Memories . . . all alone in the moonlight

"Human memory, on the other hand, is the invisible psychic adhesive that holds our identity together from moment to moment. This makes it a radically different phenomenon from computer memory. For one thing, it is fluid rather than granular, more like a wave than a particle. Like a wave, it spreads through the mind, puddling up here and there in odd personal associations that may be of the most inexplicable kind. It flows not only through the mind, but through the emotions, the senses, the body. We remember things as no computer can—in our muscles and reflexes: how to swim, play an instrument, use a tool."

--Theodore Roszak, historian and educator

And on the return, rejuvination nation.

Vacations are odd animals. For something as much anticipated as they tend to be, they seem to go really quickly while you're in them, and then you wonder why you worried about this or that, and why you didn't enjoy the vacation more. But then, hopefully, you settle in, back to regular life, or at least a near-approximation of it, and the vacation becomes a pleasant memory or set of memories.

This one had pleasant memories by the bucketful. Shopping for clothes in a wind-swept Cabazon Mall in Palm Springs, for one. Oddly enough, I managed to get all of the clothes that I set out to obtain, and Megan didn'tacquiree any new clothing. I even did it sans Tony, though I'm sure he would have found a lot of other clothes at a great bargain that looked wonderful. I still use that jacket you strong-armed me in Japan to get, Tony.

Another was our day at the beach. My skin carries memories of this one. No longer am I the supple-skinned seventeen-year old who could stay out in the sun all day long swimming and playing polo and not getting burned. As I get older, I seem to be flip-flopping some of my genetic traits--my skin is getting more like my Dad's (pale, easily burnt), while my hair is getting more like my Mom's (thinner, soon to become male-pattern baldness). So, at the beach, I tried a new "spray-on" type sunscreen. I can't say it didn't do its job, because it did--except only in the places where it actually got on my skin. For the record, it was a particularly windy day at the beach. When I got home and showered off, I found white blotches that looked like little mushrooms (the spray had hit my body and dripped slightly) all over my chest and back. Good Times!

V-ball and dinner with Kwin was also nice. We packed up my little bro for the summer, moving him out of his tiny apartment on UCSD's campus, and placing all of his stuff in our van, which saggednoticeablyy after being loaded. After piling all of his stuff away, it was time for some V-Ball, the guys vs. the girls, best of seven. Jamie and I stole a couple of games early on Kwin, Bobbi and Megan, an advantage we held on to in order to eventually win the series. I also managed to step on a rusty nail, something that you might find in the Handbook of Things Not To Step On If You Don't Want To Get A Tetanus Booster (Catchy Title!). I avoided a shot, and hopefully tetanus--victory heals all ills, or something. Or maybe it was Kwin's excellent cooking? If you're ever in SD, feel free to stop by--she's always happy to see friends, and doesn't need much advance notice to whip something delectable up.

I have other memories to share, of course--those are just some of the highlights. Look for more this week, as I want to get these down while they're still fresh in my mind.

Currently reading: The Life of the Modern, by Paul Johnson.

Imagine yourself on a beach in California

"Travel is glamorous only in retrospect."
--Paul Theroux, travel writer

After an exhausting day, in which I drove 200 miles, and flew roughly 1200 more, Megan and I found ourselves in California on Friday. A day that started in Angola, Indiana, pitching an advertising campaign to a dentist, ended with me, Megan, Bobbi and Mom in Dad in our kitchen talking and eating chocolate-chip cookies. Modern life is certainly odd.

I think back to stories of how people even as late as a hundred years ago never traveled more than 25 -50 miles away from home. How different things must have been back then, when distance was a very real thing, and people who had traveled were rare. Short of going off to war, maybe some people didn't have t o travel. And, of course, I'm not ruling out the possiblity that there are still people who haven't traveled more than 25-50 mi. away from home, even in this day and age.

California, so far, has been a pastiche of mini-golf, air hockey, and really good food. Today, Megan and I will be going to Catholic Mass with my parents and sister, and then who knows what else is on the docket--probably seeing Revenge of the Sith, which my parents and sis haven't seen yet. It'll be our second time, but I'll be looking for a shot of George Lucas, who appears in the movie, as well as other little "Easter Eggs" that Lucas has hidden in the movie.

Take care, everybody.

Billy

Creativity

"Ideas are infinite, original, and lively divine thoughts. "
--Friedrich Von Schlegel, German Philosopher

What I do in marketing is pretty interesting, somedays. As I've learned by doing the Backpage, and through other endeavors, coming up with new stuff is hard. It's really hard. And so, when I find myself sitting in a room with two other people trying to think of a way to describe dentistry that is both powerful and comforting, I can't help but think back to the days of the Backpage (for those of you who don't know, it was a humor page my friends and I published (I'm still not sure how) on the last page of our college news paper. Some of it was actually funny) and all of the nights I spent eating pizza and telling other Americans whether they were hot or not.

When we finally arrived at a good idea, both at the Backpage and at this meeting I was at today, the feeling was that it was something so completely obvious that we couldn't figure out why we didn't think of it sooner. Of course, it's not as easy as all that. I mean, something like "leaf holocaust" doesn't just hit you out of the blue (unless your name is Lucas). So when we ended up with a good tagline, and a better creative campaign theme, I was pretty happy to be in the business that I'm currently in. Maybe it's not always this fun or satisfying--most days it's more mundane and banal--but from time to time, I can see myself doing this for a while, and liking it, which is the scary thing.

On other random notes, we will be leaving for California tomorrow morning. Please pray for safe travel for us, as well as for the time spent with my parents and Bobbi and Jamie. It's nice to have a vacation, finally. This is the first time that Megan and I will be out in California when it's actually warm. Novel idea, huh? Those of you that live in California, you know what I'm talking about--sun, sand, your mom's cooking, wide freeways and mountain vistas. I'll try to blog from Cali, if only so I don't have a ton of catching up to do with this upon our return.

Till then, take care.

Billy