Checking in with long, very random post...

How is it that 10 days have already passed since I last updated the blog? Did Father Time somehow decide to crank up the dials in 2009 to make time move that much faster this year?

Anyway, here is a big 'ol batch of randomness that I've been thinking about:

- Like many, many others, I am now totally on board with Facebook. It's crazy to "connect" with so many people that I (a) live far away from, and (b) haven't seen for a really long time.

- I like it how my daughter refers to marshmallows as "schmarshmallows." That's fun.

- Here are some other words I like: kitsch, verily, aplomb, assuage, exoskeleton, community, gnome

- I'm a huge fan of Apple products (I'm writing this post on my PowerBook), but it's starting to get a bit annoying to have so many products with an 'i' in front of them. When will see the iCar, iHouse, or iFood?

- I've said it before, but I'll say it again: I think The Office is the best show on TV. Missi and I also got wrapped up in Friday Night Lights by getting the DVDs from the library. It's also a pretty good show (although completely different from The Office). Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!

- If there is anything cuter than little girls in ballet class, I'm not sure what it is.

- I was attending a workshop the other day on how to write effectively and persuasively in the context of an appellate court (i.e., Court of Appeals or Supreme Court). In the written materials that were passed out, they included a bunch of "tips" about common errors. Get a load of this gem (talking about the difference between 'rear' and 'raise'): "Parents 'rear' children. Farmers 'raise' crops and livestock. Parents do not 'raise' children." The handout also made the distinction between a "ship" and a "boat." Apparently these things are important to judges.

- This past week I missed my first "big" school function because of a work commitment. Drew had his school holiday program at 2:30 on a Tuesday because it had to be re-scheduled after it was initially snowed out in ARTIC BLAST 2008. It just so happens that I had a client meeting starting at 1:30 on that same day, and it was about an hour away from our house. I was totally bummed that I had to miss the program (Drew had several speaking lines, to boot), but I fear that this may not be the last time this happens. I had Missi video the entire program for me.

- I am totally digging the band Blind Pilot right now. Like it's in constant rotation. I highly recommend it. Who can't love a band that went on a West Coast tour by BIKE? Thanks to Brianne for the recommendation. I'm hoping to see them in concert here in Seattle in a few weeks.

- How does a newspaper have a page like this on their website that contains such an egregious grammatical error ("The page your requested does not exist.")?

- The best book I read last year? The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Other top books for me were Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazis and The Freedom of the Hills by The Mountaineers. I also just finished reading Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski and Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. Both solid reads.

- I've been meaning to do a whole "Year in Review" post on this blog that would recap 2008, but I just don't think it's gonna happen. That being so, here are a few brief thoughts:
*Best Vacation: Mexico trip with Missi and the Foglios
*Best "guy" time: Either the guy's weekend before my graduation or the Mt. Adams climb. Both totally epic.
*Hardest Mental Challenge: the bar exam (man I'm glad that's over with!)
*Hardest Physical Challenge: Portland Marathon. That thing totally owned me but I managed to finish.
*Biggest Change: Moving from small-town Eugene to big-city Seattle and going from laid-back law student to big-firm associate.
*Least surprising event: A Democrat wins the White House.

- I've had a recurring theme keep popping up in my life lately, and it is that I/we need to be more intentional about reaching out to the marginalized members of society. As I mentioned above, I just finished reading Under the Overpass and Same Kind as Different as Me, both books that deal with the homeless epidemic and how many (most) in society do an absolutely terrible job of loving these people. Besides these books, I have become connected with Dustin Cross, a great guy who works with Nickelsville, a tent city here in Seattle. I have visited Nickelsville a number of times and have begun to develop relationships with the "Nickelodeons" who live there. It's been a great experience and I always leave Nickelsville feeling totally refreshed and fulfilled. The Nickelodeons give more to me than I give to them. One other "event" that ties in to this theme that I am describing is how I recently re-connected with an old friend from high school. She and her family recently sold their home and are now traveling all across the country in an RV named Big Buster and "loving on homeless people." You can follow their adventures on either her or her husband's blog.

- I recently was approached about using an excerpt of an article I wrote in a textbook. While normally I'd be totally excited about this, the textbook is for English as a Second Language. What!? How is a textbook on ESL going to use an article on electronic evidence and social networking websites. The whole thing is still very much in flux, but I'm very curious.

- I thought this article from the NY Times Magazine was interesting.

Th-th-th-that's all folks...