Sunday, September 28, 2008

in memorium


My favorite actor of all time, Paul Newman died. Nothing is better than seeing him perform in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He will be missed.  

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

more Kanye and Puppets

Did you know Kanye is coming out with a puppet show for Comedy Central? Pretty awesome! 

Friday, September 12, 2008

back to blog, leaving DC, meeting Uncle Jim

comment from Aaron":
"i have some ideas for possible future posts...
-Work, work, work... what I have been spending my time on
-This city is driving me crazy
-The dark corner we call home
-Shower curtain maps... a great idea
-Monuments at night
-An urban oasis and camping without a car (good idea, bad idea)
-Welcome class of 2012 to the University of Maryland
-Waiting, wanting and searching for Applebee's
-What to do when you don't have a car and have to ship 8 boxes?
-Conversations with the Dean
-Conversations with a Moral Theologian
-Conversations with a Security Specialist
-Wise Millers
-Books I have read (and carried)
-DC dwellings
-Salad recipes
-Books found on the street
-Tennis
-The Republican National Convention
-Reflections on the summer and myself
-Sauvignon Blanc, check it out
-Meeting another Pannella
-Things that a coffee shop should have...
-My watch
-Lykke Li
-France
-Not grown up yet
-DC style (or lack there of)
-Jon and Hate plus 8
-Animal Planet
-Daley daily
-Art museums, the greatest hits"

This list came from a comment from Aaron in my last post. He has a number of ideas that I think all deserve a post. There are so many ideas, but where to start? We leave DC in a few hours and there are definitely a lot of things to reflect on. I am really happy we came but we had some really hard patches. But our last few weeks here have seemed to make up for all of that. We've been given the opportunity to live a beautiful Georgetown home (more on that later) and I feel as though my work here has been successful and appreciated. One of the most notable recent occurrences has been getting together with my Uncle Jim (a point on Aaron's list).
He is my Dad's brother, and they never got along. Because of this I only remember meeting him once in my life, and I'm fairly certain this is the first time meeting my two cousins. My uncle looks so much like my dad and is similar to him in many ways. Its like this is how my Dad would have been if he didn't drink or smoke. In fact its hard to imagine some one so like my dad without those characteristics. And he went to college and owns businesses. I wonder how two people with the same background could have such different lives. I heard new stores about my dad, and really enjoyed getting to know my cousins Sean (15) and Ross (12). But we never talked about my dad's death. Jim didn't come to the funeral and doesn't talk to the rest of the family. As far as I know he doesn't even know how his brother died.

Sean looked very much like Katie. And he is so smart and academically competitive and seemed to have a mind like Katie too. How awesome to see two people who have never met be such clear relatives.

The family, Jim, Karen, Sean, and Ross, live in Annapolis. I called them on Saturday and the only time they could see us was the next day. They took us out for incredible crab and walked us around the town. It was quite beautiful. I'm glad to know there is more family out there and that they are willing to include me in their lives. I was afraid to call him, but I'm glad I did. I'm glad I didn't let that fear keep me from this great day.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

eek

It's been a while sine I've blogged I know... I've been so busy and so much has been going on. Much to blog about. Katie thought I was over it. But I'm not- just super busy. Posts on the way so stay tuned...

Welcome!

Welcome!