We are now in the "if..then.." stage for Newberry Place. October is full of hoop jumping as we zero in on breaking ground. Between financing, construction bids, alley vacations and unit selections there is little time for anything else. If we can get the alley vacated then we can start on financing, if we get the bids in then we can start on unit selections, if we can get the unit selections then we can finish up on financing. CRAZYNESS!
It's important to step back now and again to appreciate the success of this project. It has become so "normal" that you forget how extraordinary it all really is. The last 2 years has been filled with a lot of details so that you get consumed by the minutia instead of seeing the bigger picture. I think people are starting to try things on and dream a little again.
9.28.2006
9.16.2006
grand rapids rugby
It was a frantic start to the weekend. Marginally sleep deprived, I accidentally slept in this morning. There were about 10 cohousers patiently waiting for me to open up the office at about 8:10 so that we could review the architectural plans. Whoops! The plans look great though. It really is amazing to see all this detail on the plans for something that was so unclear a few years ago. We have such gifted people both in cohousing and surrounding the project. Most days it is just humbling.
So last week it was American Football, this week it is Rugby.
My coworker invited us to watch her brother play rugby for the Grand Rapids Rugby Club After a brief overview of what the hell was going on, we started to get into it. It is pretty brutal though. The thing is, I think it is much more paced than football because there aren't the pads to give players a false sense of security. If you play to fast, you will get thrown down and get hurt- badly. The blood flowed freely.
Speaking of blood. Marty and I picked up a new game called Zombies!!!
It is pretty fun. The goal is to escape from a small town full of, what else - Zombies. I'm looking forward to playing this on some upcoming fall nights as Halloween approaches.
So last week it was American Football, this week it is Rugby.
My coworker invited us to watch her brother play rugby for the Grand Rapids Rugby Club After a brief overview of what the hell was going on, we started to get into it. It is pretty brutal though. The thing is, I think it is much more paced than football because there aren't the pads to give players a false sense of security. If you play to fast, you will get thrown down and get hurt- badly. The blood flowed freely.
Speaking of blood. Marty and I picked up a new game called Zombies!!!
It is pretty fun. The goal is to escape from a small town full of, what else - Zombies. I'm looking forward to playing this on some upcoming fall nights as Halloween approaches.
9.11.2006
who killed the electric car?
We saw this documentary on Friday night with some cohousers. Check it out if you get a chance.
Who Killed the Electric Car?
seahawks v lions = sealions
Roy invited me to the season opener for the Lions this weekend. It was pretty awesome! I'll still take the pace of a good soccer or hockey game over football. But anytime you can put that many cheering fans into one place, it's pretty exciting.
a gift from aunt mary w. in washington state
Learning:
1) I discovered there is such thing as the stereotypical Detroit football fan. The basic qualities include: belly, cigarette, beer, profanity
2) The underdog will always tug on my heartstrings. Despite going in a Seahawks fan, there was something about a good Lion's play that made you say, "Good going little guy, keep it up kid!"
3) Football is really less about the game and more about how many advertisements you can fit between plays. It was really overwhelming, to the point that you wonder if it is even effective (we all did end up at Burger King (official NFL sponsor) afterward, so maybe something worked)
4) The money generated around sports is unbelievable. You get a little sick feeling if you think about it too much. If we could apply the same energy and devotion to something more worthwhile.... Every one of those seats had a big price tag.
5) The mixture of sports and patriotism was also a little strange. There were recruits getting sworn in at half-time. It reminded me how little the US public has had to really sacrifice for the war.
Alright, that started out light and then got pretty heavy, sorry about that.
a gift from aunt mary w. in washington stateLearning:
1) I discovered there is such thing as the stereotypical Detroit football fan. The basic qualities include: belly, cigarette, beer, profanity
2) The underdog will always tug on my heartstrings. Despite going in a Seahawks fan, there was something about a good Lion's play that made you say, "Good going little guy, keep it up kid!"
3) Football is really less about the game and more about how many advertisements you can fit between plays. It was really overwhelming, to the point that you wonder if it is even effective (we all did end up at Burger King (official NFL sponsor) afterward, so maybe something worked)
4) The money generated around sports is unbelievable. You get a little sick feeling if you think about it too much. If we could apply the same energy and devotion to something more worthwhile.... Every one of those seats had a big price tag.
5) The mixture of sports and patriotism was also a little strange. There were recruits getting sworn in at half-time. It reminded me how little the US public has had to really sacrifice for the war.
Alright, that started out light and then got pretty heavy, sorry about that.
9.04.2006
grand crossing bridge walk - labor day
Nora, Levi and I headed downtown for the 1st annual bridge walk, led by the mayor. We ended up getting down there just as the first crew started taking off, so we ended up at the end of line.
Thankfully we ran into Paul, Julie and Abbey, and they were going about the same stroller pace we were. I found out later that Dan and Laura (and kids) were somewhere mid-pack.
I was pretty surprised that I didn't recognize more folks. I figured there would be the 50-100 usual suspects, but the crowd was pretty big, taking up several bridges as it snaked through downtown. I heard a lot of comments and talk that suggested many folks were coming in from the burbs, "Wow, they really cleaned things up down here", "I haven't been down here in awhile..." The DeVos supporters suggested the same about the demographic. I figure all Granholm's folks were over at the Labor Day Parade.
Heartwell, who led the walks, said "It's about fitness, it's about community spirit, it's about meeting your neighbors, meeting new people as you walk along the way. It's a great day for Grand Rapids."
It really was a pretty great morning, so here are some pics...
Paul and Nora with Amway and new Hotel in background
Those little colorful dots are people
Crew on the 6th St. Bridge
Thankfully we ran into Paul, Julie and Abbey, and they were going about the same stroller pace we were. I found out later that Dan and Laura (and kids) were somewhere mid-pack.
I was pretty surprised that I didn't recognize more folks. I figured there would be the 50-100 usual suspects, but the crowd was pretty big, taking up several bridges as it snaked through downtown. I heard a lot of comments and talk that suggested many folks were coming in from the burbs, "Wow, they really cleaned things up down here", "I haven't been down here in awhile..." The DeVos supporters suggested the same about the demographic. I figure all Granholm's folks were over at the Labor Day Parade.
Heartwell, who led the walks, said "It's about fitness, it's about community spirit, it's about meeting your neighbors, meeting new people as you walk along the way. It's a great day for Grand Rapids."
It really was a pretty great morning, so here are some pics...
Paul and Nora with Amway and new Hotel in background
Those little colorful dots are people
Crew on the 6th St. Bridgetrailrunner x
I'm trying out http://www.trailrunnerx.com to see if it is accurate and helpful.
This is the route I plotted out in the Trailrunner software. You can download an image and then set coordinates. Using GoogleEarth I was able to also find rough elevations for the different points. By drawing and connecting the dots, you can make tracks and then combine those to form routes. It gives you a total distance and elevation numbers.
I then ran this 2.02 mile run with my Nike+iPod. This is the readout of that 2.14 mile run from nikeplus.com. So it was pretty accurate - the run and the map were less than 100 meters off over the distance. You can see the dip at the end of my run where I came up the 152 stairs, HOLY SMOKES! I think the dip near the beginning is were I ran down the "X".
This is the route I plotted out in the Trailrunner software. You can download an image and then set coordinates. Using GoogleEarth I was able to also find rough elevations for the different points. By drawing and connecting the dots, you can make tracks and then combine those to form routes. It gives you a total distance and elevation numbers.
I then ran this 2.02 mile run with my Nike+iPod. This is the readout of that 2.14 mile run from nikeplus.com. So it was pretty accurate - the run and the map were less than 100 meters off over the distance. You can see the dip at the end of my run where I came up the 152 stairs, HOLY SMOKES! I think the dip near the beginning is were I ran down the "X".
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