This blog has been a bit neglected. I've been dragging. I'm in a period of a couple weeks where I feel so uncreative. Not sure if I've had a good idea all August. What's behind it? I think I was due. May, June and July were so intense - so much was on the line - I could not afford a let down. It was manic at times. I basically moved 1,000+ miles two times. Made three trips to California and three more to Milwaukee. Arranged and completed a regimen of medical treatment and simultaneously found a new job and a new place to live. Now the pressure is off...there's no more gun to my head, so I guess this has been the decompression. There's also a bit of frustration because the last puzzle piece is out of my hands. I could be proactive about my medical treatment and I could be actively looking for a job... but I cannot do much to help sell our house back in Montana (short of listing it for a price we cannot afford to accept)...and that eats away at me as I'm anxious to truly move on with my life.
Today started with no plans and no expectations, but ended up being filled with a lot of very small things that went well. It was just what I needed. Shortly after I woke up I remembered that RadioMilwaukee had a booth this morning at the East Town Farmer's Market. I headed downtown to Cathedral Square Park and the Market. My co-worker Theresa handles most of the station promotions...many of which are at evening concerts and festivals. She made a great point noting that people at early morning farmer's markets are so happy and friendly...especially compared to the often-inebriated crowd you'll find at other events. And a steady stream of shiny, happy people stopped by our booth this morning. They had their fresh veggies, colorful flowers and sticky pastries and many made a point of saying how much they loved 88Nine. One woman even overheard me talking and said: "Oh wow!, You're Dave...I listen to you!" I like to think my ego is small (as radio egos go) but the recognition was nice...especially since I've been on-air here all of two weeks.
I stayed downtown at the market longer than I expected and then I decided to explore another part of town I had yet to see - I headed for Brady Street. Brady street is somewhat Bohemian. Full of bars, restaurants, thrift stores and the like. They were shooting a movie there today (I understand it's set in roughly 1920 New York and that David Strathairn stars), but I saw little specific evidence...just a bunch of guys with two-way radios and many equipment and personnel trailers...yes, a few had stars on the doors. I walked all over and checked out the "cool record store" (Every "Brady Street" has a "cool record store", though this one is about a half block off-Brady) and then I ducked into a Thai restaurant and had a great green curry for lunch. I drove north from Brady street and quickly stopped to walk off my lunch at Lake Park. Old Italian men dressed in white were playing Bocce ball on an immaculately groomed field. A wedding party was posing for pictures. It was a sunshine and lollipops kind of day. As I was driving to Lake park, I passed the ginormous Whole Foods store and couldn't help but think of the remarks their CEO made this week...He basically said that we are a country of obese people who need to take personal responsibility for their own health - and that if we finally did so, government health care would not be necessary. He's right, America is on a terrible nutrition path. However, he came across as an insensitive elitist and his comments certainly do not align well with the stereotypical Whole Foods shopper....thousands have already joined the "boycott Whole Foods" Facebook group that mushroomed this week. I laughed...and then drove straight to Trader Joe's.
On my way to Trader Joe's I drove through the heart of Milwaukee's highest-dollar neighborhoods...the lake-front homes of Shorewood and Whitefish Bay. Amazing. Trader Joe's is part of a newly refurbished mall that feels more like a city street than a sterile mall. I love Trader Joe's...some of their stuff is so inexpensive I'm sure it must have fallen out of the back of a truck or be tainted in some way. I try not to think about it as I load my cart with yummy, healthy stuff (and very cheap wine). While it's clear across town from where I live, I'm glad that I live in a city that actually has a Trader Joe's...and it's only 15-20 minutes away.
After I put the groceries away I still had time for a lengthy bike ride. Milwaukee has an excellent system of bike trails...the best being the Oak Leaf Trail that connects most of the city's parks in some fashion. I biked through Jacobus Park (where an adult Raccoon ran out of the underbrush right in front of my bike, scaring us both equally) and then to Doyne Park. I took note of the par 3 golf course at Doyne as these are pretty much the only type of golf courses I can play with out major performance anxiety and embarrassment. I snapped this picture of Miller Valley. Schlitz, Blatz and Pabst breweries are closed, but Miller still employees 2,200 workers here. From there I biked to the Wisconsin Humane Society...I didn't realize how close it was to my apartment. It's a very nice facility...I took this picture of three Pit Bull pups cuddled in one of the kennels.
So that's it...a series of tiny and mundane things made up this Saturday. No single one worth blogging about, but - taken as a whole - a pretty good day.
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