Dragons

Drago (Detalle), originally uploaded by Gisela Bohórquez

Natalie is walking a lot now. We got her to toddle back and forth between us for a while and it was fun for everybody, until she went face-first into the coffee table. At least we captured that precious moment on video!

Both my brothers were in town on Sunday. This is a rare occasion since Kevin started college and Jim moved to Montana. We celebrated with a game of Dungeons & Dragons. Jenna asked who won. I told her that when we play Dungeons & Dragons, everyone's a winner (it's true).

After they left, we looked at some houses with our agent. They were all terrible. It's slim pickin's right now in the local real estate market. We're hunkering down for one more winter in St. Paul.

Snow

I've reached the end of the world, originally uploaded by Stuck in Customs

We got some early October snow this week. I walked through the garden the night before and harvested the remaining vegetables. I pulled some monster carrots out of the ground, and a good number of green bell peppers. Some of the carrots were made into soup and my coworkers took the rest.

Natalie still doesn't walk more than a few steps at a time, and then only rarely, but she is very communicative. She signs for "water" and "more" (in addition to "milk" and "all done"). Her new words are "no," "yeah," and "Lola," which enhance her repertoire of "dog, mama, dada." Then there's the never-ending stream of babble with the occasional noise that sounds like a word, but only to her parents.

Secret Identity

My Name Is Not Clark Kent!, originally uploaded by Carlos Noboro

On Saturday I went to FallCon, Minnesota's biggest comics convention, to share my concept for the new show and ask for feedback. Everyone was incredibly gracious, friendly, and helpful.

One of the highlights for me was meeting Lucy Knisley. She is one of my favorite web comic artists and a total sweetheart in person. I spoke with several members of the Comic Conspiracy, a very cool group, plus a bunch of other talented artists.

I also ran into Sarah Morean, who organizes the awesome Twin Cities Zinefest. She has been thinking about starting an Indie comic expo for a while and I hope she will be involved. And a couple of CONvergence directors offered their assistance as well. I'm inspired! The time is now!

Grand

Grand Avenue Foot Bridge, originally uploaded by chefranden

On Saturday I took Natalie to Minneapolis. We visited the Minnesota Center for Book Arts to see all the local artists doing the 24-Hour Comic Day. Next door at Big Brain I quizzed the guy behind the desk about what he'd like to see in a new convention (thanks Rhett!). Then we drove to [REDACTED] to buy Jenna's birthday present.

Our friends Laurie and Ryan drove up from Texas to Eau Claire this weekend, so we met them there on Sunday. Their son Sebastian is only 4 days younger than Natalie. We went to Davies Center on campus, where we used to congregate between classes, and the kids played together for a while.

We had lunch at Mancinos. Their grinders are so delicious. Then we got dessert delivered on rollerblades at the new Sonic. Natalie slept on the way there and back. It was a great weekend.

Apples

Apple Picking, originally uploaded by Arvind Balaraman (Catching up :)

We got together with Jenna's family for photos on Saturday, and afterward we took Natalie and one of her cousins to a nearby orchard. The apples were delicious. The wine they made (with California/Washington grapes) was not good.

There were some animals off to the side of the barn. Natalie usually enjoys meeting new creatures. We saw a pair of cute pygmy goats and some sleeping bunnies. It was the first time she got up close to a horse, I think, and she reached out and petted it on the nose.

After football on Sunday we had to clear out for a showing. We went to the mall and I spent too much money on a jacket at Macy's; but then I always think clothes are too expensive. It's a nice fake leather jacket for fall weather. I like it. Maybe I'll keep it.

Sleep, darling

I wish you a wonderful weekend!...(^!~)... :), originally uploaded by ***irene***

I have a small
daughter called
Cleis, who is

like a golden
flower
I wouldn't
take all Croesus'
kingdom with love
thrown in, for her

Passion

Travel Gear: Field Notes, F1 and Perfect Pencil, originally uploaded by Patrick Ng

I was writing about my career and my life and things I have learned about myself over the years, but I had trouble finding the words. Something about how I enjoy planning, building, and learning. Then Penelope Trunk posted this and the words were a mirror.

So in addition to this dead-on description:

"I am great in that [company building] phase of a business–-thinking, philosophizing, finding holes in markets, finding holes in ideas. I never give up. I always have another idea, and I don’t mind feeling lost day after day, week after week."

I would also add:

• I love promoting other people. My paid job is a support role and that's where I gravitate in my side hustles. I get great satisfaction from being the one in the background who gets things done. In essense saying, "hey, look at these guys, check out the cool things they are doing."
• I'm ambitious. I used to think that I lacked ambition because I didn't aspire to a high-paying job in a corner office. It turns out that is not true. When I am working for someone else I am usually content to do the best I can at the job I was hired to do. But when left to my own devices, I set extremely lofty goals for myself, and when I achieve one I just move the bar higher.
• I need help. The other gem from the article is this: "the first sign that you are outside of your strengths is when you can’t make yourself do the work you need to do." My ambition won't allow me to back down from the projects I'm passionate about, but there's too much to do on my own. So I'll be trying something interesting this year: interns and teams.