Where in the blog-world is Pat?

Hiding in my office, actually.

It’s been over 6 weeks since my last post. Unlike the other, more prolific blogger in the household, I often seem to lack interesting subjects and/or the creative energy to formulate a post. But I want to keep this blog current, so I have promised myself that I will make an effort to be more productive and post on a regular basis. So here’s a quick recap of what I’ve been up to lately.

In the past month and a half I have

• Read 6 chapters of Statistics
• Completed 6 chapters of Statistics homework
• Taken (and completely bombed) 2 tests
• Read 8 chapters for Fundraising Class
• Wrote 3 papers for Fundraising Class
• Composed, produced and mailed 2 SWL newsletters
• Read Eudora Welty short stories for book club
• Hosted said book club meeting
• Spent a weekend in DG helping Sarah move

All this while still holding down my day job, trying to keep the house from getting buried in dog hair, and putting in some time in the garden.

But wait, there’s more! Coming attractions include prepping for the Statistics final and completing a 10 page paper and a class presentation summarizing the paper. Then I have a week's respite during which I can start working on the new vegetable garden. Oh, and sometime in there my mom is coming to visit.

Hopefully by then I'll figure out a routine.

The first day of spring

It's a gorgeous day, temps in the 50s and very sunshiney -- fitting for the first day of spring. It's one of those days that demands that you work (or play) outside, because you know that spring weather is fickle and can turn ugly at a moment's notice. So here I am, sitting in my office, staring at my statistics book, while Jim (and the dogs) are outside, digging in the dirt.

--sigh

Giveaways

Over the years, I’ve attended lots of trade shows and bar association meetings. You find all kinds of interesting vendor giveaways in the exhibition sections. They range from the useful, like canvas tote bags/briefcases (a staple at the ABA annual meetings), pads of sticky notes, and pens, all the way to the “what the heck is this?” variety of trinket. And people get in line to snap up the stuff.

Every once in a while one item takes the lead in most-used (or over-used) giveaway. In fact, right after 3M™ came out with their Post-It® notes, sticky-note pads became the giveaway of choice. Then someone invented those squishy “anti-stress” thingies and soon every law firm in the country stamped their name on some variation and handed them out. This year’s winner: reusable grocery bags.

It’s a great idea; having shopped at Aldi for a long time, I heartily embrace the concept. Before we moved to Ohio we picked up two bags from Trader Joe’s. And I bought a couple from my local grocery chain over a year ago when they first offered them. This year, the trade show people seem to have bought into the idea big time. At the last two garden shows we attended, the major sponsors provided a bag to each attendee as they presented their ticket. It’s a good fit – gardening and ecological responsibility – and we eagerly snapped up our bags. But when I got home, one question surfaced: just how many does one household need? I figure I have at least a dozen now, and that doesn’t count the last couple of plastic Aldi bags that haven’t worn out yet. We simply don’t buy enough groceries to fill all those bags! So this begs the question:

Can they be recycled?

Garden Show Finds

You can tell that spring is just around the corner when the garden shows start popping up. This year, we were lucky enough to get to four. In February, we hit two in Cleveland and one in Akron, and this past Saturday we took a trip down to Columbus for the Central Ohio Home and Garden Show. We made a day of it, starting off at the North Market, which is an emporium of eateries, food purveyors, and a few clothing and household goods vendors. I spotted some Fiestaware, but at the prices they were asking, we decided a trip to the outlet store in Newell W.V. would actually be more economical. But we found a great place to eat breakfast, and Jim took lots of pictures, as usual. Check out his blog in the next couple of days for several in-depth posts about the market, the garden show and the cute restaurant we ate lunch at.

The show was held at the state fairgrounds, in two buildings connected by a tented walkway. The garden “part” was in one and the home-related in the other. We almost missed the “home” section, until someone we were chatting with told us about it. The garden part of the show was different than what we had seen before. The show had an overall theme, art in the garden or something like that, which the display gardens reflected. That made it a little more interesting as we walked through the displays. There weren't as many garden vendors as at other shows we've been to, but I still managed to find a couple of cute items. Oh, and Jim made a new friend.

This will look cute in the sunroom.

More yard art.

Jim and friend.

Well, I've survived three weeks of graduate school. So far, so good.Even the Statistics class is pretty interesting. However, I AM glad I let my graduate advisor talk me out of taking a third class. So much work, so little time. Some observations, in no particular order:

• Mandatory preparations for the first day of class include locating the nearest coffee vendor. This is especially important when your classes are held from 6 - 10 pm.
• I can still do the cross-campus dash in under 5 minutes. Thank you Leslie Sansone!
• The downtown walk/don't walk signs make no sense to me, so I've reverted to the Chicago school of crossing: wait til there's a break in traffic and make a run for it. I haven't lost my touch.
• It seems that the Transit Police can drive on the sidewalk. What's that all about?
• Some things haven't changed: academic types still prefer turtlenecks and blazers.
• Interesting, even after just three weeks, my brain feels like it's running on all its cylinders again, after just chugging along for so many years.

Coincidence?

We went to dim sum Saturday after the Garden Show. This was my fortune:

An optimistic attitude is half of success.

Believe these things or not, but the timing was interesting . . . .

Making lemonade

It’s time for a change. Actually, it’s been time for a change for several years. For a long time I’ve been restless, thinking that there must be something interesting out there that doesn’t involve actually practicing law, but a nice salary, 5 weeks vacation and a job without much heavy lifting kept me nice and comfortable.

Sometimes life has to give you a little push. This one came in the form of an announcement that my office is closing at the end of this year. I had two options: move to Rochester NY or move on. I chose to move on. So I’m embarking on a new adventure.

I’m now a graduate student at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Studies at Cleveland State University, working toward my Masters degree in Nonprofit Administration and Leadership (it’s kind of like an MBA only for nonprofit entities). Classes started this week. All I can say is . . . this is going to be fun!

When life hands you lemons . . .