Monthly Archives: October 2013

Oct 29 2013
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Where the 40-somethings Go

Part of my 30th-birthday road trip was a one-day stop in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Neither my wife nor I had ever been there, and it’s something we’ve wanted to see. We both love history, and I love learning about haunted locations, so it was a natural choice.

I heard parking inside the Quarter was an absolute nightmare, so we parked on Canal Street and walked in. Our main goals for the day were to learn a little history, do a little shopping—especially antiques and oddities—and take a ghost tour we read about online. We were unsure of where to start exploring, though, so we decided on Bourbon Street, the area most commonly associated with the neighborhood.

As soon as we turned the corner from Canal to Bourbon, it was like we entered a whole different world. Continue reading →

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Oct 16 2013
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Iowa Nice

I moved to Iowa almost a year ago and have fallen in love with it. The scenery is beautiful. I love my new house and neighborhood. My job and coworkers are great. And I’ve had a lot of fun discovering my new city. Some things did take getting used to, though. And one of those things, as crazy as it might sound, is how nice everyone is. Seriously. Continue reading →

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Oct 14 2013
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The Clock’s Ticking

I’ll be turning 30 in less than a week, and it’s starting to hit me how many goals I’ve still yet to accomplish. My aunt reminded me of a big one when she came to visit me a few months ago.

I apparently declared to her when I was younger that I would be a millionaire by the time I turned 30. She said I didn’t know how I was going to do it but that I knew it was going to happen. When she brought this to my attention recently, I asked her if I still had to hold myself to that statement since I’d completely forgotten about it. She informed me it still counted. Crap. Continue reading →

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Oct 11 2013
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Gray Wood and Open Fields

I love barns. There’s just something about them that makes me feel warm and safe and calm. I think it might be because it brings about an idealized scene in my head that represents a simpler existence. A simpler way of being.

There was a period of time when I was dead set on being a farmer. I was a little kid, and my family was on our yearly vacation. We were driving through, I believe, Virginia, and I noticed a solitary barn in the distance, set a ways back from a beautiful farmhouse.

I announced that I’d love to be a farmer and live all the way out in the country. No one really took me seriously. Continue reading →

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