(In)consistent

Almost 2 weeks since I last posted. The need to post to this blog thing, while gratifying, becomes a persistent voice in the back of my head that turns into a nagging whine. I had gotten used to writing regularly for the last few months, so an almost 2 week hiatus makes me feel a bit...um..stopped up. When I used to write in sketchbooks and journals my inconsistency was only evident to me. Now I know it's evident to all three of you.

As a vehicle for staving off short term memory loss, the wheels have come off these past two weeks. The routine has been so rote that the days just blend into each other. Let's review:

February is always busy at home, busier, it seems, than normal. We all retreat into our cocoons of busy-ness, to the detriment of enjoying each other, or listening, or just talking. But at least we're all together eating dinner and doing homework and all the other things that we do.....

Work is work. We looked at some new office space for a move later this year. We've been in our space for almost 7 years and it's time for a change as our firm has grown steadily since then. Sometimes I feel like a bookkeeper rather than an architect, but that makes the designing/drawing part of the job that much better. Kind of like riding indoors all week and thirsting for the outdoor rides on the weekends.

We were reviewing a set of drawings with the owners and contractors on this big job on Georgia Avenue in DC. Someone asked "What's wall type number 11?" I replied "It's the loudest one." Talk about a joke falling flat. None of them had seen This Is Spinal Tap.

Future work is a constant source of worry, since our business is indirectly tied to the mortgage fiasco. I've always said that if we don't have the next jobs lined up while we're working on our current ones, then we're in trouble. So far we have some things in the works, so we're not in trouble. Yet.

Training's been great. I've tried following a set plan as a framework, and it's working in that it's enjoyable and not drudgery. Of course, when I know I've got a sufferfest on the schedule, it still takes longer to get on the bike and get it done, though the end result is always a good feeling. For the first time in many years I'm actually consistently training as opposed to weekend warrioring through the year.

The Giants and Patriots gave us a SuperBowl that we won't soon forget. We watched it on a friend's projection T V and had bad football food and good wheat beer. The fact that a room of Redskins fans could cheer a division rival so vociferously is a testament to how good this game was. Now we sit back and watch our own team 's ownership continue down the road of bad decisions. At least some of the commercials were good, but I really miss the CareerBuilder.com monkeys.

Meanwhile the Caps crawled into first place (who woulda thunk?) but they're stinkin' it up right now against Carolina. One of the things I love about hockey are the names...Carolina's captain is Rod Brind'Amour...what a cool name. At one point early in his career he played on the 1987 Flyers, a team overflowing with cool names: Ilkka Sinisalo, Peter Zezel, Ron Hextall, Craig Berube, Pelle Eklund, Scott Melanby, Kjell Samuellson...I love names with disonant consanants.

After a morning ride tomorrow with the N2 crew I'm off to Pittsburgh with my dad to visit my grandmother. Mom and Dad are going to the Philippines for almost 2 months, a trip that always rejuvenates my mom, as she really doesn't like winter. So I figure that this is a good time to catch up with my Pops.

Next on Life of Frites: Hamburgers 2 days in a row. Good idea?