends

Wanted to catch you all up with how things have been in D.C. I'm sorry I haven't been in better touch--for some reason it took 3 weeks (!) to get internet in the house.

I've moved into my new house in Mount Rainier, Maryland (sounds like ray-near). It's a great little place. The rent is obscenely cheap and it's a great set-up. It's a really nice four bedroom three bath with a front and a back yard, a living room with a fireplace, and a porch.

My Living Room

I'm living with three other guys who all went to Guilford, and it's been great getting to know them. Will is a Friend who works with me at FCNL. He also volunteers at a local bike co-op and plays in a really great band, Ugly Purple Sweaters (they're really good). My other two housemates are Will and David one of whom is an editor and the other of whom is a lumberjack/rugby player. They're all musicians, and there are no less than four copies of rise up singing in the house.

Work is great. I talked a little bit about what I did in my earlier post. Being in DC is a rush of information, talking points, and committee hearing. It's exhilarating, challenging, and exhausting all at the same time.

Anyway, please feel free to get in touch with me. A blog is great, but nothing replaces seeing someone's face or hearing their voice. I'm on skype (patrick.lozada) and g-chat etc. I'll let y'all know if I'm up in the PA/MA/NY area.

With care.

Patrick

Copyright

We must copyright the term strollick. Apparently the young'uns are getting hold of it.

Spicy grapefruit margaritish

Oh MAN this is good. Wanted to share.

Ok, so I'd say this makes 6-8 drinks?

2 Grapefruits

2 cups limeaid

Tequilla

Course sugar

Mellon (optional)

Hot peppers (like jalapenos)

Juice two grapefruits. Save the juice.

Blend the pulp with sugar, and a little bit of melon if you have it.

Take wine glasses, coat the rim w/grapefruit juice. Fill a plate w/sugar and dip the glasses into it.

Optional: Put one melon ball and a sliver of pepper in each glass.

In each glass put:

2 parts tequilla

1 part grapefruit juice

1 part blended mixture

Top w/limeaid

SO GOOD. (Then we went to a costume banquet.)

Grrrrrr!

I wish I had a pic of Nathan as a bumble bee in tights.

boston frostin'

This weather makes me feel like a true eastcoaster: It's about as cold as if someone, coming in from the summer air, put a freezing cold drink down on top of me. Boston is frigid, and I am wearing two coats in the morning despite it still being summer. The rain hasn't been bad at all, though.

I work at a small web development company called vermonster, not named after the ice cream but about as air conditioned, and thankfully, I work 9 to 5. I have been told this is untrue of virtually every company my size that works with code, so I am grateful. We do consulting; we spend our workdays coding with clients (who work 9-5; thus we do too), side by side with people who change every couple of months as we finish our projects. We meet new people, we bond closer with each other, or at least that's the idea. The environment is good; people are happy; I'm a little insecure because I'm not that useful yet, but I'm learning fast enough to be confident that I will be. And confident that I will be able to project enough confidence/interpersonal skills to work well with clients, which is important.

As Solomon said, we + Andrew S-H spend most of our time playing starcraft or immersing our brains in various other interesting distractions. I think we are united in our sense that we want to Get Out More, although it's tough. We get home and we're tired, hungry, bewildered at the setting sun. The three of us have a lot of fun though, despite two of us being very confused whenever Solomon calls our shared name. For me the atmosphere of this group's collective friendship remains in our house, although I know things are changing too.

Things I'm doing: I've joined a chorus with many young people and start real rehearsals next week. It's called the Boston Choral Ensemble and it's pretty sweet. I _almost_ decided to join a different chorus called the Cambridge Chamber Singers, and I learned just today that Mickey McCauley joined that choir! The world is small and 'Fords, despite their terrible gas mileage, seem to encompass it. I've been going out to concerts with Matt Stern (and sometimes his step-grandma), which have been fun. I'm feeling good about my life so far; despite my shyness amongst all this newness I haven't really retreated from a social possibility yet, which is important to me. Between quaker meetings, music, and work, I think I have enough social legos to build one of those... you know... lego things that you keep under your bed for an embarrassing number of years. What I mean to say is I feel optimistic about living my life, in these futures we are likely all trying to define, while at the same time retaining connections and drawing on the surplus code of our past.

I like this format of short sharings! We should continue it.
-Andrew

Once more, slowly. . .ar-kay-tuh.

Unlike the last three posters, I'm not actually that busy, but today is the first day I've had internet (hoooooray, I can feel the horrible withdrawal symptoms receding into memory already) so I'll jump on the life update bandwagon.

So I'm finally getting settled down in Arcata, CA.

It's a strange town of 17,000 people with a big state university. We're snuggled into the redwoods and the government is the green party, so I am back in hippy country big time. The climate is Londonesque, as you can see from the picture, and I think most of the people may be stoned most of the time. It is also not Arcadia California, which is more fun to say but hundreds of miles south.

My life right not now consists of lacklusterishly looking for a job and equally unvigoriously studying for the GRE. There isn't a lot of work in Arcata.

Other than that it's all about setting up our super swell new digs. It's just me and Nathan and it's a townhouse with way cheap rent. Two levels. Back deck. Beautiful kitchen. My god, I'm in love with this house . . . I could write it sonnets. I never knew I could feel this way about a space. Maybe it has to do with sleeping in a car for a bit a while back while looking for places? Anyway, all the strollickers have an open invitation to visit and come stay with us. Arcata does have an airport, and if you make it out here I will cook for you, clean up after you, sing to you, maybe write YOU a sonnet.

Here are some pictures from a couple of days ago.

Still pretty messy and mid-set up, as you can tell.

This is the door.

This is the kitchen.

This is the deck which also has a creek behind it! Woo creek. I think I sort of suck at taking pictures.

Among recent adventures, two days ago I went on the "skunk train" which is a many hour ride train that takes you though the redwoods while everyone gets quite drunk and then parties in the woods. We didn't get drunk, but had fun watching the strange california neo-hippies and middle aged semi-professional rural sorts get trashed on free beer and fall asleep on the train.

I miss everyone a bunch.

Eastcosters: Everyone fair ok with the recent crazy weather?

Sol: Can you give us the recipe for the homemade Kahlua?

O hai there

Hello friends! I too have been super-busy, but would like to briefly update everyone on what I've been up to.

My job at Penn is going well. I'm working with the Drug Discovery group at a center that focuses on a range of neurodegenerative diseases. Most of my work so far has been going towards making preparations of a protein that leads to Alzheimer's, and using that protein to test new drug compounds as well as attempt to discover new things about how the protein fibrillizes. It's a big lab, and there are plenty of young people here too. Since it's connected to Penn, I get some cool benefits and access to stuff. It's interesting being around the campus right now when all the new students are arriving for the first time and undergoing orientation; it makes me think back on Haverford's customs week.

I'm living in my own studio apartment in West Philadelphia, right by Clark Park. It's really working out great. The area is very friendly and feels like a community, and there are always people hanging out, making music, or holding barbeques in the park. There's a farmer's market 1-2 times a week, and it's less than a mile's walk to work. My apartment itself is quite small and one room (I will include pics once it's tidier), but is perfect for my needs right now. I'm very much enjoying living on my own. I've also had a lot of culinary adventures; this past week has included ventures into stuffed acorn squash, buckwheat banana pancakes, frittata, and multitudes of blueberry muffins, now that I have a muffin tray that fits my toaster oven. (I would share pics, but usually things get eaten before I remember to take them.) I have also discovered my new favorite GreenThing, Kale. Does anyone else like Kale? It's cooool. :O Why did we never have this in Quaker House? It's like the perfect hippie alternative weird vegetabley food thing, right up there with quinoa. (love it!)

Oh, my kitchen = two electric burners, a toaster oven, a mini fridge, and enough counter space to almost fit one cutting board, which makes my culinary exploits even more impressive.

I've been going to a lot of live concerts lately - this weekend I saw Incubus, the other week I saw Ke$ha (Because I'm that classy!) It's really awesome being right in the middle of everything and so close by to all these amazing things. If anyone wants to attend any concerts in Philly or stay the night at some point, potentially in conjunction with a 'ford visit, let me know! I haven't visited any of our friends at college yet this semester, but if anyone wanted to coordinate that together, I'd be down.

Can't think of anything else to say!

my-my-my-my, like pelican fly;
-Julia

Heyo Brochachos,

I am just up to my face in stuff and things out here! but I will make an attempt to continue to update.

IBM has been treating me pretty well; I haven't died of it yet, and the people there are mostly pretty neato. I'm doing QA for supply chain software. Supply chain software are tools that businesses use to track inventory; our piece of it falls in distribution, so we deal with placing orders, shipping, returning/cancelling orders, and stuff like that. If you've placed orders through the websites for places like Gap, Best Buy, and yes, evidently even Williams-Sonoma, you've invoked the use of our tool. QA means it's my job to test the software, which essentially means finding interesting ways to break it before the consumers do. So that's neat. I don't want it to be the only thing in my life, though, so I've been trying to write a little bit on the sides and I plan on going to a dojo for Aikido tomorrow. I've also been trying to keep making lots of delicious food, and pictures will follow.

I am of course living with the Brothers Andrew (Ross and Soule-Hinds), who are both doing well also. We have a lovely house in northern Cambridge, with a reasonable train commute in for the two of them and a not unbearable drive out for me. We've been having evenings filled with movies, good food, and Starcraft, which is a pretty good party all told. Still, hoping to start getting out a little more once things settle down some.

Also, I know I'm going to try to be in NYC next weekend, meeting Juliaty and visiting Eli and Claire. I don't know who else is around but I might like to try to see y'all if that sounds good :D

Upper-Left: Our homemade Kahlua, a very easy mix that is cheap and, in this incarnation, very, very almond-y. Observe. (Bottle and pan both contain delicious mix.)

Note Bene.

Hey dudes,

I wanted to make a quick note that I forgot to say as we began this thing. I didn't really have any clear idea of what specifically it would be for, except that it could be a cool way to stay in touch. That's up for us to figure out. What I do know, is that I never meant to cut anyone out by accidental exclusion. If any of you realize that someone wasn't invited, or worse, doesn't know about the site, let me know! Right now I don't know if I can make anyone else full administrators, but if I can, I will promote everyone. Otherwise, I can invite anyone who should be involved to be posters at least.

Keep up the awesome,

-Eli

Update

Sup sup sup!

I've been super busy, but I just wanted to give y'all a quick note on what I've been doing. I've been quietly stalking our blog, but I've been busy enough that I hadn't found time yet to contribute until now. What's been keeping me busy? As of August 24 law school has kicked in, which surely has sucked all my time and (more importantly) psychic energy up.

So at the moment I'm stilling getting used to this whole business. There's a hella steep learning curve, not so much for the literal work we're doing but more for the ways that work interacts with the classroom. The entire business of school changes dramatically when it is not conceived of as primarily academic, but rather pre-professional. People care a lot about perfection and presentation -- being on top of your game is key. On top of that, it's been a wild environment where more students than not are coming out of the Ivies, and many seem naturally at home in this (lawyerly, professional, New York) setting.

That being said, I can already sense that school is really going to be a blast. For one, there are people with amazing backgrounds here. A handful of students in my lawyering class (kind of like home room, the 30 people I know best) have founded non-profits. So one side of this is intimidating, like Haverford also was at first. On the other hand, because everyone is older now, people have perspective and well matured identities that are connected to these achievements. Even people who aren't sure what they wanted to do, like another guy (Yale grad) who wasn't sure whether to write screenplays or go to law, have enough life experience to get a little closer to the hows and whys of what we're up to, even in that confusion.

So, I'll be sure to keep you folks updated on what classes are like as we go on. Right now I'm cautiously optimistic. They are incredibly boring in subject matter, to a large degree. Criminal law, of course, promises to have some pizzazz. Civil Procedure, on the other hand, which is basically a course on the byzantine arcana of suing and being sued, has less of a "wow" factor. Same goes for "contracts." Lawyering is cool enough. In that class we've been doing hypotheticals and active role-playing every class, which pretty much rocks. I got to argue for why evidence should be suppressed following an illegal search and seizure, for example, which rules.

Phew! I'd better get back to work for now. I some writing to do before a social at 5:00. I'll have to wait to catch up with each of you in greater detail.

Long live the strollick!

-Eli
























My Civil Procedures professor, here, Arthur Miller. He's a bear.

I'm sleeping inside tonight!

Hooray, hooray, hooray!!!

[in the spirit of sharing what's going on in our lives, that is very much what is going on in mine at the moment.]

Also: I am listening to Patrick talk about Turkey and it is making me smile/a little homesick.

Fall/Winter Concert List (Repost From Facebook)

I know most of you don't live in NYC, but you should totally time a visit during one of these weekends *or* see these artists in your city!

---

The thing I'm most excited about in terms of living in NYC again is having convenient, 24-7 access to anywhere in the city. Which means...concerts. Lots of concerts. Unfortunately, most of my favorite bands blew through here while I was upstate this summer, here are some shows I want to go to with YOU (yes you!)

Saturday, September 10, Xylos at the Tinderbox Festival at the Knitting Factory (http://tinderboxmusicfestival.com/line-up/) -- I hate hipster music but this is my exception. These lads and ladies create truly beautiful music and are so joyful while they do it. Somebody named Holly Miranda is playing after their set? I've heard her name bounced around...

Friday September 23, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers (http://www.highlineballroom.com/bio.php?id=2110) -- One of my high-school favorites. Definitely a tequila-and/or-beer kind of band.

Friday, October 7, Ollabelle at the Bowery Ballroom

Thursday, October 13, The Indigo Girls at the Beacon Theater (http://www.indigogirls.com/tour1.html)

Thursday, October 27, The Civil Wars at the Bowerly Ballroom

Please come! List is subject to change and I *might* be persuaded to go to your band's concert.

< width="your mom" >

Owww Owww Owww. Rachel, reformat that please. Stick a html tag for width--just type in width="desired number" in with the image and check it.

I'm personally not in favor of making this just an Image Kombat thread. It's a really shallow means of sharing what's going on in our lives. Thoughts?

stuffed animals are no match for real ones

(I tried to do an < img > tag as a comment to Caitlin's but it didn't work. The early-onset devolution of this blog into image kombat may be inevitable.)

Better stuffed animal?

(I could not figure out how to get an image into a blog comment, is there a way to do that and keep this in one thread?)

let's get to what this blog is really about just right off the bat

image kombat

I'll start

Checking In--Reposted from Facebook

Hello Friends,

I just moved to DC and I wanted to keep you all oriented with where I am and what I am doing. I am working at the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), a peace and social justice lobbying group run by Quakers. What am I doing there? For starters, I'm making things like this Command William Riker facial hair Mr. Potato head desk ornament (see photos below; it's the best thing thing).

The setup. The text is courtesy of the results of an office "strengthfinder" team building exercise.

Angry anime eyebrow Riker.

Mama bear Riker.

But I'm also working in communications, helping FCNL "organize, interpret, and distribute FCNL’s legislative strategies to the FCNL network both on and off the hill." See the overly lit picture of me at my staff profile:

http://fcnl.org/about/who/staff/patrick_lozada/

What does this mean? I'm doing outreach, publishing FCNL mailings, and trying to get people involved in working towards a world without war where we treat the earth with loving care. It turns out that you are one of those people, and because you're my F(f)riend I have no compunction in bothering you about it.

So we come down to the meat/ soy substitute of this message. I want you to do two things:

1. Come visit me at my house (a real house!) in D.C. and let me drink you under the table.
2. Sign up to get e-mail from FCNL at http://fcnl.org/.

I have a feeling the second might take a little more persuading than the first, so let me make my case briefly. If you sign up

• You get e-mails from me (and a team of wonderful and patient editors) with the skinny on what's going on in Washington.
• You can make a real difference in shifting our strange political system towards progress by acting on our legislative action messages and contacting your congresspersons.
• If you don't want to read it some week, then you will only spend 3/100 of one second deleting it.

That's my case. I hope you take me up on both of my recommendations. Also, stay in touch! If I tagged you (and even if I didn't), I think you're pretty great and I care about you. Hope you all are well.

With loving care,

Patrick Lozada

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiago?

((Eli, thanks for setting this up!))

Is that how you spell Sandiago? Now all I can think of is the Fools sketch. Anyway, I'm wondering who is settled in their new habitats so far.

I'm for one am still in limbo, waiting to move in to my place in Arcata in 2 weeks. Fuck limbo.

On The Right Foot

May I start this auspicious blog with a few simple words:

“Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”