Throughout the past few months, I’ve met a random assortment of people through the magic of the Internet and networking. I’m actually quite comfortable in cyberspace. Twenty-six years online will do that. (Great gobs! That’s a lot of years.) It’s one of the main ways I find new friends and make new acquaintances as I […]
Last night, I journeyed into the city to catch some swing music at The Jazz Kitchen, a cool little dinner/dancing joint on the edge of Broad Ripple. I’ve been stoked about visiting here since I came across it a few months back (before my 90-in-90), but the timing wasn’t right. Also: while I love jazz, […]
I could write all night about the reunion on Saturday, but sometimes words are just inadequate. Let me simply say this: when it’s time for your high school classmates to return, make sure you do it. The world is a big, bad, lonely place filled with lots of uncertainty and cold. But home – not […]
Twenty years goes by quickly. More quickly than you might imagine. I’ve lost many of those years to alcohol. That’s not a particularly telling insight. It’s not even particularly unique, either. We all lose track of what’s important from time to time. Mine just spread out a few extra years. But I’m trying very hard […]
I left Wired in 2002. There were jobs in between. A book. MIT. But I really built my career at Wired and I’m beginning to realize exactly how long ago 8 years is in modern time. Not to ruin the ending, but it’s a long time. These days, I’m a professor at Ball State University, […]
I’ve always been a solitary runner. I enjoy hitting the road unencumbered. I love the feel of the ground against my feet. I love the sounds of nature around me. I love the solitude. But there’s more to running that simply clearing the mechanism. (Not to go all For Love of the Game on you.) […]
I’ve been itching to hit the local theater scene since I returned from London. My summer re-invigorated the storyteller within me, but I’ve been slow to embrace him again. No so. I purchased two tickets (living aspirationally) to see a one man show, “They Call Me Mr. Fry,” which chronicles the first year of a […]
This weekend, I decided to eschew my normal football watching for a bit more of the culture of my new town. Or, the culture of the biggest city near my new town. On Sunday, I headed to downtown Indianapolis to the Indiana State Museum to see “Odd Indiana,” a collection of strange pieces the museum […]
Festival season where I’m from involves lots of Catholics, beer and gambling. At least that’s the way I remember it. Every summer, we’d bounce around from neighborhood to neighborhood, hanging out at the festivals where our friends went to school. Or where we figured we might run into friends. Or where we just ended up. […]
Tonight was supposed to be about swing dancing, but the one thing I’ve learned in my sobriety is that expectations can only get in the way of a good time. Instead of dancing, we wandered through town. Something I haven’t really done since I got sober 2 years, 4 months ago. We (two former students […]
The best laid plans of mice. I knew when I started out on my 90-in-90 Something New challenge that it wouldn’t be easy. For lots of reasons. The most obvious: I don’t live in Indianapolis so I can’t just walk out the door and do things. That means planning. I’ve spent the last few nights […]
I love athletics. And I love working out. I’ve never been one of those people who dreaded the gym or physical activity. Which isn’t to say I’ve always been diligent about it. But I am now. What I’ve never been good at has been working out in the morning. I could always find some reason […]